"Austria." But that is not to say that you shouldn’t put in a little effort to learn some basic words in German, such as Thank You (Danke), Please (Bitte) or Hello (Hallo!

After the Grand Coalition broke in Spring 2017 a snap election was proclaimed for October 2017. Children are given homework daily from the first year. Of the remaining number of Austria's people that are of non-Austrian descent, many come from surrounding countries, especially from the former East Bloc nations.

[80], On 15 May 1955, after talks which lasted for years and were influenced by the Cold War, Austria regained full independence by concluding the Austrian State Treaty with the Four Occupying Powers. Turks form one of the largest ethnic groups in Austria, numbering around 350,000. At the end of April, most of western and southern Austria were still under Nazi rule. Besides football, Austria also has professional national leagues for most major team sports, including the Austrian Hockey League for ice hockey, and the Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga for basketball. [50] The Treaty of Saint Germain and the Treaty of Versailles explicitly forbid union between Austria and Germany. Austria’s water is rated among the top 5 best drinking water in the world. He won the 1995 French Open and in 1996 he was ranked number 1 in the ATP Ranking.

On 26 October 1955, after all occupation troops had left, Austria declared its "permanent neutrality" by an act of parliament. Two new parties, Stronach and the NEOS, received less than 10% of the vote, and 11 and nine seats respectively.

The subarctic and tundra climates seen around the Alps are much warmer in winter than what is normal elsewhere due in part to the Oceanic influence on this part of Europe.[102][103][104]. Unfortunately, many Austrians like to smoke and though restaurants and bars have designated smoking areas called “Raucherbereiche” it’s impossible to really be in a smoke free zone. The Sound of Music is just a Hollywood movie that distorted the story of the Von Trapp Family.

As home to majestic mountains, opulent palaces, and high culture, Austria's attractions are classically sumptuous and enduring. I can unsubscribe any time using the unsubscribe link at the end of all emails. The Nazis renamed Austria in 1938 as "Ostmark"[66] until 1942, when it was again renamed and called "Alpine and Danubian Gaue" (Alpen-und Donau-Reichsgaue).[72][73]. Alpbach.

The right for bilingual topographic signs for the regions where Slovene and Croat Austrians live alongside the German-speaking population (as required by the 1955 State Treaty) is still to be fully implemented in the view of some, while others believe that the treaty-derived obligations have been met (see below).

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get to our list!

As an OSCE-participating State, Austria's international commitments are subject to monitoring under the mandate of the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) with its new young leader Sebastian Kurz emerged as the largest party in the National Council, winning 31.5% of votes and 62 of the 183 seats. The status of German Bohemia (Sudetenland) later played a role in sparking the Second World War.

[82], The political system of the Second Republic is based on the constitution of 1920 and 1929, which was reintroduced in 1945.

The support of ultramontane Catholic politicians and clergy for this reform triggered the launch of the "Away from Rome" (German: Los-von-Rom) movement, which was initiated by supporters of Schönerer and called on "German" Christians to leave the Roman Catholic Church.

Standard attendance times are 8 am to 12 pm or 1 pm, with hourly five- or ten-minute breaks. Vienna is by far the country's largest city. Austria is a federal parliamentary republic with a head of government - the chancellor - and a head of state - the president. Austrian cuisine is mainly the tradition of Royal-Cuisine ("Hofküche") delivered over centuries. The Austrian federal states of Carinthia and Styria are home to a significant indigenous Slovene-speaking minority while in the easternmost state, Burgenland (formerly part of the Hungarian portion of Austria–Hungary), there are significant Hungarian- and Croatian-speaking minorities.

A 2006 bill allowed the introduction of entrance exams for studies such as Medicine. Austria began to reassess its definition of neutrality following the fall of the Soviet Union, granting overflight rights for the UN-sanctioned action against Iraq in 1991, and since 1995, it has developed participation in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.

[23] As part of Eastern Francia, the core areas that now encompass Austria were bequeathed to the house of Babenberg. Austria is consistently ranked in the top 20 richest countries in the world by GDP per capita terms. International pop super star Johann Hölzel, also known by his stage name Falco was born in Vienna, Austria 19 February 1957.

Willi Forst, Ernst Marischka, and Franz Antel enriched the popular cinema in German-speaking countries.

Since 2008, for all EU students the studies have been free of charge, as long as a certain time-limit is not exceeded (the expected duration of the study plus usually two terms tolerance). Satisfactory marks in the end-of-the-year report ("Zeugnis") are a prerequisite for moving up ("aufsteigen") to the next class. I was in Austria in February this year. There is also the "Mehlspeisen" Bakery, which created particular delicacies such as Sachertorte, "Krapfen" which are doughnuts usually filled with apricot jam or custard, and "Strudel" such as "Apfelstrudel" filled with apple, "Topfenstrudel" filled with a type of cheese curd called "topfen", and "Millirahmstrudel" (milk-cream strudel). Austrians really take their day of rest seriously and the majority of businesses are closed on Sundays.

Some further exceptions to the fee apply, e.g. Austria is a land of lakes, many of them a legacy of the Pleistocene Epoch (i.e., about 2,600,000 to about 11,700 years ago), during which glacial erosion scooped out mountain lakes in the central Alpine district, notably around the Salzkammergut. Two years earlier,[33] the Empire of Austria was founded. Elections in September 2008 further weakened both major parties (SPÖ and ÖVP) but together they still held 70% of the votes, with the Social Democrats holding slightly more than the other party. [67] Turnout in the election was officially 99.5%, with 98.9% voting "yes". Most Austrians have never seen the Sound of Music nor do they give a rat’s ass about it. [129] Austria subsequently has the 12th oldest population in the world, with the average age of 44.2 years. The numbers for other languages fall off sharply below 3,000. [citation needed] All males who have reached the age of eighteen and are found fit have to serve a six months compulsory military service, followed by an eight-year reserve obligation. The Austrian foothills at the base of the Alps and the Carpathians account for around 12% and the foothills in the east and areas surrounding the periphery of the Pannoni low country amount to about 12% of the total landmass.