Salzburg

Salzburg, Bundesland (federal state), west-central Austria. It is bordered by Bavaria (Germany) on the west and north and is bounded by the Bundesländer Oberösterreich on the north and east, Steiermark on the east, Kärnten on the south, and Tirol on the south and west. The province is drained by the Salzach, Enns, and Mur rivers and occupies an area of 2,762 square miles (7,154 square km). Nine-tenths of Salzburg Bundesland is situated among the Alps, and it contains some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the world. The trough formed by the upper Salzach and upper Enns rivers separates the Tauern mountain ranges to the south from the moderately high Kitzbüheler Alps and, farther north, the Salzburg Limestone Alps, whose karst features include caves, notably the ice caves of the Tennen Mountains. The Flysch Alps north and east of the city of Salzburg are part of the Alpine Salzkammergut.

The region was widely settled in prehistoric times, both in the mountains and the Alpine foreland, because of its mineral resources. Copper mining (near Bischofshofen) in the Bronze Age and salt mining (Dürnberg, near Hallein) in the Iron Age were important for the whole of central Europe. The area was settled by Celts in the later Iron Age and by the Romans after 15 ce. Juvavum (Salzburg) became a Roman municipium in approximately 50 ce. Invaded by Germanic peoples in the 5th century, most of the region was then settled by the Bajuwaren (Bavarians). The territorial and political forerunner of modern Salzburg was the much larger state ruled from about 1278 by the prince-archbishops of the city of Salzburg. Salzburg lost some of its possessions but was still larger than the present Bundesland when it was secularized in 1803, during the Napoleonic Wars. It passed permanently to Austria in 1816, losing some territory. An administrative district of Upper Austria until 1850, it then became a duchy and Habsburg crown land. In 1918 it became a Bundesland, a status that was restored in 1945 after it had been a Reichsgau (“Reich’s district”) during the Anschluss, or incorporation of Austria into Germany (1938–45). The archbishops of Salzburg retained their ecclesiastical authority after 1803 and retained their status and title of princes until 1951. They have held the honorary title primus Germaniae (“first in Germany”) since the 17th century and have been entitled to wear cardinal’s purple since 1184.

The state’s population has increased since World War II, but its density is still one of the lowest in Austria. Most of the inhabitants are Roman Catholic. The principal towns are Salzburg (the capital), Hallein, Badgastein, Saalfelden, Zell am See, and Sankt Johann.

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Nearly one-half of the land surface is in farms and about one-third in forests. Cattle and dairy farming are extensive, with horse breeding in the Pinzgau (the valley of the upper Salzach), some arable farming (wheat, rye), and fruit growing on the Alpine foreland. Timber, wood products, and paper form the bulk of Salzburg’s exports.

Salt from Dürnberg is still the major mineral resource. A large aluminum plant (using imported raw material) is at Lend, magnesite is mined at Leogang, and tungsten near Salzburg city. Reservoirs in the Tauern valleys are used for generating electric power. Industries, mainly in the Salzburg Basin, produce beer, textiles, clothing, leather, and music organs. The tourist trade, including winter sports, is a major source of income, with the main centres at Salzburg city (especially its music and drama festivals), Badgastein, and Zell am See. The state has good road and rail communications. Pop. (2006 est.) 528,369.