From high mountain peaks and beautiful nature to modern cities— Austria has a lot to offer travelers. Here are 25 interesting facts about Austria that you might not know.
25. Austria maintains a position of permanent neutrality in all wars, without entering into any global conflicts.
24. Although Austria is a member of the European Union, it is not a member of NATO.
23. Beethoven was not an Austrian, he was a German. But he did live most of his life in Austria.
22. But Mozart was still an Austrian. So did Haydn, Schubert and Strauss. Austria is famous for its composers and music.
21. Did you think that Hitler was German? No - He was Austrian.
20. You most likely already know the name of the most famous Austrian living today - Arnold Schwarzenegger.
19. Eisreisenwelt, which translates from German as “World of the Ice Giants,” is the largest ice cave in the world.
18. Official name Austria - Republic of Austria (Republik Oesterreich)
17. The Austrian flag is one of the oldest in the world.
16. According to legend, in 1191 Duke Leopold V splashed blood on his tunic during a battle. When he removed his belt, a white stripe remained on the red background - hence the colors of the Austrian flag.
15. Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna was named after the spring that provided the palace with water. Apparently, it was so delicious that the Emperors decided to name a palace after the water.
14. In 1552, the Habsburg prince brought an elephant from Spain to Vienna, but the elephant soon died due to the too cold climate.
13. When artist Edwin Lipburger argued with the authorities over building licenses for his spherical house, he decided to declare independence from Austria.
12. Him new country They called the republic Kugelmugel (round hill). The authorities, however, moved his house to the Prater park in the center of Vienna and surrounded it with barbed wire.
11. When Edwin refused to pay taxes to Austria, only a presidential pardon saved him from prison. Today, the Kugelmugel still survives as one of Austria's landmarks.
10. Most of Austria is mountainous and covered by the Alps, and 1/4 of the country's total population lives in the capital, Vienna.
9. Among its peaks, Mount Grossglockner stands out - the second highest mountain in Europe (3,798 m).
8. Krimmler Waterfall (Krimmler Wasserfalle) is the most high waterfall Europe (380 meters).
7. After Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries, Austria has the highest number of Nobel Prize winners per capita (19).
6. The largest emerald in the world is on display in Vienna (2860 carats)
5. Despite the elephant failure, Vienna is home to the oldest zoo in the world - Tiergarten Schönbrunn.
4. St. Peter Stiftskeller is the oldest continuously operating hotel/restaurant in the world. It opened in 803 - more than 1200 years ago!
3. There are more than 2.5 million graves in the central cemetery in Vienna. This is more than the entire living population of the city!
2. Alpine winter sports competitions are very popular in Austria. Among them, skiing stands out the most.
1. Austria is a country with one of the most high levels life in the world, and Vienna almost always ranks first on the list of the most comfortable capitals in the world.
© www.visacenter.ru
1. Austria seems relatively big country, however, it takes less than half a day to travel it from west to east.
2. Austrians, like most Europeans, perceive distance differently. Traveling to work or school for half an hour is perceived as an ordeal.
3. Austrian German is different from the German spoken in Germany. There have been cases where some misunderstanding has arisen between an Austrian and a German when using dialect words.
4. Austria has many mountains. Children learn to stand on skis from an early age. So ski holiday is one of the most beloved for Austrians.
5. Austrians don't like Germans. In their own words, they simply do not fully understand each other. Students in Austria, quite understandably, do not have the warmest feelings for their neighbors, because students from Germany often come to study in Austria if they do not receive enough points for admission in their home country.
6. Receive higher education It's very convenient in Austria. You make your own schedule, and in fact you can study as much as you like.
7. Fish products are very expensive in Austria, as is chicken, which is raised with love and care. But pork may be cheaper than in Russia.
8. In Austria, bread is eaten everywhere. There are bakeries and bakeries and things like that on every corner. There are a lot of varieties of bread and other baked goods, and the smell from these bakeries calls you from a block away.
9. Austrians are very sensitive to holidays, especially church holidays. During Christmas, nothing works for three whole days. Even pharmacies. And there is almost no one on the streets, because the holiday is considered a family holiday.
