Quick Facts About Austria
- Official name: Republic of Austria
- Independence date: May 15, 1955 (date occupation post-WWII was formally ended; Austrians celebrate October 26, 1955 as their Independence Day when they declared permanent neutrality)
- Member of the EU?: Yes
- Capital: Vienna
- Currency: The Euro
- Power Adapter: Type C or Type F
- Population: 9,000,000 (2024 est.)
- Yearly tourist visits: 40 million (2023 est.)
- Best known for: Castles, Palaces, Architecture, and postcard-worthy cities
A very short history of Austria:
Austria has a very long and storied history, marked by imperial highs and some devastating lows. People had settled in this region thousands of years ago and a Celtic state evolved in the area around 400BC. By 200BC, the Romans began subjugating the area and fully established control by 15BC. The Romans would remain in control until the mid-6th Century, when decades of repeated incursions by various tribes and the decay of the Roman Empire left the area to the Bavarians. In 800, Charlemagne (who would become the Holy Roman Emperor) established a settlement in the Danube Valley, and subsequently the region became home to several Imperial powers until the 13th Century when the Habsburgs took power and established Vienna as the center of their realm.
After several Ottoman sieges of Vienna, Austria joined with Venice, Poland, and Russia to repel the Turks and in the process gained control over most of what is today Hungary by 1699, fully establishing the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The 18th Century was a golden age of arts and culture in Vienna, and the remnants of this period are easily visible today. By the 20th Century, ethnic tensions throughout Austro-Hungary were a powder keg ready to ignite, and the spark that set it off was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Serbia in 1914. A series of convoluted alliances turned this conflict into World War I (that’s extremely oversimplified, maybe Matt will add a quick history of World War I one day) in which the Austro-Hungarians were defeated and the Habsburg Monarchy came to an abrupt end after 640 years.
In 1938, German troops marched into Austria and officially annexed the Republic of Austria into the German Third Reich, where it would remain until the victory of the Allies in 1945. From 1945-1955, Austria was occupied by Allied troops and would eventually declare permanent neutrality in May of 1955. Austria would remain neutral throughout the Cold War, though would increasingly grant asylum to refugees fleeing the Iron Curtain after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Prague Spring of 1968. In 1995, Austria officially became part of the European Union and has gained renowned as a tourist destination thanks to its beautiful castles, landscapes, and post-card worthy cities.
Check out our 10 day trip to Prague, Salzburg, and Vienna, or our guide to skiing in Innsbruck to help you plan your next trip!
