Facts About Austria
- The official name of Austria is the ‘Republic of Austria’.
- Austria is situated in Central Europe and spreads over an area of approximately 83,858 sq km.
- The capital of Austria is Vienna, while its currency is Euro.
- Majority of the population in Austria is Roman Catholic, followed by Protestants and Muslims.
- The official language of Austria, followed through the country, is German. The other official languages are Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland) and Hungarian (official in Burgenland).
- The German name for Austria is Osterreich, which means ‘Eastern Empire’, referring to the time when Austria was a part of the Holy Roman Empire.
- A mummified body from the Stone Age was found in the ice of the Otztal Alps, between Austria and Italy, in 1991.
- About half of Austrian men are overweight, while around one-fifth of Austrian women are overweight.
- About one fourth of the population of Austria lives in Vienna.
- Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria.
- Austria is the only continental EU country that is not a member of NATO.
- Austrian flag is one of the oldest national flags in the world.
- Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of 'Porsche' company, was an Austrian.
- Gregor Johann Mendel, who established the basis of modern genetics, was an Austrian, along with Alfred Adler, who contributed to the foundations of modern psychology.
- Many world famous composers, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Liszt, J. Strauss, Mahler and Bruckner, were Austrian.
- Marie-Antoinette, the wife of France's King Louis XVI, was the daughter of Marie Theresa, the Habsburg ruler of Austria.
- Salt (salz) was mined at Salzburg and Hallstatt in the early Iron Age also.
- Schönbrunn Palace, the summer palace of the Habsburgs, has over 1440 rooms.
- The Krimml Falls, with a height of 380 meters, are amongst the highest waterfalls of Europe.
- The sewing machine was invented by Josef Madersperger, an Austrian.
- Vienna once served as the musical center of Europe.
- Vienna's Central Cemetery has over 2.5 million tombs (more than the city's present population), including those of Beethoven, Brahms, Gluck, Schubert, Schoenberg and Strauss.