Austria

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture and forestry
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Education
Cultural life
- Cultural milieu
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Prehistory and Roman times
- Early Middle Ages
  - Germanic and Slavic settlement
  - Early Babenberg period
  - Later Babenberg period
- Late Middle Ages
  - Contest for the Babenberg heritage
  - Accession of the Habsburgs
  - Division of the Habsburg lands
  - Burgundian and Spanish marriages
- Reformation and Counter-Reformation
  - Acquisition of Bohemia
  - Advance of Protestantism
  - Rudolf II and Matthias
  - The Bohemian rising and the victory of the Counter-Reformation
  - Struggle with Sweden and France
- Austria as a great power
  - War of the Spanish Succession
  - Problem of the Austrian succession
  - New conflicts with the Turks and the Bourbons
  - Social, economic, and cultural trends in the Baroque period
- From the accession of Maria Theresa to the Congress of Vienna
  - War of the Austrian Succession, 1740–48
  - First reforms, 1748–56
  - Seven Years’ War, 1756–63
  - Reforms, 1763–80
  - Foreign affairs, 1763–80
  - Early reign of Joseph II, 1780–85
  - Late reign of Joseph II, 1785–90
  - Conflicts with revolutionary France, 1790–1805
  - Conflicts with Napoleonic France
- The Age of Metternich, 1815–48
- Revolution and counterrevolution, 1848–59
- Neoabsolutist era, 1849–60
- Constitutional experimentation, 1860–67
- Austria-Hungary, 1867–1918
  - Ausgleich of 1867
  - Domestic affairs, 1867–73
  - International relations: the Balkan orientation
  - Domestic affairs, 1879–1908
    - Political realignment
    - Political turmoil
    - Electoral reform
  - Foreign policy, 1878–1908
  - Last years of peace
    - Conflicts of nationality
    - Party rivalries
    - Conflict with Serbia
  - World War I
  - End of the Habsburg empire
- First Republic and the Anschluss
  - Early postwar years
  - Economic reconstruction and political strife
  - Authoritarianism: Dollfuss and Schuschnigg
  - Anschluss and World War II
- Second Republic
  - Allied occupation
  - Restoration of sovereignty
  - Austria in the European Union

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Hallstatt, Austria

the Alps, Tirol, Austria

Austria: Population composition by country of birth

Austria: Religious affiliation

For Students

Austria summary

Read Next

Benedictine abbey of Melk, Austria.

20 Must-See Buildings in Austria

Macro of sheet music

10 Classical Music Composers to Know

Pregnant woman holding headphones on her belly

Does Listening to Mozart Make Kids Smarter?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart portrait. Austrian composer. (Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)

Did Mozart Write “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”?

American troops at the front in Italy. American soldiers on the Piave (river) front hurling a shower of hand grenades into the Austrian trenches, Varage, Italy; September 16, 1918. (World War I)

Leaders of World War I

Discover

United States Presidential Election of 2012. Mitt Romney. Official portrait of President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, Dec. 6, 2012 after his reelection Nov. 6, 2012. Official portrait Obama

10 Democrats Who Made History

Washington, D.C. locator map.

What State Is Washington, D.C. In?

Secret Service Agent Listens To Earpiece

Secret Service Code Names of 11 U.S. Presidents

Philippine President Corazon Aquino (b. Maria Corazon Cojuangco) greets officials in airport terminal. Andrews Air Force Base, U.S., Maryland September 15, 1986. President of the Philippines 1986-1992.

6 of the First Women to Become Heads of State

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.

10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci

Close up of a hand placing a ballot in a ballot box. Election vote voter voting

Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term?

An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Austria: Media

Videos

Causes and start of World War I

Causes and start of World War I

Overview of the start of World War I, including details of the June 28, 1914, assassination...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail Prints and Photographs Division/Library of Congress, Washington D.C.; Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Hungary's historic removal of the iron border

Hungary's historic removal of the iron border

East German visitors fleeing over the border of Hungary to Austria during the Pan-European...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Fritz Hiersche/Dreamstime.com

How do fish survive under icy lakes in winter?

How do fish survive under icy lakes in winter?

Learn how fish survive winter in lakes that are covered in ice.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Explore the mesmerizing Hallstatter See, a lake in Salzkammergut, Austria

Explore the mesmerizing Hallstatter See, a lake in Salzkammergut, Austria

Time-lapse video of Hallstätter See, a lake in Austria's Salzkammergut resort area.

