Austria

Austria

Always considered as the cradle of the so-called Mitteleuropa, Austria is a country whose configuration is undoubtedly mountainous (about 80% of the territory, with an average height of 1000 m) and also one of the "first-class" touristic destinations of the Old World, thanks to the beauty of its natural landscape, to an ... Read on

Austria

Always considered as the cradle of the so-called Mitteleuropa, Austria is a country whose configuration is undoubtedly mountainous (about 80% of the territory, with an average height of 1000 m) and also one of the "first-class" touristic destinations of the Old World, thanks to the beauty of its natural landscape, to an environment which is still widely protected, to a great historical, civil, cultural, and artistic tradition. Talking about Austria today is inevitably equivalent to re-propose the Austria Felix stereotype, a sort of separate voice in the chorus of rising Europe — though Austria has joined the European community after a public vote — a jealous guardian of its own discretion, a severe defender of habits and customs rooted in usage and in folk-tradition, a proud supporter of its non-alignment, today like yesterday, in a world made of balances, painful compromises, and iron curtains.

Austria (Republik Österreich) extends on an area of 83,855 square km; it has about 7,600,000 inhabitants (1,600,000 of which are in Vienna), with a density of 90 inhabitants per square km. After the recent "earth-quake" that has muddled up the arrangement of political geography in Europe, its borders are the following: Germany and the Czech Republic on the North; Slovakia on the North-east; Hungary on the East; Slovenia and Italy on the South; Switzerland and Liechtenstein on the West.

The prevalently alpine configuration of the Austrian territory is evident as soon as we glance over its map; reliefs, generally well distributed, are massive in the western and central-southern parts of the territory. Plains and lowlands extend themselves in correspondence of the wide Danubian basin in the North-east and to those of the Drava/Mur in the South and East. Austrian orography can be roughly divided in three main groups that differ among themselves in morphological aspect: the Central Alps, made of crystalline rocks, the Northern and Southern Alps, made of calcareous components.
Among the big mountain chains stretching along the territory, there are valleys where human settlements are located. Therefore, going from West to East, we meet the Lechtal valley, crossed by the Lech and surrounded by the Allgauer Alpen (Algovia Alps) and the Lech-taler Alpen. The highly populated Inn valley (Inntal) opens up info the Austrian territory at the Resia Pass (Reschenpaß), between the bordering mountains of the Silvretta and the Ötzaler Alpen, stretching among the Stubaier Alpen, the Tuxer Alpen, and the Kitzbüheler Alpen, to the South, and the NordTyroler Kalkalpen (Karwendel Gebirge), to the North. An important Inn valley tributary is the Zillertal, among the Zillertaler Alpen, to the South, the Tuxer Voralpen, to the West, and the Kitzbüheler, to the East.

Another noteworthy valley is the one which is crossed by the Salzach, that makes its way first through the Kitzbüheler Alpen, to the North, and the High Tauern (Hohe Tauern), to the South, then turning suddenly northward, between the Salzburher Kalkalpen to the West, and the Dachstein to the East. Another important valley, moving towards the East, is that of the Enns river, which, together with its tributary Salza, is part of the wide Danubian basin. This valley is included between the Ennstaler Alpen, to the North, and the Niedere Tauern, to the South. Another highly populated valley is the one crossed by the Mur, that makes its way first through the Niedere Tauern, to the North, and the chain of mountains made up by the Curktaler Alpen and the Gleinalpe, to the South, before turning sharply towards Graz. The Danubian lowland, crossed by the largest Austrian river, opens across the mountainous ramifications of the Mühlviertel, the Weinsberger Wald, the Wachau and the Weinviertel, to the North, and those of the Salzkammergut, the Eisenwurzen, the Steirisch-Niederrósterreichische Kalkalpen and the Wienerwald, to the South.

In southern Austria we must remember the Drava (Drau), whose sources are in Italy (Carnic Alps), and which flows through eastern Tyrol (Osttyrol) and Carinthia before directing it-self towards Marivor (Slovenia). The Drava's course is surrounded by the Defereggengebirge, to the North, and the Lienzer Dolomiten, to the South. The so-called upper valley of the Drava (Oberdrautal), from Lienz to Spittal a.d. Drau, is framed by the Schobergruppe and the Kreuzeckgruppe, to the North, and the Gailtaler Alpen, to the South. The Drava's lower valley (Unterdrautal), between Spittal a.d. Drau and Villach, is included between the Nockberge and the ramifications of the Gurktaler Alpen, to the North-east, and the Gailtaler Alpen and the Villacher Alpen, to the South. In the last part of its Austrian course the Drava flows through the ramifications of the Wimitzerberge, the Saualpe, the Koralpe, to the North, and the Karavanche, to the South.

Among the most important peaks we shall mention the Großglockner, 3797 m, Austria's highest peak, and the Großvenediger, 3674 m (Hohe Tauern), the Wildspitze, 3774 m, and the "White Ball" (Weißkugel) 3736 m, along the Italian border (Ötzaler Alpen), and the Zugspitze, 2963 m, which is geographically on the Austro-German border but is in practice absorbed info the Bavarian Alps.

The superficial hydrography widely hinges on the hydrographic basin of the Danube (flowing through Austria for 350 km), whose tributaries turn info some of the largest Austrian rivers: Inn, Salzach (in its turn Inn's tributary), Traun, Enns, Ybbs, Drava (with its tributary Mur), Raab, Leitha.

