60 Fun Facts About Austria

Austria is a federation of how many states?

Vienna is unique in being both a city and a state.

Austria's native name Österreich derives from Ostarrîchi, first recorded in 996, meaning what?

At the time the area was the easternmost part of Bavaria.

Austria shares borders with how many countries?

Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The Grossglockner, Austria's highest mountain, rises to what height?

The Pasterze, Austria's longest glacier, lies on its eastern slope.

The Eastern Alps make up roughly what share of Austria's territory?

Foothills and the Pannonian lowlands account for most of the rest.

Which Celtic-era culture, named after an Austrian salt-mining village, left Europe's oldest Celtic evidence?

The village's salt mine is described as the world's oldest still working.

Which Roman province, conquered in 16 BC, covered most of modern Austria?

Carnuntum in the east was home to 50,000 people for nearly 400 years.

Rudolph I's 1278 victory at Dürnkrut over Ottokar II of Bohemia began which dynasty's rule in Austria?

From then until 1918 Austria's history was largely that of the family.

The dynasty gained Spain and its empire through the 1496 marriage of Philip the Fair to whom?

Maximilian's earlier marriage to Maria of Burgundy had brought most of the Netherlands.

Which Polish king commanded the army that relieved the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683?

Suleiman the Magnificent's first siege in 1529 had ended with early snowfalls.

In what year did Maria Theresa's 40-year reign over the Habsburg monarchy begin?

Frederick the Great promptly seized Silesia in the War of the Austrian Succession.

The Empire of Austria was founded in which year, two years before the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved?

It was a response to Napoleon proclaiming the French Empire.

Defeat by Prussia at which 1866 battle forced Austria out of the German Confederation?

The Compromise with Hungary followed in 1867.

The Ausgleich of 1867 created dual sovereignty between Austria and which kingdom under Franz Joseph I?

The empire's laws were published in eight languages.

Empress Elisabeth, 'Sisi', was fatally stabbed in 1898 in which city?

The Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni attacked her; her 44 years as empress remain the longest.

Whose assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 led the emperor to declare war on Serbia?

Over a million Austro-Hungarian soldiers died in the war that followed.

The 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain and Versailles explicitly forbade what for the new Austrian republic?

The rump state had proclaimed itself part of the German republic in November 1918.

Which Austrian chancellor built an Austrofascist dictatorship and was killed in a 1934 Nazi coup attempt?

A brief civil war in February 1934 had crushed the Social Democrats.

The Anschluss, Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany, took place in March of which year?

Hitler announced the 'reunification' from Vienna's Heldenplatz two days later.

Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 in which Austrian town near the German border?

He moved to Germany in 1913.

In which year did Austria regain full sovereignty and declare perpetual neutrality?

It joined the United Nations the same year.

Which former UN Secretary-General became Austrian president in 1986 amid a Wehrmacht controversy?

He had led the UN from 1972 to 1981.

Austria joined the European Union on 1 January of which year, after a referendum with two-thirds support?

It signed Schengen the same year and adopted the euro in 1999.

Sebastian Kurz's first coalition collapsed in 2019 over a corruption scandal named after which island?

Kurz returned as chancellor with the Greens in 2020 but resigned in October 2021.

Vienna is home to the headquarters of which oil producers' cartel?

Austria is also a founding member of the OECD and Interpol.

The capital's population exceeds 2 million, roughly what fraction of Austria's total?

Graz is second with about 305,000, then Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt.

What did the Romans call the castrum they founded on the site of Vienna in the 1st century?

It gained Roman city rights in 212.

Austria's red-white-red flag was first recorded in which year?

It comes from the arms of the Babenberg dynasty.

The Austrian schilling, introduced in 1925 to replace the Krone, earned what nickname for its stability?

It replaced the Krone at 10,000 to one.

Besides German, which languages are official in parts of Carinthia and Burgenland?

Some 88.6% of the population speak German languages or dialects natively.

Which composer, born in Salzburg in 1756, completed more than 800 works before dying at 35?

Salzburg was then an independent church principality; much of his career was spent in Vienna.

Austria's post-war anthem replaced the traditional one by which composer, whose tune Germany still uses?