10. New Year They celebrate with a noisy, friendly company, and there are almost no interruptions in the work of the shops.
11. In the evenings there is almost no one on the streets. After 8 pm people either sit at home or in cafes and pubs. Spending time on the streets is not so popular.
12. But during major festivals, in particular Christmas markets, people very often drink mulled wine on the streets, meet with friends, eat sweets and so on.
13. Night life in Austria it is quite saturated. And it doesn't matter whether it's Monday or Friday. You can always find a good party with a crowd of people.
14. Austrians mainly drink beer, wine and spritzer, which is a mixture of wine with soda or mineral water.
15. Austria produces different types of wine, but, according to the Austrians themselves, white is much better. In addition, one of the most popular wines in Austria is the sweet Eiswein wine, whose grapes are harvested in cold weather. And this wine is actually sweet, like syrup.
16. By the way, Vienna itself has vineyards and its own wine culture.
17. A mixture of vodka and energy drink is very popular in Austrian clubs. In general, energy drinks are consumed quite often in Austria; moreover, Red Bull is an Austrian company.
18. Austrian women don't pay much attention to how they look or dress. The most popular clothes are jeans, T-shirt and sneakers.
19. But young men, on the contrary, dress much better than men in Russia. And they look much more presentable.
20. Austrians love to go to theaters and exhibitions; metro stations are mostly full of advertisements for these very events. And in Austria it is very popular to buy museum passes.
21. Mozart is everywhere in Austria. At museums, men dressed in Mozart costumes are invited to concerts, Mozart candies are sold everywhere, and every museum or castle has at least one exhibit or room related to Mozart.
22. Along with Mozart, Princess Sissi and Maria Theresa are revered in Austria.
23. Strudel and schnitzel are served in almost every establishment. Everything is according to the rules: strudel is served with vanilla sauce, and schnitzel with a slice of lemon and potato salad.
24. The opening hours of shops and banks are not the same as in Russia, which is very inconvenient at first. You have to get used to the fact that everything closes at 8 pm, and banks are open until 3 pm. But you can log in and pay through the terminal 24 hours a day.
25. There are many immigrants in Austria, in particular from Turkey. There are entire areas populated by immigrants from different countries.
26. The most common eateries are Turkish, all because there are really a lot of Turks.
27. One can only envy some Austrians, especially when they say that in order to get to ski resorts or to the sea, they only need a couple of hours.
28. Swarovski crystals are produced in the Austrian city of Innsbruck, so in many cities there are stores selling products with these crystals, and the installations inside look like a work of art.
29. The largest city in Austria is Vienna with a population of 1.7 million people. The second largest city is Graz, with a population of less than 300 thousand people, not Salzburg.
30. In the evenings big cities, especially Vienna, are being transformed, the lighting makes the streets a work of art.
31. While traveling around the country, you will notice several houses that stand apart from the rest of the world.
32. Austrians call the Russian nesting doll “grandmother”.
33. In Vienna, there are no student dormitories that are tied to one university, but there is a separate organization that is responsible for all dormitories at once.
34. It is normal if there is a restaurant, cocktail bar or supermarket on campus where you can buy alcohol.
35. Austrians, unlike Germans, are less punctual and less committed to rules.
36. Perhaps everywhere in Austria there are special notches on the roads along which blind people walk.
37. The metro in Vienna is shallow, and sometimes passes above ground; stations may not be equipped with escalators, but an elevator will be required.
38. Many people in Austria ride scooters, even adults. It is very interesting to watch an adult man in a suit and with a diplomat riding down the street on a scooter.
39. In Austria it gets light very early, but it also gets dark very early.
40. In Austria, waste is separated. As a rule, there are containers on the streets for glass, papers and other garbage, and sometimes, mainly in establishments, for metal.
41. Large banknotes are not favored in Austria. 200 euros are unlikely to give change in a store, and 500 euro bills are not in use at all. The bank will ask you several times if you ask to withdraw money from your account in exactly these bills.
42. Government institutions work using coupons and very quickly. All processes are automated and queues are not typical for Austria (especially on a Russian scale).
