Austria

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

Political map of Austria showing its national boundaries, major cities, and neighboring countries including Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The map highlights Austrian states such as Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Styria, Tyrol, Salzburg, Carinthia, Vorarlberg, and Burgenland, with Vienna marked as the capital. An inset locator map in the upper left shows Austria's position within Europe.

Colorful houses and a church with a tall steeple line the shore of a lake in Hallstatt village, set against forested mountains in the northern Alps of Austria.

Map showing Austria highlighted at the center of Central Europe, bordered by Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Croatia. The capital city, Vienna, is marked, and the Adriatic Sea is labeled to the south.

Physical map of Austria showing major mountain ranges such as the Alps, key peaks including Grossglockner and Mt. Dachstein, important rivers like the Danube, Inn, and Drava, and neighboring countries: Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The map highlights significant passes, lakes, and protected areas, with Austria shaded in light green and surrounding countries in tan. An inset map at the top left shows Austria's location within Europe.

A lush green valley with scattered villages and winding roads lies between steep, forested mountains in the Pitztal Valley, Tirol, Austria, with distant alpine peaks visible.

Austria: Population composition by country of birth

Austria: Religious affiliation

At a Glance

default image

Austria summary

Austria: Media

country, Europe

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

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.

Political map of Austria showing its national boundaries, major cities, and neighboring countries including Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The map highlights Austrian states such as Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Styria, Tyrol, Salzburg, Carinthia, Vorarlberg, and Burgenland, with Vienna marked as the capital. An inset locator map in the upper left shows Austria's position within Europe.

Austria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Colorful houses and a church with a tall steeple line the shore of a lake in Hallstatt village, set against forested mountains in the northern Alps of Austria.

Austrian village

Hallstatt village in the northern Alps, Austria.

© Mildax/Dreamstime.com

Map showing Austria highlighted at the center of Central Europe, bordered by Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Croatia. The capital city, Vienna, is marked, and the Adriatic Sea is labeled to the south.

Austria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Physical map of Austria showing major mountain ranges such as the Alps, key peaks including Grossglockner and Mt. Dachstein, important rivers like the Danube, Inn, and Drava, and neighboring countries: Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The map highlights significant passes, lakes, and protected areas, with Austria shaded in light green and surrounding countries in tan. An inset map at the top left shows Austria's location within Europe.

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

A lush green valley with scattered villages and winding roads lies between steep, forested mountains in the Pitztal Valley, Tirol, Austria, with distant alpine peaks visible.

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

View of Innsbruck, Austria.

© Digital Vision/Getty Images

Glass display case at Cafe Demel in Vienna filled with assorted pastries and cakes, each labeled with a name card, arranged on multiple shelves.

Pastry

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

© Rostislav Ageev/Dreamstime.com

Getreidegasse

Getreidegasse

Picturesque shops of the Getreidegasse, Salzburg, Austria.

© donstock/iStock.com

The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, with its grand domed building, manicured gardens, and a prominent white horse statue in the foreground.

Kunsthistorisches Museum

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.

©Arseniy Krasnevsky/stock.adobe.com

Mozart

Mozart

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

Courtesy of the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria

Elfriede Jelinek

Elfriede Jelinek

Novelist and playwright Elfriede Jelinek, 2004 Nobel Prize winner.

Roland Schlager/EPA/Shutterstock

Gustav Klimt: Adele Bloch-Bauer I

Gustav Klimt: Adele Bloch-Bauer I

Adele Bloch-Bauer I, oil, silver, and gold on canvas by Gustav Klimt, 1907;...

Art Collection 4/Alamy

Engraved portrait of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria seated, wearing a dark gown with lace sleeves, a head covering, and a star-shaped medal on her chest.

Maria Theresa

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Portrait painting of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, wearing a black and red military coat with medals and a sash, with St. Peter's Basilica visible in the background.

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni: portrait of Joseph II

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

© Leemage—Corbis/Getty Images

Metternich

Metternich

Klemens von Metternich, black and white chalk drawing by Anton Graff, c. 1803–05;...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Fletcher Fund, 1941 (41.67), www.metmuseum.org

Map of Europe in 1815 showing national boundaries established after the Congress of Vienna. The map highlights major kingdoms, empires, and states of the period, including the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Kingdom of France, Austrian Empire, Russian Empire, Kingdom of Prussia, and Ottoman Empire. The boundary of the German Confederation is outlined in red, encompassing regions such as Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and others in central Europe.

Europe in 1815

Map showing Europe after the Congress of Vienna (1815).

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Franz Joseph

Franz Joseph

Emperor of Austria and king of Hungary,Franz Joseph, 1908.

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

Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria-Este, and his wife Sophie ride in an open carriage in Sarajevo, both dressed formally, with a man standing beside the carriage.

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

Map showing the borders of Austria-Hungary in 1914 outlined in orange, overlaid on present-day Central and Eastern Europe. The map highlights how the former empire's territory now includes parts or all of Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Ukraine, Poland, and Italy, with current national boundaries and capitals labeled.

Austria-Hungary, 1914

Map of Austria-Hungary

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Charles

Charles

Emperor of Austria Charles I.

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

Engelbert Dollfuss

Engelbert Dollfuss

Chancellor of Austria Engelbert Dollfuss, 1932-34.

© Wladyslaw Miernicki Photo Archive/Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe

Kurt von Schuschnigg seated at a desk holding papers, wearing a suit and round glasses, with documents and a microphone in front of him.

Kurt von Schuschnigg

Chancellor of Austria Kurt von Schuschnigg.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Adolf Hitler stands and waves from a convertible leading a motorcade of Nazi officials through a crowded street in Vienna, Austria, with Nazi banners hanging from buildings and poles.

Nazi officials and Adolph Hitler

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

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Antisemitic graffito

Antisemitic graffito

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

© Marschalek/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org

Joerg Haider speaking outdoors at a microphone, wearing a brown jacket and striped tie, with a blurred background.

Jörg Haider

Freedom Party of Austria leader Jörg Haider, 2008.

© Muellek/Shutterstock.com

Map of Europe color-coded to show the expansion of the European Union by year of joining, distinguishing original 1993 members, later additions in 1995, 2004, 2007, and 2013, as well as candidate countries and the United Kingdom as a former member. Country names are labeled within their borders.

European Union

Map of Europe with European Union member states.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Austria

Austria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Audio

National anthem of Austria

The instrumental version of the national anthem of Austria.

Gustav Mahler: 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.

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