Countries of the World Trivia | 50 facts about Austria

Austria is a landlocked country located in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It’s one very beautiful country with a rich history.

Let’s find out more about Austria!

Austria formally the Republic of Austria is a country located in Central Europe.
Austria lies in the Eastern Alps.
It is a federation of nine federal states
Vienna is the capital of Austria.
It’s the most populous city and federal state.
Austria is bordered by Germany to the northwest, Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west.
The country occupies an area of 83,879 km² (32,386 sq mi).
Austria has a population of around 9 million.
Austria emerged from the remnants of the Eastern and Hungarian March at the end of the first millennium.
Originally a margraviate of Bavaria, it developed into a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1156 and was later made an archduchy in 1453.
In the 16th century, Vienna began serving as the empire’s administrative capital and Austria thus became the heartland of the Habsburg monarchy.
Before the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire two years later, in 1804, Austria established its own empire, which became a great power and the dominant member of the German Confederation.
The empire’s defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 led to the end of the Confederation and paved the way for the establishment of Austria-Hungary a year later, Austria was its part with the name Cisleithania.
After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph declared war on Serbia, which ultimately escalated into World War I.
The empire’s defeat and subsequent collapse led to the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria in 1918 and the First Austrian Republic in 1919.
During the interwar period, anti-parliamentarian sentiments culminated in the formation of an Austrofascist dictatorship under Engelbert Dollfuss in 1934.
A year before the outbreak of World War II, Austria was annexed into Nazi Germany by Adolf Hitler, and it became a sub-national division.
After its liberation in 1945 and a decade of Allied occupation, the country regained its sovereignty and declared its perpetual neutrality in 1955.
Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy with a popularly elected president as head of state and a chancellor as head of government and chief executive.
Major cities include Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck.
Austria has the 17th highest nominal GDP per capita with high standards of living.
It was ranked 25th in the world for its Human Development Index in 2021.
Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955.
It’s a member of the European Union since 1995.
It hosts the OSCE and OPEC.
Austria is a founding member of the OECD and Interpol.
It also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995.
Austria adopted the euro currency in 1999.
Austria is a landlocked country meaning it’s entirely surrounded by land.
About 30% of the country is found anywhere below 1,640 feet
Amadeus Mozart was from Austria.
Beethoven, even though he was not Austrian, he spent most of his life here.
In Vienna you can find the apartment where Sigmund Freud lived and worked for 47 years before he had to flee from the Nazis in 1938. Today, it’s a museum.
Austria is called Österreich in German, which means something like “Eastern Realm,”.
The word dated back to 996 AD, when it was first recorded. It was called this because Austria was once the easternmost portion of Bavaria. Hence the German.
After WWII, Austria was split into four parts and run by the Allied Commission for Austria. Vienna.
Vienna, the capital, was also divided into four and was effectively an international zone.
This lasted until 1955.
On October 26, 1955, the Austrian Parliament passed a law of “permanent neutrality.”
This day, October 26, is celebrated as the country’s National Day each year.
St. Peter Stiftskulinarium is the oldest restaurant and inn in the world still in existence, anyway. Greats like Mozart and Christopher Colombus are said to have eaten at the restaurant. It was ounded in 803 AD.
Combining wind, solar, and biomass power plants, Austria makes about 60% of its electricity from renewable sources.
About 1.69 million people not born in Austria living in Austria.
In the Austrian equivalent to elementary school, kids are taught in classes by one teacher for four years.
Also, in that age kids only go to school from 8 am to 12 pm.
Austria hosted two Winter Olympics.
Also Austria hosted the first Youth Winter Olympics.
In Austria every 300 meters you go upwards, the temperature goes down by 5°C.
The hottest average temperature for Vienna is 19°C, and the lowest average is -1°C.
The Vienna Central Cemetery opened on October 31, 1874, and it is one of the largest cemeteries in the world