Location
landlocked country in central Europe (none of its borders are next to water)
borders Hungary and Slovakia (east), Liechtenstein and Switzerland (west),
borders Czech Republic and Germany (north), Slovenia and Italy (south)
Geography
very mountainous country
located in the Alps
Area
total: 83,858 sq km
water: 1,120 sq km
land: 82,738 sq km
(slightly smaller than Maine)
Capital
Vienna
Population
8,169,929 (July 2002 est.)
Government
federal republic
Money
euro (EUR); Austrian schilling (ATS)
Climate
temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands
snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers
Languages
German
History
after World War I, Austria was a country nobody wanted
Austria had no industry or agriculture
World War II left 300,000 Austrians dead
many Austrian Jews, gypsies, political and religious leaders, and disabled were exterminated
one of hardest concentration camps was Mauthausen in Upper Austria
many Nazi-crimes were committed by Austrians
Hitler himself was from Braunau in Upper Austria
large-scale bombardments of Austrian cities caused many deaths among civilian population
a lot of Austria’s infrastructure was destroyed
in 1955, Austria declared its neutrality similar to Switzerland
Austria joined the United Nations in 1955
Economy
very rich country (one of top ten)
people experience a very high standard of living
Industry
construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism
known for breeding horses, especially Lipizzan (high-stepping, white breed owned by nobility)
Agriculture
grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit, lumber
Natural Resources
oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower
Livestock
dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry
Plant Life
almost half of Austria is forested
at low altitudes many forests, mainly oak and beech
conifers at higher elevations
orchids, edelweiss and poppies are found in meadows
Animals
ibex (a mountain goat with huge curved horns),
chamois (horned goat antelope) and
marmots (furry rodent)
Sports
winter sports such (Alpine skiing, snowboarding and ski-jumping)
most popular team sport in Austria is football (known as soccer in the United States)
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