Welcome to Austria!

The Republic of Austria is a landlocked country of approximately 8.3 million citizens located in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. Austria’s territory spans 32, 377 square miles of temperate and alpine climate, about twice the size of Switzerland and just slightly smaller than the state of Maine. Due to the presence of the Alps, the majority of Austria’s terrain is mountainous with only thirty-two percent of the land lying below 1,640 feet. The country’s highest point, Mount Grossglockner, stands at 12,457 feet. Although the majority of the Austrian population speaks German, the country’s official language, other common languages include Croatian, Hungarian, and Slovene. Austria’s history dates back to approximately 15 BC during the Roman Empire when a Celtic Kingdom was conquered by the Romans and later became the Roman Province of Noricum. The Frankish King Charlemagne later conquered the area in AD 788 and introduced Christianity to the population. Austria ultimately became one of the great powers of Europe under the Habsburg Dynasty, and in 1867 the Austrian Empire was reformed to become Austria-Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed in 1918 with the end of World War I, following which the First Austrian Republic was established in 1919. Nazi Germany occupied Austria from 1938 until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Austria was occupied by allied forces and its former democratic constitution reinstated. The occupation finally ended in 1955 with the signing of the Austrian State Treaty, re-establishing Austria as a sovereign state. That same year, the Austrian Parliament introduced the Declaration of Neutrality, declaring the country permanently neutral. Presently Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprised of nine federal states. Vienna, Austria’s largest city with a population exceeding 1.6 million, serves as the nation’s official capital. Currently one of the richest countries in the world, Austria has developed a high standard of living and was ranked 25th in the world in 2010 on the Human Development Index. Austria has served as a member of the United Nations since 1955, the European Union since 1995, and is a founder of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.