Austria: an alpine state in the center of Europe

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A small European state, located north of the Alps, Austria (83,855 km²), is a truly enviable mix of culture and nature. In a small territory, Austria presents interesting differences: from the Danube plain, passing through the capital Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz, up to the majestic peaks of the Alps.

The core of an ancient and enormous empire that for centuries had dominated much of Europe, and which stretched from the Balkans to Ukraine and Poland, Austria was brought to its present borders after the devastating defeat suffered during the First World War .

Today’s Austria, which extends over an area of just over eighty thousand km², and has just over 8 million inhabitants, borders to the south-west with Italy, to the south-east with Slovenia, to the east with the Hungary and Slovakia. While in the north it shares borders with the Czech Republic, in the north-west with Germany and in the west with Switzerland. The country has no access to the sea. The official language is German, but Slovenian, Croatian and Hungarian are recognized as regional languages.

A MOUNTAIN TERRITORY

Characterized by the presence of the mountains of the Alpine chain, Austria is largely formed by reliefs. But in its north-eastern section there is a large flat area, crossed by the Danube, it is in this area that the capital Vienna and other important cities such as Linz are located.

The rest of the Austrian territory, which comprises over 60% of the country’s surface, is formed by the mountains of the Austrian Alps. In the Austrian Alpine chain, many peaks exceed three thousand meters in height. The highest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner (3,798 meters), is located between Carinthia and Tyrol. The climate.

Area: 83,855 km²
Population: 8,414,638 (2011)
Capital: Vienna
Official language: German.
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Time Zone: UTC +1 (Summer: UTC + 2)