The Bohemian reliefs, located north of the Danube, join info the basin of the Moldau, in its turn Elbe's tributary. The Ill, Rhine's tributary, gathers the waters of the Vorarlberg in the most western part of the Country. There are several alpine and pre-alpine lakes, most of which are of glacial origin. Among the most noteworthy ones we shall mention the Constance lake (Bodensee), whose eastern extremity belongs to Austria, and the Neusiedler See, almost totally Austrian, on the Hungarian border. Going from north to south, the climate presents some differences: therefore, the Continental climate in the northern territories becomes a subalpine type of climate as soon as we descend towards the central valleys and those that are more correctly southern. On average, rainfall ranges between 600 and 1000 mm per year, and most of which is snow; annual heat range is rather marked (on average, between 20°C and 25°C).
A characteristic of Austrian climate is the Föhn, a warm and dry wind, that can also blow in winter in Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Favourable climatic conditions increase the growth of forests and pastures in the alpine environment.
From an administrative point of view, Austria is a State consisting of nine Bundesländer or federal Länder: Wien (Vienna, whose main town is the homonymous city, which is also Austria's capital); Niederösterreich (Lower Austria, main town: Sankt Pölten, since 1986); Oberösterreich (Upper Austria, main town: Linz), Salzburg (with the homonymous city as main town); Tyrol (whose main town is Innsbruck); Vorarlberg (main town: Bregenz); Karten (Carinthia, main town: Klagenfurt); Steiermark (Styria, main town: Graz); Burgenland (main town: Eisenstadt). The Parliament is formed by the National Council (Nationalrat) and the Federal Council (Bundesrat). The chancellor presides over the Cabinet, which holds of the executive authority. The president of the Republic is the Head of State; he is elected by popular vote for a term of six years.

HISTORY
The first human settlements in the Austrian territory are documented from the Iron Age (Hallstatt Culture, 8th-5th centuries B.C.). The first Celtic settlements date back from the 5th century B.C., while Roman occupation dates back to the Augustan period (15 B.C.). Roman jurisdiction divided the territory into two provinces: Raetia in the west, and Noricum in the east. In those days, some military camps were founded, and they formed the first unit of today's cities: Castrum Vindobona (Vienna), Iuvavum (Salzburg), Lentia (Linz), Claudia (Klagenfurt).

Between the 4th and the 6th century, Austria underwent several invasions that followed one another without interruption: the Alemanni, the Quadi, the Marcomanni, the Huns, the Ostrogoths, the Franks, the Longobards, the Avars and the Slavs. In 796, after the victory of Charlemagne on the Avars, Eastern March (Ostmark) was instituted, thus reinforcing the borders of the empire and promoting the penetration of Christianity. After defeating the Hungarians at Lechfeld (955), Otto II gave it as a feud to Leopold I of Babenberg, whose dynasty reigned for a long time over the Country, establishing Vienna as the capital. The first quotation of Ostarrichi as a place-name (from which the actual Österreich comes) in official documents dates back to 966. The extintion of the Babenberg dynasty (1242) caused the passage of Austria's dukedom to the Habsburgs, in the hands of Rudolf I (1278).

Between the 15th and the 16th century, Maximilian I enlarged the borders of the empire, including Hungary, Bohemia and the Flanders. During the reign of Charles V, who was also crowned king of Spain, the Habsburg territories reached their greatest expansion. In the 16th and 17th centuries many external elements attempted to the political and territorial integrity of the empire; we shall mention the threatening expansion of the Turks, the national rebellions and the numerous religious wars. The Peace of Weastphalia (1648), at the end of the Thirty Years' War, marked the fall of the Habsburg influence in German territories; in 1664, Hungary fell under the Turkish invaders who, just after twenty years, were threatening Vienna's walls.
In 1699 the peace treaty of Carlowitz marked the end of the Ottoman threat. The 18th century, while seeing the Habsburgs involved once more on the European scene (succession wars), brought them new territorial expansions: the Netherlands, Milan, Piacenza, Parma and Tuscany. During the reign of Maria Theresa (1740-1780) and of her son Joseph II the reform of the different aspects of the state's apparatus brought to rationalization and modernization, considered as a model for the governments characterized by "enlightened" absolutism. Austria was one of the strongholds of the variegated European front that faced the imperialistic aims of Napoleon Bonaparte, giving to Metternich the task of restoration, consequent to the famous Congress of Vienna (1814-1815). However, the 19th century marked the progressive and inexorable decline of the empire, weakened by the contrasts with the other European powers and flaked by the constitutional claims that were arising in the subjected territories just as by the strong demand for autonomy and independence claimed by non-German populations. After the insurrections of 1848, controlled with difficulty, in 1859 Lombardy fell, after the victory of the French-Piedmontese, followed by Venetia (1866), consequently to the defeat against the Prussians. A year later, the recognized autonomy of the Magyar territories effectively led to a division of the empire in Cisleitania, controlled by Austria, and in Transleitania, administred by Hungary.

The difficulty in the relationships between different ethnical groups, the uprising of nationalisms and the expansionist coup, carried out by Francis Joseph with the annexation of Bosnia and Hercegovina (1908), practically formed the explosive mixture of World War I, that was smouldering under Serbian and Russian hostility and that broke out on the occasion of Archduke Francis Ferdinand's murder in Sarajevo (June 28, 1914). The end of the "Great War" marked, in practice, even the end of the great Austria-Hungary empire, causing the birth of several national States. The period between the two wars also brought to Austria financial crisis and political revolts; among the most remarkable events, we shall remember the workers' revolt in 1927 in Vienna and Chancellor Dollfuss murder (1934). Annexed to Hitler's Germany in 1938 (Anschluss), it lost in fact any autonomy, returning to the old diction of Ostmark. At the end of World War II it was occuped by the winning armies, and the restoration of its sovereignty was attained only after the ratification of the Austrian treaty of peace, with the consequent pledge to definitive neutrality (Vienna, May 15, 1955). In spring 1994 a popular referendum ratified its assent to the European Community.

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