Video: Geoff Tompkinson/GTImage.com; original music by Vincent Jacq (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Hiking a historic trail in the Carnic Alps

Hiking a historic trail in the Carnic Alps

Follow hikers in the Carnic Alps, along the Austrian-Italian border.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Nogreenabovetwothousand/Dreamstime.com

The tranquility of Kärnten, Austria

The tranquility of Kärnten, Austria

Learn about Kärnten (Carinthia), southern Austria.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

The rich history and culture of Salzburg, Austria

The rich history and culture of Salzburg, Austria

Overview of Salzburg, Austria.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

History of Vienna's traditional coffeehouses

History of Vienna's traditional coffeehouses

Overview of Viennese cafés.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

The art of making traditional Viennese cakes

The art of making traditional Viennese cakes

Overview of Viennese cakes (gâteaux).

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Images

Austria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Austria

Austria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Hallstatt, Austria

Hallstatt, Austria

Hallstatt village in the northern Alps, Austria.

© Mildax/Dreamstime.com

Austria

Austria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Austria

Austria

Physical features of Austria.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Danube River

Danube River

Vineyards along the Danube River in the Wachau region, Austria.

G. Hofmann/SuperStock

the Alps, Tirol, Austria

the Alps, Tirol, Austria

Meadows and woodlands at the foot of the Alps, Tirol, Austria.

© Tomasz Resiak/Dreamstime.com

population density of Austria

population density of Austria

Population density of Austria.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Innsbruck

Innsbruck

Innsbruck, Austria.

© Digital Vision/Getty Images

pastry

pastry

A display of pastries at the Demel café, a favourite stop for tourists in Vienna,...

© Rostislav Ageev/Dreamstime.com

Getreidegasse

Getreidegasse

Picturesque shops of the Getreidegasse, Salzburg, Austria.

© donstock/iStock.com

Kunsthistorisches Museum

Kunsthistorisches Museum

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.

©Arseniy Krasnevsky/stock.adobe.com

Mozart

Mozart

Mozart, unfinished oil portrait by Joseph Lange, 1789. In the Internationale Stiftung...

Courtesy of the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria

Adele Bloch-Bauer I

Adele Bloch-Bauer I

Adele Bloch-Bauer I, by Gustav Klimt, 1907.

Art Collection 4/Alamy

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni: portrait of Joseph II

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni: portrait of Joseph II

Joseph II, Holy Roman emperor, detail of a painting by Pompeo Girolamo Batoni, 1769;...

Courtesy of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Metternich

Metternich

Metternich, black and white chalk drawing by Anton Graff, c. 1803–05; in the Kupferstichkabinett,...

Courtesy of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, Ger.

Franz Joseph

Franz Joseph

Franz Joseph, 1908.

Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, duchess of Hohenberg

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, duchess of Hohenberg

Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, duchess of Hohenberg, in...

© Henry Guttmann Collection—Hulton Royals Collection/Getty Images

Austria-Hungary, 1914

Austria-Hungary, 1914

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Charles

Charles

Charles.

George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. LC-DIG-ggbain-16767)

Engelbert Dollfuss

Engelbert Dollfuss

Engelbert Dollfuss, 1934.

UPI/Bettmann Archive

Kurt von Schuschnigg

Kurt von Schuschnigg

Kurt von Schuschnigg.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Adolph Hitler

Adolph Hitler

Adolf Hitler (center) and Nazi officials parading through Vienna during the German...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

anti-Semitic graffito

anti-Semitic graffito

Nazi storm troopers guarding a Jewish-owned business in Vienna shortly after the...

© Marschalek/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Jörg Haider

Jörg Haider

Jörg Haider, 2008.

© Muellek/Shutterstock.com

European Union

European Union

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Austria

Austria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Audio

National anthem of Austria

The instrumental version of the national anthem of Austria.

Mahler, Gustav: Symphony No. 3 in D Minor

Fifth movement, “Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck” (“Happy in Tempo and Bold...

Interactives

Austria: Population composition by country of birth

Austria: Population composition by country of birth

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Austria: Religious affiliation

Austria: Religious affiliation

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Austria: Urban-rural

Austria: Urban-rural

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Austria: Age breakdown

Austria: Age breakdown

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Austria: Major import sources

Austria: Major import sources

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Austria: Major export destinations

Austria: Major export destinations

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

VIEW MORE in these related Britannica articles: