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Austria [1] (German: sterreich , literally "the Eastern Realm" or "Eastern Empire") is a land-locked alpine German speaking country in Central Europe bordering Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west, Germany and Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east and Slovenia and Italy to the south. cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london Austria, along with neighboring Switzerland, is the winter sports capital of Europe. However, it is just as popular for summer tourists who visit its historic cities and villages and hike in the magnificent scenery of the Alps.
Today's Austria is what was once the German speaking core and centre of power for the large multiethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire with its imperial capital in Vienna. This empire stretched eastwards from present-day Austria through much of east-central and south-central Europe. It included the entire territories of modern day Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, and portions of Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, Poland and Italy. While Prussia united the German states to the north by force into one " Germany " in the latter cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london part of the 19th Century, Austria remained oriented eastwards towards its diverse empire. However, from the start of the 20th century, the political history of Austria has been closely linked to the misfortunes and disasters of modern German history, mainly the First and Second World Wars and their terrible aftermath.
The modern cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london republic of Austria came into being in 1918 as a result of its defeat in World War I. In its wake, the empire was split into many components. They included Austria's current borders, an independent Hungary, lands given to Italy (South Tyrol, Trieste and Trentino), lands given to southern Poland (which also came about from lands taken from the Russian and German Empires), and an independent Czechoslovakia and the northern and western half of Yugoslavia. Following an unresisted invasion and annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938, Austria more or less functioned as a part of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Thus, a large proportion of the population supported cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london Hitler and Austria's incorporation cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london into Germany. Austrian soldiers also fought in the Wehrmacht. Cities were bombed heavily by the Allies and concentration camps also existed on Austrian soil (such as Mauthausen near Linz ).
It was not until the end of the war that the mood changed and that Austria tried to distance itself cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london from Germany. In 1945, Austria cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london was divided into zones of occupation like Germany. However, unlike Germany, Austria was not subject to any further territorial losses. A treaty signed in 1955 ended the Allied and Soviet occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade future unification with Germany. A constitutional law of that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality", a condition for Soviet military withdrawal, and thus saved Austria from Germany's fate of a divided nation with a divided capital. However, the South Tyrol Question took Austria and Italy to the UN in the post-war era and international cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london brokered mitigation found a suitable solution for both countries by the late 1980's. This official cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london neutrality, cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london once ingrained as part of the Austrian cultural identity, has been called into question since the Soviet Union's collapse of 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995.
Reexamining its Nazi past is something that has become large-scale and accepted as commonplace in the media only relatively recently. Before, Austria had sought to portray itself as "Hitler's cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london first victim". A prosperous country, Austria entered the European Monetary Union in 1999, and the euro currency replaced the schilling in 2002. Austria is also part of "borderless Europe", resulting in many students from all over the European Union studying in Austrian universities and vice verse. Austria is one of the most popular summer and winter holiday destinations in Europe and has the tourist industry to match it.
Austrians aren't easy to categorize. In fact, the main reason Austrians stand out from their European neighbors is that they don't stand out from the rest for anything in particular. Austrians are moderate in their outlook and behavior. Being at Europe's crossroads, their culture is influenced from several sides. The stereotype of the yodeling, thigh slapping, beer-swilling xenophobe may apply to a few individuals but it certainly doesn't apply to the majority of Austrians.
The average Austrian on the street is likely to be friendly yet somewhat reserved and formal, softly spoken and well mannered, law abiding, socially conservative, rooted, family oriented, cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london conformist and somewhat nepotistic, a Catholic at heart, not particularly religious but a follower of tradition, well educated if not as cosmopolitan as his/her European cousins, cynical, and equipped with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor.
Austrians as a large like to define themselves merely by what they are not . Tourists often make the mistake of classifying Austrians as Germans, which despite a common language (well at least on paper), they are not. Arguably, Southern Germany, especially Bavaria, is a close cultural relative of Austria in many ways. Indeed the regions of Austria are all similar cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london to their neighbors, so you will not notice you have crossed a border, whether it be into South Tyrol in Italy, north to Bavaria or east to Hungary.
For most of its history, Austrians have a hard time defining their own nation; they face perhaps currently the most media influence from Germany cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london but have a very different culture, especially from northern Germany. The historic minorities and individual cultures are valued, yet they have to struggle to survive.
Austria has a long history of being multicultural country: a glance cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london at the Vienna phone book is all you need to discover this. Ironically, it is Germany to the north that is paving the way regarding the integration of foreigners into society in Central Europe. Austria remains a largely conservative and rural country with the exception of Vienna. Indeed, the cultural conflicts and national identity are as complicated and hard to understand for many Austrians as they are for visitors! The level of personal awareness and views on this vary greatly from person to person but are generally subject to a particularly Austrian avoidance of the subject, which is to the polls. It is best to try to see the diversity and enjoy the variety than to jump to conclusions.
Hence many Austrians derive their identity from their region or Bundesland (state). For instance, typical inhabitants of Carinthia would say that they are Carinthian first and Austrian second and maybe European third. Asking what state that someone is from is normally the first question Austrians ask when meeting for the first time.
The fact that Austrians dislike demonstrations of national identity can, however, also be explained partly by the historical experiences Austria had during the Third Reich and especially due to the violent cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london use of national symbols cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london in the growing Austrofascist movement as well as by the far-right cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london Freedom Party. It is also due to the fact that the current state of Austria is a relatively young and loose federal republic cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london of just 8 million people.
However, the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center rates Austria as the 5th most patriotic country in the world. So Austrians do very much love their country but are unlikely to be flag-wavers. Perhaps Austria's ascendancy to the EU in 1995 and its more recent adoption of the euro and the border-less cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london Europe have given it a stronger sense of importance and self-worth cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london in the greater context of Europe.
Most Austrians like to enjoy the good life. They spend a lot of time eating, drinking and having a good time with friends in a cozy environment, and are therefore cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london very hospitable. Members of the older generation can be conservative in the sense that they frown upon extremes of any shape and form and, in general, are adverse to change. They enjoy one of the highest living standards in the world and want to keep it that way.
Austria has no well-defined class system. The rural and regional difference tend to be greater than in neighboring countries. Generally, the further to the west and the more rural you go, the more socially conservative cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london people are.
The official head of the state is the federal president ( Bundespräsident ), who is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. His/her function is mainly representative, however, and the federal chancellor ( Bundeskanzler ), appointed by the president, runs most of the day-to-day politics.
The Austrian parliament consists of two chambers, the Nationalrat (National Council) with 183 members as the main chamber and the Bundesrat (Federal Council). Whereas the members of the National Council cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london are elected every four years by popular vote, the 62 members of the Federal Council are elected by each of the legislatures of the states of Austria for 4- to 6-year terms. The composition of the Bundesrat changes after every election to a state's Landtag (State Parliament). The Austrian constitution provides the Bundesrat with the right to veto legislation passed by the National Council; in most cases this is only a suspensive veto, meaning cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london the National Council can override it by passing the law again.
There are five major parties in Austria: The social democrats (SPÖ), the (conservative) Austrian people's party (ÖVP), the (right-wing) freedom party (FPÖ) which recently split into two parties (FPÖ and the alliance for the future of Austria BZÖ) and the (leftist) Green Party. The current government cheaper air tickets winnipeg to london consists of a coalition of SPÖ and ÖVP.
Contrary to popular perceptions, Austria is not all about mountains. While the Alps do cover 3/4 of the country dominating the provinces of Vorarlberg, Tyrol, Salzburg, Styria, Upper Austria and Carinthia, the eastern provinces of Lower Austria, the Burgenland and the federal capital of Vienna are more similar to the geogr