Introduction
Austria (German Österreich), republic in central Europe, bounded on the
north by the Czech Republic; on the northeast by Slovakia; on the east by
Hungary; on the south by Slovenia, Italy, and Switzerland; and on the west
by Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Germany. Austria is about 580 km (about
360 mi) long and has an area of 83,858 sq km (32,378 sq mi). Vienna (Wien)
is the country’s capital and largest city.
Climate
The Austrian climate varies with elevation; with location in relation to
Atlantic, continental, and MMediterranean influences; and with certain local
wind characteristics. Mountainous regions are partially subject to moderate
Atlantic conditions and experience more precipitation than the eastern
lowlands, which are under continental influences. Spring and fall are
usually mild throughout the country. Summers are short, with moderate
temperatures. Cold and often severe winters last about three months in the
valleys, where they are usually ended by the foehn, a warm, dry wind from
the south that is often accompanied by damp fog and sudden thaws that
precipitate avalanches. The foehn is iimportant to Austria’s agricultural
production, allowing for early cultivation of the southern valleys. Average
annual temperatures range between about 7° and 9°C (about 44° and 48°F)
throughout the country. Average annual rainfall is 610 mm (24 in) in Vienna
and 870 mm (about 34 iin) in Innsbruck. In some interior valleys, the
average annual rainfall is between about 1,520 and 2,030 mm (about 60 and
80 in).
Population
The Austrian people are German-speaking, but the country has a varied
ethnic mixture—a legacy from the time of the multinational Habsburg
Austria. About 99 percent of the population is ethnic Austrian. Minority
groups include Croats and Hungarians (in Burgenland), Slovenes (in Kärnten
Serbs, and Romanians. An influx of refugees in the years following World
War II (1939-1945) increased their numbers, and new groups, such as the
Turks, were added
Population Characteristics
According to the 1991 census, Austria had a population of 7,795,786. The
2004 estimated population was 8,174,762, giving the country an overall
population density of 99 ppersons per sq km (256 per sq mi). Some 68 percent
of the population is urban, with more than one-quarter of the people living
in the five largest cities: Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck
Religion
Roman Catholicism is the religion of 76 percent of the population of
Austria. Various Protestant denominations account for 5 percent of the
population, and 2 percent of Austrians are Muslim. Those without a religion
or whose faith is unknown constitute 17 percent of the population.
Language
German is the official language of Austria. About 2 percent of the
population speaks languages other than German, chiefly Bosnian, Croatian,
Serbian, Slovenian, and Turkish
Universities and Colleges
The largest of Austria’s 18 university-level institutions is Vienna
University (1365). Other major universities are Graz University (1586),
Innsbruck University (1669), and Salzburg University (1622). Austria also
has two technical universities; colleges of mining, agriculture, veterinary
medicine, and commerce; and five academies of fine arts and music, which
also offer summer programs that attract foreign students. University
enrollment in 2000–2001 was 264,700.
Culture
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Vienna was a world center of
culture, particularly in music and literature. Austrian fine art usually is
considered with the art of southern Germany. A distinctive Austrian style,
however, is manifested in the refined baroque architecture and sculpture of
the 17th and 18th centuries, notably in Vienna, Salzburg, and Melk.
Libraries and Museums
The largest of the 2,400 libraries in Austria is the National Library,
founded in 1526. Important research collections are housed in the various
universities, in several old monasteries, and in a number of scientific
libraries. The collection of the former royal house contains state papers
dating from 816, collections of tthe Holy Roman Empire dating from 1555, and
documents concerning the history of the Austrian Empire, the Austro-
Hungarian monarchy, and the period since 1918.
The art and natural science museums of Vienna are internationally known, as
are many individual collections. The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of
Art History) is famous for its paintings by members of the Brueghel family
and for the works of Dutch, Italian, and German painters. The Albertina
collection of prints and drawings, the collections of jewelry and relics of
the Holy Roman Empire, the Austrian Gallery, the technical museum, and the
museum for folklore and ethnography are all well known. Salzburg,
birthplace of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, has several museums housing
collections of his manuscripts and memorabilia, including one in the house
where he was born.