43. Standing at a traffic light for 5 minutes is already considered a traffic jam.
44. The streets in the cities are very clean; leaves or dust are constantly swept away. As soon as even a little snow falls, snow removal equipment goes out onto the street. A couple of times I watched the street being vacuumed.
45. It is very popular among Austrian students to learn Russian. It is even one of the top three for them to study.
46. You can go to the Vienna Opera for almost nothing. Tickets for standing places cost around 5 euros. But if you want to get more comfortable, you will have to fork out some money.
47. Austria has a very convenient transport system, including night buses. In addition, the metro operates 24 hours a day from Friday to Sunday.
48. But motorists have a hard time. Parking is paid, and prices in the center are very high. In addition, you need to keep track of where and when you can park, and be sure to put a note under the glass with the time when you parked.
49. In Austria, tea is not a cheap pleasure and, apparently, local residents is not in demand. Austrians drink coffee more often, and often drink water or a spritzer with meals.
50. Persimmon in Austria is called kaki. Well, nowhere is the fruit lucky with its name.
51. Organic products are very popular in Austria, although they are more expensive.
52. Vienna has a museum of forgeries, a music museum, a schnapps museum and a Death House. And many palaces.
53. There is a Spanish riding school in Vienna that often gives performances, mainly for tourists. Why exactly Spanish remains a mystery to me.
54. Almost everyone is sure that it is very cold in Russia, so the mild Austrian winter should be like summer for Russians.
55. Grading system in educational institutions- five-point. But the highest score is 1, and if you get a 5, it means you failed.
56. Beer and wine in Austria can be consumed from the age of 16, stronger alcohol - from 18.
57. There is a public toilet in Vienna that plays classical music.
58. There is only an hour's journey between the capital of Austria and the capital of Slovakia.
59. The tap water is drinkable.
60. The Austrian Foreign Minister is 27 years old and still a student.
Austrians, like most Europeans, perceive distance differently. Traveling to work or school for half an hour is perceived as an ordeal.
Austria has many mountains. Children learn to stand on skis from an early age. So ski holidays are one of the most favorite for Austrians.
Austrians don't like Germans. In their own words, they simply do not fully understand each other. Students in Austria, quite understandably, do not have the warmest feelings for their neighbors, because students from Germany often come to study in Austria if they do not receive enough points for admission in their home country.
Getting higher education in Austria is very convenient. You make your own schedule, and in fact you can study as much as you like.
Fish products are very expensive in Austria, as is chicken, which is raised with love and care. But pork may be cheaper than in Russia.
In Austria, bread is eaten everywhere. There are bakeries and bakeries and things like that on every corner. There are a lot of varieties of bread and other baked goods, and the smell from these bakeries calls you from a block away.
Austrians are very sensitive to holidays, especially church holidays. During Christmas, nothing works for three whole days. Even pharmacies. And there is almost no one on the streets, because the holiday is considered a family holiday.
The New Year is celebrated with a noisy, friendly company, and there are almost no interruptions in the work of shops.
In the evenings there is almost no one on the streets. After 8 pm people either sit at home or in cafes and pubs. Spending time on the streets is not so popular.
Austrians mainly drink beer, wine and spritzer, which is a mixture of wine with soda or mineral water.
Austria produces different types of wine, but, according to the Austrians themselves, white is much better. In addition, one of the most popular wines in Austria is the sweet Eiswein wine, whose grapes are harvested in cold weather. And this wine is actually sweet, like syrup.
By the way, Vienna itself has vineyards and its own wine culture.
A mixture of vodka and energy drink is very popular in Austrian clubs. In general, energy drinks are consumed quite often in Austria; moreover, Red Bull is an Austrian company.
Austrian women don't pay much attention to how they look or dress. The most popular clothes are jeans, T-shirt and sneakers.
Austrians love to go to theaters and exhibitions; metro stations are mostly full of advertisements for these very events. And in Austria it is very popular to buy museum passes.
Mozart is everywhere in Austria. At museums, men dressed in Mozart costumes are invited to concerts, Mozart candies are sold everywhere, and every museum or castle has at least one exhibit or room related to Mozart.
