Austria

The musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the very special grape Grüner veltliner, the downhill ski legend Frantz Klammer and the amazing Spanish Riding School all originate from Austria, the inland state with the most neighboring countries of all in Europe – bordering to Germany and The Czech Republic in the north, Slovakia and Hungary in the east, Slovenia and Italy in the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein in the west.

The countries history goes all the way back to the 9^th century, but the Austria we can visit today became an autonomous state in 1955 and a fourth of the entire population, 2,5 millions, live in the capital region Vienna, the by far most populated metropolitan area.

Austria is a popular country to visit all year around, offering everything from fantastic alpine skiing to challenging mountain trekking to relaxing big city breaks – here you find something for everyone.

Interesting to know:

Austria has for a long time played an important role in world culture and Vienna is still one of the large culture cities in Europe. During the 18^th century, many of the classical music masters lived and worked here and the city’s many opera houses, theatres and orchestras are testimonials of this great age.

About two thirds of the country’s area is 500 meters or more above sea level, and therefor Austria is often called the Alps republic (in German: Alpenrepublik).

To preserve and protect the very large number of plant and animal species, six national parks and a number of nature reserves have been founded the past decades. Lake Neusiedl, Salzkammergut and Wachau are areas that have been named both culture and nature heritages by UNESCO.

Nine Austrian neighbourhoods, historical sites and counties are on the World heritage list.

You fly to Vienna International Airport, located in Schwechat, about 20 km south-east of central Vienna.

The currency used in Austria is Euro (€).