Literature
Austrian Literature, literature written in German from the 16th century to
the present by authors of Austrian nationality and of distinguishable
Austrian national consciousness. Although the unknown author of the
medieval Nibelungenlied and the greatest German minnesinger, Walther von
der Vogelweide, were both Austrian, an Austrian culture distinct from that
of Germany developed only after the Counter Reformation, when in the 16th
century Roman Catholic Austria and Protestant Germany wwere separated. As
Spain and Italy were at times part of the Habsburg empire, Austrian
literature was influenced by both Spanish drama and Italian opera.
Music
The Land of Music is a name often given to Austria. Composers Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart, Anton Bruckner, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Johann
Strauss the Elder and Younger, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz von Suppé,
Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Franz Lehár, and
Arnold Schoenberg, as well as conductors Felix Weingartner, Clemens Krauss,
and Herbert von Karajan, are just a few who have enriched Austrian cultural
life. The Vienna Boys’ Choir and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra are
celebrated organizations. Vienna has two famous opera houses, the Volksoper
(People’s Opera), opened in 1904, and the Vienna State Opera, completed in
1869 and known for its beautiful architecture and fine performances. In
addition, every provincial capital has its own theater, and the summer
festivals in Vienna, Salzburg, and Bregenz are
Economy
The Austrian economy is based on a balance of private and public
enterprise. All the basic industries were nationalized in 1946; these
included all oil production and refining; the largest commercial banks; and
the principal companies in river and air transportation, railroad
equipment, electric
machinery and appliances, mining, iron, steel, and
chemical manufacturing, and natural-gas and electric power production.
However, government control was reduced through privatization efforts in
the late 1980s and early 1990s, allowing for the sale of shares in many
nationalized companies to private investors. Over the years, Austria
maintained close ties with the countries of Eastern Europe. Since the
collapse of Communism in those countries in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
more than 1,000 Western companies have chosen Austria as ttheir base for new
Eastern European operations.
In 1999 the estimated annual national budget included revenues of $78.2
billion and expenditures of $84.5 billion. Gross domestic product (GDP) was
$204.1 billion in 2002.
Manufacturing
The Austrian manufacturing industry consists of a few large organizations,
many of which operate under government auspices, and a great number of
small and medium-sized production units. Many of the smaller enterprises
make traditional Austrian wood, glass, textile, and ceramic handicrafts.
About 26 percent of the llabor force is employed in the manufacturing
sector. The principal manufactured products in the early 1990s were
machinery, metals and metal products, chemical products, food products, and
wood and paper products.
Tourism
With the famous Alps and a wealth of ccultural and recreational facilities,
Austria is one of the world’s top tourist destinations. A premier winter
sports area, the country also has summer music festivals (including the
famous Salzburg Festival), lake resorts (especially in Kärnten), medicinal
spas, and many museums and other attractions. In 2002 some 19 million
people from other countries visited Austria. More than half of these
tourists were from Germany, with the rest coming primarily from The
Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and the United
States. An important part of the Austrian national economy, tourists spent
$11.2 billion in the country in 2002.
Currency and Banking
The monetary unit of Austria is the single currency of the European Union
(EU), the euro (1.07 euros equal UU.S. $1; 1999 average). Austria is among
12 EU member states to adopt the euro. The euro was introduced on January
1, 1999, for electronic transfers and accounting purposes only, and
Austria’s national currency, the schilling, was used for other purposes. On
January 1, 2002, euro-denominated coins and bills went into circulation,
and the schilling ceased to be legal tender.
As a participant in the single currency, Austria must follow economic
policies established by the European Central Bank (ECB). The EECB is located
in Frankfurt, Germany, and is responsible for all EU monetary policies,
which include setting interest rates and regulating the money supply. On
January 1, 1999, control over Austrian monetary policy was transferred from
the central bank of Austria, the Austrian National Bank, to the ECB. After
the transfer, the Austrian National Bank joined the national banks of the
other EU countries that adopted the euro as part of the European System of
Central Banks (ESCB). Austria has more than 1,100 commercial, savings,
cooperative, and mortgage banks.
Commerce and Trade
The value of imports in 2002 was $68.2 billion. Industrial and general
machinery, transportation equipment, clothing and accessories, metals, food
products, metal manufactures, textiles, office machines, and petroleum and
petroleum products were among the chief import commodities. Austrian
exports totaled $67.4 billion in the same period. The principal products
exported included specialized and general industrial machinery, metal
manufactures, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, paper and
paper manufactures, iron and steel, textiles, engines, and
telecommunications and sound equipment. Germany is the largest market for
and supplier to Austrian industry. Other leading markets for exports
include Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Hungary, and the United
Kingdom. Leading sources for imports (in addition tto Germany) are Italy,
the United States, France, and Switzerland. Austria became a member of the
European Union in 1995
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Labor
In 2002 the Austrian labor force totaled 3.8 million. About 60 percent
belonged to the 15 unions that make up the Austrian Trade Union Federation.