Along with Mozart, Princess Sissi and Maria Theresa are revered in Austria.
Strudel and schnitzel are served in almost every establishment. Everything is according to the rules: strudel is served with vanilla sauce, and schnitzel with a slice of lemon and potato salad.
There are many immigrants in Austria, in particular from Turkey. There are entire areas populated by immigrants from different countries.
The most common eateries are Turkish, all because there are really a lot of Turks.
Swarovski crystals are produced in the Austrian city of Innsbruck, so in many cities there are stores selling products with these crystals, and the installations inside look like a work of art.
In Vienna, there are no student dormitories that are tied to one university, but there is a separate organization that is responsible for all dormitories at once.
Austrians, unlike Germans, are less punctual and less committed to rules.
Perhaps everywhere in Austria there are special notches on the roads along which blind people walk.
Many people in Austria ride scooters, even adults. It is very interesting to watch an adult man in a suit and with a diplomat riding down the street on a scooter.
Large banknotes are not favored in Austria. 200 euros are unlikely to give change in a store, and 500 euro bills are not in use at all. The bank will ask you several times if you ask to withdraw money from your account in exactly these bills.
Government institutions work using coupons and very quickly. All processes are automated and queues are not typical for Austria.
Standing at a traffic light for 5 minutes is already considered a traffic jam.
The streets in the cities are very clean; leaves or dust are constantly swept away. As soon as even a little snow falls, snow removal equipment goes out onto the street. A couple of times I watched the street being vacuumed.
Austria has a very convenient transport system, including night buses. In addition, the metro operates 24 hours a day from Friday to Sunday.
But motorists have a hard time. Parking is paid, and prices in the center are very high. In addition, you need to keep track of where and when you can park, and be sure to put a note under the glass with the time when you parked.
In Austria, tea is not a cheap pleasure and, apparently, is not in demand among local residents. Austrians drink coffee more often, and often drink water or a spritzer with meals.
The grading system in educational institutions is five-point. But the highest score is 1, and if you get a 5, it means you failed.
Beer and wine in Austria can be consumed from the age of 16, stronger alcohol - from 18.
The tap water is drinkable.
The Austrian Foreign Minister is 27 years old and still a student.
© www.visacenter.ru
1. Austria appears to be a relatively large country, but it takes less than half a day to travel from west to east.
2. Austrians, like most Europeans, perceive distance differently. Traveling to work or school for half an hour is perceived as an ordeal.
3. Austrian German is different from the German spoken in Germany. There have been cases where some misunderstanding has arisen between an Austrian and a German when using dialect words.
4. Austria has many mountains. Children learn to stand on skis from an early age. So ski holidays are one of the most favorite for Austrians.
5. Austrians don't like Germans. In their own words, they simply do not fully understand each other. Students in Austria, quite understandably, do not have the warmest feelings for their neighbors, because students from Germany often come to study in Austria if they do not receive enough points for admission in their home country.
6. Getting higher education in Austria is very convenient. You make your own schedule, and in fact you can study as much as you like.
7. Fish products are very expensive in Austria, as is chicken, which is raised with love and care. But pork may be cheaper than in Russia.
8. In Austria, bread is eaten everywhere. There are bakeries and bakeries and things like that on every corner. There are a lot of varieties of bread and other baked goods, and the smell from these bakeries calls you from a block away.
9. Austrians are very sensitive to holidays, especially church holidays. During Christmas, nothing works for three whole days. Even pharmacies. And there is almost no one on the streets, because the holiday is considered a family holiday.
10. The New Year is celebrated with a noisy, friendly company, and there are almost no interruptions in the work of shops.
11. In the evenings there is almost no one on the streets. After 8 pm people either sit at home or in cafes and pubs. Spending time on the streets is not so popular.
12. But during major festivals, in particular Christmas markets, people very often drink mulled wine on the streets, meet friends, eat sweets, and so on.
13. Nightlife in Austria is quite rich. And it doesn't matter whether it's Monday or Friday. You can always find a good party with a crowd of people.
