The greater part of Austria lies in the cool/temperate climate zone in which humid westerly winds predominate. With over half of the country dominated by the Alps, the alpine climate is the predominant one. In the east—in the Pannonian Plain and along the Danube valley—the climate shows continental features with less rain than the alpine areas. Although Austria is cold in the winter, summer temperatures can be relatively warm—reaching 20-35 degrees Celsius

Among Austrian Artists and architects one can find the painters Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Rudolf von Alt, Hans Makart,Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele, Carl Moll, and Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the photographers Inge Morath and Ernst Haas and architects like Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, and Hans Hollein.

Fast das gesamte Land (96 Prozent) liegt im Einzugsbereich der Donau. Eine Ausnahme bilden Vorarlberg, das vom Rhein durchzogen wird, und Teile des Mühl- und Waldviertels, die im Einzugsbereich der Elbe bzw. der in die Elbe mündenden Moldau liegen. Der längste Fluss Österreichs ist die Donau, die bei Passau in das Land eintritt und Österreich auf einer Länge von etwa 350 Kilometern von Westen nach Osten durchfließt. Sie strömt u. a. durch Linz und Wien und verlässt Österreich nahe Preßburg, der Hauptstadt der Slowakei. Die längsten rechten Nebenflüsse der Donau sind die auf deutschem Staatsgebiet bzw. als Grenzfluss mündenden Lech und Inn mit Salzach sowie Traun, Enns und Ybbs. Im Süden des Landes ist die an der östlichen Grenze Kroatiens in die Donau mündende Drau (mit Mur und Mürz) ein wichtiger Nebenfluss. Von links münden kleinere Flüsse wie Krems und March.

In Österreich gibt es zwei markante Seenlandschaften, das Salzkammergut mit Atter-, Traun-, Mond- und Wolfgangsee sowie das Gebiet der Seen in Kärnten mit Weißensee sowie Ossiacher, Millstätter und Wörther See. Diese Seen entstanden in von eiszeitlichen Gletschern geformten Becken. Größter See des Landes ist der Neusiedler See. Er hat eine maximale Wassertiefe von nur zwei Metern.

Österreich befindet sich größtenteils im Bereich des mitteleuropäischen Übergangsklimas, das durch ozeanische und kontinentale Einflüsse gekennzeichnet ist. Das Klima prägende Faktoren sind vorherrschende Westwinde und hohe Niederschläge. Die Alpen bilden einen eigenen Klimaraum; hier herrscht alpines Klima mit kurzen, kühlen Sommern und schneereichen Wintern. Die Niederschläge erreichen hier bis zu 3 000 Millimeter im Jahr. Lediglich in den Leelagen der Becken- und Tallandschaften innerhalb der Alpen sind die Niederschläge deutlich geringer.

Der Westen und der Norden des Landes stehen unter ozeanischen Einflüssen mit hohen Jahresniederschlägen (bis 2 000 Millimeter) und vergleichsweise geringen Schwankungen der Temperatur im Jahresverlauf. Relativ milden Wintern stehen mäßig warme Sommer gegenüber. In Salzburg liegt die mittlere Temperatur im Januar bei -2 °C, im Juli bei 18 °C.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Habsburgs began to accumulate other provinces in the vicinity of the Duchy of Austria. In 1438, Duke Albert V of Austria was chosen as the successor to his father-in-law, Emperor Sigismund. Although Albert himself only reigned for a year, from then on, every emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was a Habsburg, with only one exception.

The Habsburgs began also to accumulate lands far from the Hereditary Lands. In 1477, Archduke Maximilian, only son of Emperor Frederick III, married the heiress Maria of Burgundy, thus acquiring most of the Low Countries for the family.^[13][14] His son Philip the Fair married the heiress of Castile and Aragon, and thus acquired Spain and its Italian, African, and New World appendages for the Habsburgs.

In 1526, following the Battle of Mohács, Austrian rulers expanded their territories, bringing Bohemia and the part of Hungary not occupied by the Ottomans under their rule. Ottoman expansion into Hungary led to frequent conflicts between the two powers, particularly evident in the so-called Long War of 1593 to 1606.

With the jagged Dolomites on its doorstep, Lienz dishes up Italian charm around its cobbled centre, where chirpy locals kick back with gelato (ice cream) in the palm-studded square. Just 40km north of Italy, this snippet of East Tyrol expertly blends big wilderness with cultural clout: the glacial Isel River, Roman treasures and a medieval castle brimming with art are all there for the savouring. But it’s the mountains that really demand attention – austere beauties piercing the town’s southern skyline and looking their best when the last of the sun makes their pinnacles blush.

Salzburg is a year-round destination so when you go depends on what you want to do or see. The summer high season is in July and August, when both large crowds and high prices may be a turn off. June and September are also busy months for tourism. Winter can get very cold but things will be less crowded and hotel prices will be lower (except over Christmas and Easter). Winter sports are in full swing from mid-December to late March.

Vienna (in German Wien pronounced /viːn/; /viˈɛnʌ/ English; see also other names) is the capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria’s primary city; with a population of about 1.7 million ^[1] (2.3 million within the metropolitan area), it is by far the largest city in Austria as well as its cultural, economic and political center. It is the 10th largest city by population in the European Union and is identified having the 3rd highest quality of living. The United Nations has offices there, as does OPEC. The Vienna International Centre near the Danube also hosts important international offices including the International Atomic Energy Agency. Vienna lies in the very east of Austria and is close to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site^[2] and an Economist Intelligence Unit study of 127 world cities ranked it first equal with Vancouver for the quality of life.

Austria (German: Österreich) (Österreich ) officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich) (Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The capital is the city of Vienna on the Danube River.

The origins of modern Austria date back to the ninth century, when the territory of Upper and Lower Austria became increasingly populated. The name “Ostarrichi” is first documented in an official document from 996. Since then this word has developed into the Österreich^.

Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states^[3] and is one of six European countries that have declared permanent neutrality and one of the few countries that includes the concept of everlasting neutrality in its constitution. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955 and joined the European Union in 1995.