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officially Republic of Austria
Country, south-central Europe.
Area: 32,378 sq mi (83,859 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 8,077,000. Capital: Vienna . Language: German (official). Religion: Roman Catholicism (three-fourths). Currency: euro. Austria can be divided into three regions. The Alpine region in the west covers about two-thirds of the country and includes its highest point, the Grossglockner . The Bohemian Forest is a highland region that extends north into the Czech Republic. The lowland region, including the Vienna Basin, lies in the east; it supports mainly agricultural activities. The Danube River and its tributaries drain nearly the entire country. Austria has a developed mixed free-market and government-operated economy based on manufacture and commerce; tourism is also important. It is a republic with two legislative houses. Austria's chief of state is the president and its head of government is the chancellor. Its greatest cultural contribution has been in music (see Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ; Franz Schubert ; Alban Berg ; Anton Webern ). Major cultural figures in other fields include Oskar Kokoschka in art, Sigmund Freud in psychoanalysis, and Ludwig Wittgenstein in philosophy. Settlement in Austria goes back some 3,000 years, when Illyrians were probably the main inhabitants. The Celts invaded с 400 BC and established the kingdom of Noricum . The Romans arrived after 200 BC and established the provinces of Raetia , Noricum, and Pannonia ; prosperity followed and the population became Romanized. With the fall of Rome in the 5th century AD, many tribes invaded, including the Slavs ; they were eventually subdued by Charlemagne , and the area became ethnically Germanic. The distinct political entity that would become Austria emerged in 976 with Leopold I of Babenberg as margrave. In 1278 Rudolf IV of Habsburg (later Rudolf I of the Holy Roman Empire) conquered the area; Habsburg rule lasted until 1918. While in power, the Habsburgs created a kingdom centred on Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. The Napoleonic Wars brought about the end of the Holy Roman Empire (1806) and the creation of the Austrian Empire. Count von Metternich tried to assure Austrian supremacy among Germanic states, but war with Prussia led Austria to divide the empire into the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary . Nationalist sentiment plagued the kingdom, and the assassination of Francis Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist in 1914 triggered World War I , which destroyed the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the postwar carving up of Austria-Hungary, Austria became an independent republic. It was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938 (see Anschluss ) and joined the Axis powers in World War II. The republic was restored in 1955 after 10 years of Allied occupation. Austria became a full member of the European Union (EU) in 1995. After a half-century of military neutrality, Austria was one of the few members of the EU that was not a member of NATO at the outset of the 21st century.
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[c mediumvioletred] (as used in expressions)
Republic of Austria
Anne of Austria
Austria Hungary
{{link=Juan de Austria">Juan de Austria
Juan José de Austria
Margaret of Austria