Austria, is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,872 square kilometres (32,383 sq mi), and is influenced by a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,600 ft), and its highest point is 3,797 metres (12,460 ft).The majority of the population—about 90%—speaks German,which is also the country's official language.

The origins of Austria date back to the time of the Roman Empire, where the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was conquered by the Romans in approximately 15 BC, and later became a Roman province in the mid 1st century AD—an area which mostly encloses today's Austria. In 788 AD, the Frankish king Charlemagne conquered the area, and introduced Christianity. In more recent times, the Austrian Empire formed a monarchic union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1867—creating Austria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire—which ended in 1918 with the closure of World War I. In 1938, Austria was incorporated into Nazi Germany, creating a unification known as the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Austria was occupied by the Allies. In 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the country would become permanently neutral. The modern name of Austria, Österreich, can be traced back to the name Ostarrîchi, first documented in an official document from 996 AD.

Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy, comprised of nine federal states.It is one of six European countries that have declared permanent neutrality,and one of the few countries that includes the concept of everlasting neutrality in its constitution.The capital—and with a population exceeding 1.6 million, Austria's largest city—is Vienna.Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $50,098. The country has developed a high standard of living, and in 2008 was ranked 14th in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955,joined the European Union in 1995,and is a founder of the OECD.Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995,and adopted the European currency, the euro, in 1999.

Austria not only is the heart of Europe from a geopolitical point of view, it is also a renowned medical competence center within Europe. The so-called “first and second Viennese medical school” have become keywords with an impact reaching far beyond Austria’s borders.

Austrian doctors enjoy an internationally renowned reputation. The level of education and expertise of the doctors and medical staff in Austria is very high and their extra ordinary performance has become a daily routine for them. As a result their expertise and capabilities are frequently sought after on a world-wide scale. A major source of expertise is the Medical University of Vienna - Austria's largest medical training center. With its long history and tradition, which began 640 years ago, it has developed into a highly modern research institution that covers an area of 40,000 m². The Medical University of Vienna relies on the "triple track" strategy. Research, education and patient care represent the three cornerstones of the university's system. This enables medical science to respond flexibly to the continually changing demands of the state and society. In the process, maintenance of health as well as therapy, abatement of symptoms and prevention of diseases stand in the foreground. Each year 95,000 patients are treated as inpatients in 31 university clinics, 45,000 operations are conducted and 500,000 outpatients receive initial treatment in the day-clinics.

The leading edge of the Austrian healthcare system is frequently acknowledged by publications of independent and highly renowned institutes such as the European Health Consumer Index and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, to name a few. Let’s take the European Health Consumer Index as an example. Austria scored first in 2007 and was in the top three 2008. In other words the European Health Consumer Index (EHCI) ranked the Austrian healthcare system as the most consumer friendly healthcare system in Europe. It is worth mentioning that the EHCI also pointed out that Austria is way ahead of countries such as Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg to name a few, where more financial support is allocated into the system. Austria’s healthcare system is not only top, it is also very efficient. To safeguard this high level of quality is one of the key priorities of the Austrian government. Social responsibility and to assure highest level of security are as much priorities as to assure top quality treatments and aftercare. Significant efforts in quality management, accreditations and national and international benchmarking are employed to maintain and even further improve quality of care in Austria.

Culture on the territory of what is today Austria can be traced back to around 1050 B.C. with the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures. However, a culture of Austria as we know it today began to take shape when the Austrian lands were part of the Holy Roman Empire, with the Privilegium Minus of 1156, which elevated Austria to the status of a Duchy, marking an important step in its development. Austrian culture has largely been influenced by its past and present neighbours: Italy, Poland, Germany, Hungary and Bohemia.

Music

Vienna has long been an important center of musical innovation. Composers of the 18th and 19th centuries were drawn to the city by the patronage of the Habsburgs, and made Vienna the European capital of classical music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Johann Strauss, Jr., among others, were associated with the city. During the Baroque period, Slavic and Hungarian folk forms influenced Austrian music. Vienna's status began its rise as a cultural center in the early 1500s, and was focused around instruments including the lute.

Literature

Austrian literature can be divided into two main divisions, namely the period up until the mid 20th century, and the period subsequent, after both the Austro-Hungarian and German empires were gone. Austria went from being a major European power, to being a small country. In addition, there is a body of literature that some would deem Austrian but is not written in German.

Complementing its status as a land of artists, Austria has always been a country of great poets, writers, and novelists. It was the home of novelists Arthur Schnitzler, Stefan Zweig, Thomas Bernhard, and Robert Musil, and of poets Georg Trakl, Franz Werfel, Franz Grillparzer, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Adalbert Stifter. Famous contemporary Austrian playwrights and novelists include Elfriede Jelinek and Peter Handke.

Architecture

Austria is famous for its castles, palaces, and cemeteries, among other architectural works. Some of Austria's most famous castles include Festung Hohensalzburg, Burg Hohenwerfen, Castle Liechtenstein, and the Schloß Artstetten. Many of Austria's castles were created during the Habsburg reign.

The Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1996, stating that "Salzburg has managed to preserve an extraordinarily rich urban fabric, developed over the period from the Middle Ages to the 19th century when it was a city-state ruled by a prince-archbishop."

Three years later, the City of Graz - Historic Centre followed Salzburg, as the "old city is a harmonious blend of the architectural styles and artistic movements that have succeeded each other since the Middle Ages, together with cultural influences from the neighbouring regions."

In 2001, finally the Historic Centre of Vienna was listed as World Heritage Site, with the comment that the "historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, as well as the late-19th-century Ringstrasse lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks."

Food

Austrian cuisine, which is often incorrectly equated with Viennese cuisine, is derived from the cuisine of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In addition to native regional traditions it has been influenced above all by Hungarian, Czech, Jewish and Italian cuisines, from which both dishes and methods of food preparation have often been borrowed. Goulash is one example of this. Austrian cuisine is known primarily in the rest of the world for its pastries and sweets. In recent times a new regional cuisine has also developed which is centred on regional produce and employs modern and easy methods of preparation.

Every state in Austria has some specialities: In Lower Austria they have poppies, in Burgenland polenta, in Styria pumpkin, in Carinthia's many lakes they have fish, in Upper Austria dumpling play a vital role, for Salzburg the Salzburger Nockerln are famous (a Soufflé), Tyrol has their tyrolean bacon, and Vorarlberg is influenced by the close neighbor Switzerland thus cheese plays a role.

Austrian wine

Austria has a long winemaking tradition and produces both white and red varieties. Evidence of grape seeds in urns in the area of Zagersdorf in Burgenland dates viticulture back to 700 B.C.

Austria has over 50,000 hectares of vineyard, almost all of it in the east or southeast of the country. Many of the approximately 20,000 small wine-producing estates base their finances on their direct retail of wine.[7] Due to a decree that goes back to the so called Maria Theresianische Buschenschankverordnung from 1784, a vintner can sell his own wine in his own house without any dedicated license to do so.

The Grüner Veltliner is the dominant grape varietal cultivated in Austria, and the dry white wines produced from this grape have gained international recognition.

Tourism is an important part of Austria's services sector. In 1991 foreign tourists accounted for earnings of S192.4 billion, almost offsetting the negative trade balance and deficits in services or other accounts. Tourism is a principal industry and source of foreign exchange. In fact, Austria's per capita tourist revenue is the highest in the world. Foreign overnight stays in Austria have risen consistently since World War II, from 50 million in 1950, to 59 million in 1970, and to 95 million in 1990. With 20 million visitors in 1990, Austria was fifth in the world in tourist revenues, surpassed only by the United States, France, Italy, and Spain. Most tourists come from European countries. Almost two-thirds come from Germany, followed by the Netherlands (10 percent) and Britain (5 percent).

As a travel destination Austria has timeless charm for tourists from all over the world who flock into this lovely land of picture perfect natural landscape, full of mountains, greenery and lakes, as well as architectural charm and rich heritage.Tourists travel to Austria's capital Vienna, one of Europe's most endearing cities, renowned for its romantic charm, exquisite architecture and historicity.

Austria's largest tourist attraction has long been the Alps-- for skiing in the winter and for hiking and camping in the summer. For this reason, the mountainous provinces of Tirol, Carinthia, and Vorarlberg produce the greatest tourist revenues. Salzburg is an important tourist attraction in the summer. Vienna remains a tourist center all year but does not generate as much tourist revenue as the mountain areas.

A river water cruise down the fascinating Danube is another wonderful travel experience of Austria.Some other fine travel destinations of Austria include Klagenfurt, Eisenstadt, Bregenz and Linz.

Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna

One of Austria's topmost travel attraction has to be Schonbrunn Palace, listed in United Nations' Heritage sites.
This magnificent palace, situated in Vienna is worth a travel for its glorious baroque architecture.
Originally a summer residence for Austria's imperial Hapsburg family, this palace is a museum now and also has a zoo and a huge park. Travel to this grand palace in Austria and take a memorable residential tour.

The historic cathedral of Sulzburg

Travel to Austria's historic town of Salzburg, its old town comprising wonderful baroque buildings. A travel to the old town gives you a chance to visit the historic cathedral of Sulzburg, located at the Cathedral square. This 17th century cathedral, dedicated to Salzburg's Saint Rupert, also baptized Mozart and is an Austrian most popular travel destination.

The Old Town of Graz

Travel to Austria's best preserved “Old Town” of Graz. This wonderful city consists of narrow lanes, ornate courtyards and fascinating architecture worth a travel. Chateau Eggenberg, a brilliant clock tower at Glockenspieplatz, Landhaus are some of Austria's most visited sites.

Austria has 20,000 hotels and pensions, as well as an additional 50,000 private rooms available to house tourists. In addition, there are thousands of simpler accommodations, such as youth hostels, mountain huts, and campsites.