14. Austrians mainly drink beer, wine and spritzer, which is a mixture of wine with soda or mineral water.
15. Austria produces different types of wine, but, according to the Austrians themselves, white is much better. In addition, one of the most popular wines in Austria is the sweet Eiswein wine, whose grapes are harvested in cold weather. And this wine is actually sweet, like syrup.
16. By the way, Vienna itself has vineyards and its own wine culture.
17. A mixture of vodka and energy drink is very popular in Austrian clubs. In general, energy drinks are consumed quite often in Austria; moreover, Red Bull is an Austrian company.
18. Austrian women don't pay much attention to how they look or dress. The most popular clothes are jeans, T-shirt and sneakers.
19. But young men, on the contrary, dress much better than men in Russia. And they look much more presentable.
20. Austrians love to go to theaters and exhibitions; metro stations are mostly full of advertisements for these very events. And in Austria it is very popular to buy museum passes.
21. Mozart is everywhere in Austria. At museums, men dressed in Mozart costumes are invited to concerts, Mozart candies are sold everywhere, and every museum or castle has at least one exhibit or room related to Mozart.
22. Along with Mozart, Princess Sissi and Maria Theresa are revered in Austria.
23. Strudel and schnitzel are served in almost every establishment. Everything is according to the rules: strudel is served with vanilla sauce, and schnitzel with a slice of lemon and potato salad.
24. The opening hours of shops and banks are not the same as in Russia, which is very inconvenient at first. You have to get used to the fact that everything closes at 8 pm, and banks are open until 3 pm. But you can log in and pay through the terminal 24 hours a day.
25. There are many immigrants in Austria, in particular from Turkey. There are entire areas populated by immigrants from different countries.
26. The most common eateries are Turkish, all because there are really a lot of Turks.
27. You can only envy some Austrians, especially when they say that it only takes them a couple of hours to get to the ski resorts or the sea.
28. Swarovski crystals are produced in the Austrian city of Innsbruck, so in many cities there are stores selling products with these crystals, and the installations inside look like a work of art.
29. The largest city in Austria is Vienna with a population of 1.7 million people. The second largest city is Graz, with a population of less than 300 thousand people, not Salzburg.
30. In the evenings, large cities, especially Vienna, are transformed; the lighting turns the streets into a work of art.
31. While traveling around the country, you will notice several houses that stand apart from the rest of the world.
32. Austrians call the Russian nesting doll “grandmother”.
33. In Vienna, there are no student dormitories that are tied to one university, but there is a separate organization that is responsible for all dormitories at once.
34. It is normal if there is a restaurant, cocktail bar or supermarket on campus where you can buy alcohol.
35. Austrians, unlike Germans, are less punctual and less committed to rules.
36. Perhaps everywhere in Austria there are special notches on the roads along which blind people walk.
37. The metro in Vienna is shallow, and sometimes passes above ground; stations may not be equipped with escalators, but an elevator will be required.
38. Many people in Austria ride scooters, even adults. It is very interesting to watch an adult man in a suit and with a diplomat riding down the street on a scooter.
39. In Austria it gets light very early, but it also gets dark very early.
40. In Austria, waste is separated. As a rule, there are containers on the streets for glass, papers and other garbage, and sometimes, mainly in establishments, for metal.
41. Large banknotes are not favored in Austria. 200 euros are unlikely to give change in a store, and 500 euro bills are not in use at all. The bank will ask you several times if you ask to withdraw money from your account in exactly these bills.
42. Government institutions work using coupons and very quickly. All processes are automated and queues are not typical for Austria (especially on a Russian scale).
43. Standing at a traffic light for 5 minutes is already considered a traffic jam.
44. The streets in the cities are very clean; leaves or dust are constantly swept away. As soon as even a little snow falls, snow removal equipment goes out onto the street. A couple of times I watched the street being vacuumed.
45. It is very popular among Austrian students to learn Russian. It is even one of the top three for them to study.
46. You can go to the Vienna Opera for almost nothing. Tickets for standing places cost around 5 euros. But if you want to get more comfortable, you will have to fork out some money.
47. Austria has a very convenient transport system, including night buses. In addition, the metro operates 24 hours a day from Friday to Sunday.