Membership in unions is voluntary, but all wage earners are required by law
to join their respective chambers of labor. Chambers are organized on a
provincial basis and represent workers on legislative matters. Women make
up 40 percent of the total labor force.
Goverment
Austria is a democratic, federal republic governed according to the
constitution of 1920, as amended in 1929 and subsequently modified. Like
the constitutions of many other Western democracies, the constitution of
Austria provides for a distinct division of power among the executive, the
legislative, and the judicial branches of government. Laws having their
origin in 1862 and 1867 guarantee basic human rights and liberties; the
rights of minorities are also guaranteed by the constitution. Thomas
Klestil became president of Austria in 1992.
Political Parties
Austrian politics in the second half of the 20th century were dominated by
two main parties, the Social Democratic Party (called the Socialist Party
until 11991) and the Austrian People’s Party. Beginning in the late 1980s,
however, the right-wing Freedom Party gradually gained strength. Other
national parties included a coalition of Green parties, which are
affiliated with the international Greens environmental movement, and the
Liberal Forum.
Judiciary
The legal system is based on the division between legislative,
administrative, and judicial power. There are three supreme courts: the
Supreme Constitutional Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, and the
Supreme Judicial Court. The judicial courts include 4 higher provincial
courts, 17 provincial and district courts, and about 200 local courts. The
constitutional court deals with matters affecting the country’s
constitution, and examines the legality of administration and legislation.
The administrative court deals with matters affecting the legality of
administration.
Marriage and Family
Couples often decide to live together before or instead of marriage. Many
people marry in church, but a
civil ceremony must also be performed for a marriage to be legal.
In urban areas, families tend to be small, but rural families are often a
bit larger. Both parents generally work outside the home, so couples tend
to share duties related to the household and children. The government gives
families financial allowances for each child. Children who
are not in
school and whose parents both work are cared for privately or in day-care
centers. Most urban Austrians live in apartments, whereas in rural areas
people more often live in single-family houses. About one-fifth of all
housing is publicly owned.
Holidays and Celebrations
New Year’s Eve in Austria is also referred to as Sylvester’s Eve. By
tradition, Austrians melt a small piece of lead over a lit candle or other
flame and quickly pour it into cold water. TThe lead figure that is produced
is seen as a symbol of the coming year. People also exchange lucky charms,
such as marzipan pigs, horseshoes, and chocolate coins
The Epiphany (6 January) shares the same date as a special day called the
Perchtenlauf. Fasching is the Austrian equivalent to Mardi Gras, Carnival,
or Fastnacht. Fasching, which immediately precedes Lent, offers opportunity
for an indulgent celebration before the fasting and solemnity associated
with Lent.
Austrians celebrate Easter Sunday and Monday, and usher in springtime with
Walpurgisnacht on 30 AApril, lighting bonfires and enjoying other festive
activities, at one time meant to scare off evil spirits and the darkness of
the passing winter.
Austrians observe Labor Day on 1 May. Ascension Day commemorates the day
Jesus Christ is said to have ascended into HHeaven. Whitmonday is observed
the day after Whitsunday (the Pentecost, 50 days after Easter). Corpus
Christi, the Thursday after Trinity Sunday (in May or June), honors the
Eucharist. Assumption Day (15 August) marks the day Mary’s body is said to
have been “assumed” into Heaven.
Austrians celebrate their National Holiday or Flag Day on 26 October, All
Saints’ Day on 1 November, and the Immaculate Conception on 8 December.
Immaculate Conception Day celebrates the Roman Catholic belief that Mary’s
soul was free from original sin.
On Christmas Eve (24 December), called Heiliger Abend (“Holy Evening”), a
festive meal is eaten and celebrants open gifts from the Christkindl
(“Christ child”). Christmas carols are also sung. Christmas Day (25
December) is reserved for family visits.
Most families vacation in July or August, while children are oon school
vacation.
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Literatūra:
1.www.google.lt
2.Encarta Reference Library Premium2003