Portal:Austria

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Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine federal states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous city and federal state. Austria is bordered by Germany to the northwest, the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The country occupies an area of 83,879 km2 (32,386 sq mi) and has a population of around 9 million.

Austria, as a unified state, emerged from the remnants of the Eastern and Hungarian March at the end of the first millennium. Originally a margraviate of Bavaria, it developed into a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1156 and was later made an archduchy in 1453. In the 16th century, Vienna began serving as the empire's administrative capital and Austria thus became the heartland of the Habsburg monarchy. Before the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire two years later, in 1804, Austria established its own empire, which became a great power and the dominant member of the German Confederation. The empire's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 led to the end of the Confederation and paved the way for the establishment of Austria-Hungary a year later. Austria was the common name for the non-Hungarian parts of the state, also known as Cisleithania.

After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph declared war on Serbia, which ultimately escalated into World War I. The empire's defeat and subsequent collapse led to the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria in 1918 and the First Austrian Republic in 1919. During the interwar period, anti-parliamentarian sentiments culminated in the formation of an Austrofascist dictatorship under Engelbert Dollfuss in 1934. A year before the outbreak of World War II, Austria was annexed into Nazi Germany by Adolf Hitler, and it became a sub-national division. After its liberation in 1945 and a decade of Allied occupation, the country regained its sovereignty and declared its perpetual neutrality in 1955.

Austria is a semi-presidential representative democracy with a popularly elected president as head of state and a chancellor as head of government and chief executive. Major cities include Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck. Austria has the 13th highest nominal GDP per capita with high standards of living; it was ranked 22th in the world for its Human Development Index in 2022. (Full article...)
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Eggenberg Castle

Eggenberg Castle (German: Schloss Eggenberg) in Graz is the most significant Baroque palace complex in Styria. With its preserved accouterments, the extensive scenic gardens as well as some additional collections from the Universalmuseum Joanneum housed in the palace and park, Eggenberg Castle counts among the most valuable cultural assets of Austria. With its construction and accouterment history, it exhibits the vicissitude and patronage of the one-time mightiest dynasty in Styria, the House of Eggenberg. In 2010, Eggenberg Castle was recognized for its significance to cultural history in an expansion to the listing of the Graz Historic Old Town among UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites.

The palace lies on the western edge of the Styrian capital of Graz in the Eggenberg district. The northern corner of the palace grounds features the Planetary Garden and Lapidarium of Roman stonework as well as the entrance to the new Archeological Museum, which houses the Cult Wagon of Strettweg. The numismatic collection, located in the former rooms of Balthasar Eggenberger, owner of the imperial minting license and operations in the Late Middle Ages, and the show collection of the Alte Galerie, a collection of medieval through early modern period artworks spanning five centuries of European art history are also housed in the palace itself.

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Statue of Athena outside the Austrian Parliament
Statue of Athena outside the Austrian Parliament

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Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1873)

Baroness Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (September 13, 1830 - March 12, 1916) was a writer. Noted for her excellent psychological novels, she is regarded—together with Ferdinand von Saar—as one of the most important German-language writers of the latter portion of the 19th century.

After 1880 she had her story Lotti die Uhrmacherin (Lotte the Watchmaker) published. In 1887 her novel Das Gemeindekind, became one of great importance in literature.

All her life she fought against the "normal" thoughts of their time. She did not write to make a living, but out of conviction and inspiration. Her intention was to convey moral behaviour and humanism.

Starting in 1890 did she find her own dramatic style of writing. Her 1888 work Ohne Liebe (Without Love) and 1895 Am Ende (In the end) achieved great success. In 1898 she was awarded the highest Austrian civilian medal, the Honorary Cross for Art and Literature. In 1900 she became the first female honorary doctor of the University of Vienna.

After 1899 she made several trips to Italy and in 1906 published her memoir. She is credited with the famous aphorism "even a stopped clock is right twice a day."

Did you know (auto-generated)

  • ... that Austrian mountaineer Franz Oppurg was the first person to achieve a solo ascent of Mount Everest, climbing alone from the South Col to the summit on 14 May 1978?
  • ... that Charlize Mörz became the first Austrian female gymnast to win a gold medal in the FIG World Cup series in 2024?
  • ... that although Austrian model Greta Hofer was only discovered in 2020, she was chosen to work exclusively for Prada that year?
  • ... that Austrian master metalsmith Cyril Colnik chose to close his shop rather than make armaments for World War I?
  • ... that in the 1930s Alfred Verdross, an Austrian international lawyer and future judge of the European Court of Human Rights, sympathised with National Socialism?
  • ... that the novel Mama Dear by Christine Haidegger details her childhood in post–World War II Austria?

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