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Austria Travel Guide

Austria flaunts its heritage in exuberant fashion

Vienna attracts a major part of tourists, both in summer and winter Salzburg receives about a fifth of tourist overnight stays compared to Vienna, which ranks it 2nd in the summer season. In the winter season, a number of winter sport resorts in western Austria overtake Salzburg in the number of tourist overnight stays: Sölden, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Ischgl, Sankt Anton am Arlberg, and Obertauern.

But venture further for experiences that defy expectations: from slinging on a backpack to stride through the Tennengebirge’s lunar landscape to slurping cider with grizzled farmers in Mostviertel orchards, from catapulting down the jaw-dropping Harakiri in Mayrhofen to bathing in Salzkammergut’s tingly lakes. Visit historic spa towns like Bad Ischl or discover cities such as Linz, where a newfound street cred is adding a twist to Austria’s tale. So cast aside the well-thumbed picture-book, as the real story is even more enchanting.

Visits to Austria mostly include trips to Vienna with its Cathedral, its "Heurigen" (wine pubs) and romantic Waltz music events. Worth a visit are Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart, Innsbruck, capital of Tyrol surrounded by the Alps, and the Danube valley with its vineyards, for example the Wachau or Dunkelsteinerwald, which are between Melk and Krems. In the western part of the country the province Vorarlberg reaches the Lake Constance, in the eastern part Neusiedler See. Austria flaunts its heritage in exuberant fashion. Vienna’s bombastic Habsburg palaces and Salzburg’s baroque splendour are worthy, but dig deeper and you’ll unearth Stone Age settlements, Roman archaeological sites at Carnuntum and medieval festivals.

Of great touristic importance are the Austrian skiing, hiking and mountaineering resorts in the Alps as well as family-friendly recreation areas (e.g. the Witches's Water in Tyrol). The same applies to the numerous Austrian lakes (e.g. Wolfgangsee and other lakes in the Salzkammergut east of Salzburg or Wörthersee in Carinthia).

Austria is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps. The majority of the population—about 90%—speaks German, which is also the country's official language.

The origins of Austria date back to the time of the Roman Empire, where the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was conquered by the Romans in approximately 15 BC, and later became a Roman province in the mid 1st century AD—an area which mostly encloses today's Austria. In 788 AD, the Frankish king Charlemagne conquered the area, and introduced Christianity. In more recent times, the Austrian Empire formed a monarchic union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1867—creating Austria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire—which ended in 1918 with the closure of World War I.

In 1938, Austria was incorporated into Nazi Germany, creating a unification known as the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Austria was occupied by the Allies. In 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the country would become permanently neutral. Austria has developed a high standard of living, and in 2008 was ranked 14th in the world for its Human Development Index.

Austria's cultural environment has generated a broad contribution to various forms of art, most notably among them music. Austria has been the birthplace of many famous composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss, Sr., Johann Strauss, Jr. and Gustav Mahler as well as members of the Second Viennese School such as Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and Alban Berg.

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Guide of Austria Travel Guide