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Austria
Things to Know
Republic of Austria
Federal Republic
Capital: Vienna
Vienna is situated in the East of Austria away from the Alps.
Map
of Austria
Austria is a pipe-shaped, landlocked country in Europe.
Official Language: German
Visit Living
Languge to learn some German words.
Currency: Euro
The Hapsburg dynasty dominated
central Europe for close to 700 years from the 13th to the 20th century.
Animals
Lippizaner (Lipizzaner)
Pure white horse, named after its place of origin in Lippiza,
Slovenia. They are trained at the Spanish Riding School of Vienna.
Ibex (a mountain goat with huge curved horns), chamois (horned goat antelope related to goats but having antelope-like
features) and marmots (cute little furry creatures).
Marmots tend to be quite vocal and emit loud alarm whistles or chirps
at the slightest provocation. Compare different marmot's alarm calls.
Explorers
Mary
Kingsley (1862-1900) The greatest of all women explorers.
Sir
Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890)
Dr.
David Livingstone
(1813-1873) Explored the interior
of Africa.
John
Speke (1827 - 1864)
Discovered Lake Victoria the
largest source of the Nile River.
Isabelle
Eberhardt
(1877-1904) was an explorer who
lived and traveled extensively in North Africa.
Climate
Cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in the
mountains; cool summers with occasional showers.
Land
The two best known features of the Austrian landscape are the Alps
and the Danube River. In the west and south is mostly mountains
(Alps); along the eastern and northern margins is mostly flat or
gently sloping land. The Alps cover 62 percent of Austria's total area.
The Danube River is the second longest river in Europe. The Danube
River has its source in southwestern Germany and flows through
Austria before emptying into the Black Sea. It is the only major
European river that flows from west to east. The Danube River's
importance as an inland waterway was enhanced by the completion in
1992 of the Rhine-Main-Danube
Canal in Bavaria, which connects the Rhine and Main rivers with
the Danube and makes possible barge traffic from the North Sea to the
Black Sea.
Plants
Nearly half of Austria is forested, mainly with oak and beech at low
altitudes; at higher elevations conifers predominate. Trees yield to
Alpine meadows at just over 2000m and orchids, edelweiss and poppies
become quite common.
Edelweiss picture
What is edelweiss?
Music
Austria has sometimes been called "the land of music."
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91), a native of Salzburg, is
considered one of the world's greatest composers.
A well-orchestrated tour of Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart's amazing life.
Learn about Mozart's famous theme and variations on Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star. The words to the song "Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star."
Strings
in the Mountains: Moguls to Mozart
An online presentation on the life and work of Mozart. Includes
pictures and sound clips.
Sängerknaben--World
fame as the Vienna Boys' Choir.
Composer Franz
Joseph Haydn --Regarded as the father of the symphony.
Johann
Strauss the Younger is known as the Waltz King because of the
many waltzes he wrote. Visit the Waltz
History page to hear the famous Strauss waltz, "The Blue
Danube," and other Strauss music.
Yodel
Yodel ('til you get polyps)
The "world's first animated, interactive singing page"
includes aYodel Jukebox with 12 selections.
The Internet Yodel Course
Learn the noble art of yodeling in 10 free lessons.
Yodeling: An Art Form of the Alps.
Read
The
Jackdaw and the Pigeons (Aesop).
Baroness
Bertha von Suttner
Nobel Peace Prize winner.
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