The current anthem is attributed to Mozart.

Which Austrian conductor led the Berlin Philharmonic for 35 years?

Vienna's own orchestra plays the New Year's Concert at the Musikverein.

Which piece traditionally closes the Vienna New Year's Concert, with the audience clapping along?

The Blue Danube comes just before it, interrupted by applause and a New Year greeting.

Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, was born in 1856 in Freiberg, a town now in which country?

The Moravian town is now Příbor.

Gustav Klimt, painter of The Kiss, was a founding member of which Viennese art movement?

His 'golden phase' works use gold leaf and show Japanese influence.

Who was the first woman, and first Austrian, to win the Nobel Peace Prize?

Meitner, Schrödinger and Pauli were the country's great 20th-century physicists.

Which two Austrian-born thinkers are named among the most noteworthy philosophers of the 20th century?

Mathematician Kurt Gödel and biologist Konrad Lorenz were Austrians too.

A Wiener Schnitzel is a thin, breaded, pan-fried cutlet of which meat?

Backhendl, breaded fried chicken, was mentioned in a cookbook as early as 1719.

Sachertorte's chocolate sponge is layered with which jam?

Hotel Sacher and Demel fought a long battle over the 'original' recipe.

Which grape produces Austria's most notable white wines?

Zweigelt is the most widely planted red.

At over 8 kg per person a year, Austria ranks where in the world for coffee consumption?

The Viennese coffee house is a cultural institution.

Which sweet dispenser, sold in a famous flip-top holder, was invented in Austria?

Mannerschnitten wafers and Mozartkugeln are other Austrian sweet inventions.

Which Thai drink inspired Dietrich Mateschitz to launch Red Bull?

He said it cured his jet lag; over 100 billion cans have been sold since 1987.

Swarovski, founded in 1895, is based in Wattens in which Austrian state?

Besides crystal it makes Swarovski Optik binoculars and Tyrolit tools.

Which Austrian topped the US Billboard chart with a German-language song in 1986?

'Rock Me Amadeus' did it; 'Der Kommissar' had been his 1981 breakthrough.

Conchita Wurst won Eurovision for Austria in 2014 with which song?

Tom Neuwirth's bearded alter ego had come second in the 2012 national final.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in 1947 in Thal, a village in which state?

He was governor of California from 2003 to 2011.

The 1949 film noir The Third Man, set in occupied Vienna, features which zither composer's famous theme?

The Harry Lime Theme topped international charts in 1950; the film climaxes on the Riesenrad and in the sewers.

The 1965 film The Sound of Music won how many Academy Awards including Best Picture?

It was based on Maria von Trapp's 1949 book about her family of singers.

Which Austrian city hosted the Winter Olympics in both 1964 and 1976?

Its bobsleigh track at Igls is still in use; the first Winter Youth Olympics were held there in 2012.

Niki Lauda won his three Formula One world titles with which two teams?

He won in 1975, 1977 and 1984, and was for decades the only champion to have won with both teams.

Austria's best 20th-century World Cup finish was third place at which tournament?

The 'Wunderteam' era peaked with fourth in 1934; Austria co-hosted Euro 2008 with Switzerland.

Which Austrian club is the country's record football champion?

Red Bull Salzburg and Sturm Graz are its modern rivals in the Bundesliga.

The Zwentendorf nuclear power plant on the Danube, completed in the 1970s, is notable for what?

A 1978 referendum voted 50.5% against nuclear power and parliament then banned it, though the plant was finished.

Austria covers roughly what area?

Its population is about 9.2 million.

After Vienna, which is Austria's second-largest city?

With around 305,000 residents it edges Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt, and is home to the football club Sturm Graz.

How many seats are there in the Nationalrat, Austria's dominant legislative chamber?

Elections are held every five years, and every citizen aged 16 or over may vote, one of the lowest voting ages in Europe.

Who was sworn in as Austria's largely ceremonial federal president in January 2017?

The former Green Party leader beat the far-right candidate in a re-run election that had drawn attention across Europe.

Which barbarian ruler conquered most of modern Austria in 487 and folded it into his Kingdom of Italy?

Odoacer had deposed the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, eleven years earlier.