 AUSTRIA
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Austria is a beautiful landlocked country of Central Europe. The magnificent landscapes, the important historical monuments, the rich history and present, attract thousands of tourists every year. Austria is the ideal resort as it offers unique pictures.
Austria borders with Liechtenstein and Switzerland to the west, Italy and Slovenia to the south, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, German and Czech Republic to the north.
The Democracy of Austria is comprised of 9 federal states. One of them is Vienna, the capital of Austria. The other states are divided into 84 districts and 15 municipalities. Each state has its own legislative authority and government.
The capital, Vienna, hosts many international organizations. Some of them are the Secretariat of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
It is worth mentioning that until the end of the World War One, Austria was a gigantic empire, which ruled big part of Central Europe.
The Alps are the trademark of Austria. The eastern provinces of Austria including Vienna, are located at the Danube Basin.
Austria is an mountainous country. The Alps as and other smaller mountains cover 60% of the whole country. The eastern – northeastern part of Austria where the Danube plain lies, is in a level ground.
At the central part of Alps lies the mountain chain of Hohe Tauern, which includes the highest crest of the country, Grossglockner of 3.800 meters height, the Alps Etstaler with bigger top the Vilzspitzer of 3.770 meters height, the Stubai and the Norric Alps.
At the south part lie the Carnic Alps and the Alps Karawanken, with crests of over 3.000 meters.
Most of the Austrian rivers derive from the Alps and flow from precipitate slopes.
The Danube basin is the most fertile Austrian plain. Danube is a floatable river with a length of 350 km in Austria. Inn, Ens and Traoun are its tributaries.
Austria does not have big lakes. The biggest one lies at the south part of the country. It is Neusiedler Lake of 350 sq. km.
Austria is a country with rich history and remarkable civilization. Until the middle of the 16th century, Austria’s cultural inheritance was bond to the German one as part of the German Empire
During the 18th and the 19th century, Vienna was a universal cultural center, especially in the field of music and literature.
Already from the 17th and the 18th century we see many Austrian arts and scientists in architecture and painting, of baroque style.
Austria has generated a broad contribution to music. The famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who wrote many important plays was born here in 1756. Vienna was the capital of waltz, with the composer Johann Strauss.
Sigmund Freud is a person who still causes conflicts in the field of science and philosophy, while Ludwig Wittgenstein was one of the persons who caused a lot of changes in the philosophy of the 20th century.
Some of the specialties of the Austrian cuisine are the Viennese schnitzel as and the apple strudel, dishes that need no introduction.
Austria has very good tourist infrastructures. Travelling to this European country is once in a lifetime experience.
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