48. But motorists have a hard time. Parking is paid, and prices in the center are very high. In addition, you need to keep track of where and when you can park, and be sure to put a note under the glass with the time when you parked.
49. In Austria, tea is not a cheap pleasure and, apparently, is not in demand among local residents. Austrians drink coffee more often, and often drink water or a spritzer with meals.
50. Persimmon in Austria is called kaki. Well, nowhere is the fruit lucky with its name.
51. Organic products are very popular in Austria, although they are more expensive.
52. Vienna has a museum of forgeries, a music museum, a schnapps museum and a Death House. And many palaces.
53. There is a Spanish riding school in Vienna that often gives performances, mainly for tourists. Why exactly Spanish remains a mystery to me.
54. Almost everyone is sure that it is very cold in Russia, so the mild Austrian winter should be like summer for Russians.
55. The grading system in educational institutions is five-point. But the highest score is 1, and if you get a 5, it means you failed.
56. Beer and wine in Austria can be consumed from the age of 16, stronger alcohol - from 18.
57. There is a public toilet in Vienna that plays classical music.
58. There is only an hour's journey between the capital of Austria and the capital of Slovakia.
59. The tap water is drinkable.
60. The Austrian Foreign Minister is 27 years old and still a student.
1. Austria consistently ranks at the top of the list of countries with the highest standards of living in the world, and Vienna often tops the list of the World's Most Livable Cities.
2. Austria is a member of the EU, but not a member of NATO.
3. Vienna is home to the world's oldest zoo, the Tiergarten Schönbrunn. It was founded as a menagerie at the court of Emperor Franz Stefan in 1752.
4. Among the great Austrians are the artist Gustav Klimt, whose most famous work, The Kiss, is exhibited at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna; founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud; composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert; the monk Georg Mendel, whose experiments with peas formed the basis of modern genetics; physicist Christian Doppler, who invented the “Doppler Effect”; car designer Ferdinand Porsche. Born in Germany, Ludwig van Beethoven lived most of his adult life in Vienna.
The most famous living Austrian is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Monument to Strauss in Vienna
5. Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele) is the most important and largest opera and theater festival in Europe. The purpose of this festival is to perpetuate the memory of Mozart, therefore only works by this great Austrian composer are performed at the festival.
Night Salzburg
6. The most famous Austrian dish is Wiener schnitzel. These are thinly pounded veal cutlets that are dipped in egg, sprinkled with bread crumbs, and then fried. In Austria, schnitzel is never served with sauce.
7. The Austrian tradition of baking cakes goes back centuries, when cities fiercely competed among themselves for the best cake. Even in small villages, bakeries try to outdo each other. Almost every Austrian city has its own signature cake. The most famous Austrian cake is the Viennese Sachertorte. This chocolate cake was invented by chef Franz Sacher for Chancellor Metternich in 1832.
8. More than 60% of adults in Austria are overweight. This is the highest figure in the EU.
9. Before they start eating, Austrians say Guten Appetit! And, before drinking, they clink glasses, looking into each other's eyes. Not looking your counterpart in the eye is considered very impolite behavior, which will bring the rude man seven years of bad sex.
10. The Vienna Academy of Arts (Vienna’s Akademie der Bildenden Künste) once refused to accept a young artist named Adolf Hitler for study. In 1907, out of 128 applicants, 100, among whom were Hitler, did not apply. Hitler submitted the works "Expulsion from Paradise", "Builders" and "Death" to the competition. .
11. Alpine, or downhill, skiing has been the most popular sport in Austria for over 100 years. Matthias Zdarsky wrote the first ski manual in 1897, he also invented the first ski bindings and organized the first slalom in 1905.
12. Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries in Europe. Beethoven, Brahms, Johann Strauss the elder and the younger, Franz Schubert, pop icon Falco are buried here. The cemetery also contains a monument to Mozart, although he was buried in an unmarked grave in another cemetery (St. Mark's Cemetery). More than 2.5 million people are buried here, while the population of Vienna is approximately 1.8 million. In Vienna they say about the dead: “He boarded at 71” (the Zentralfriedhof cemetery is the last stop of the 71 tram).
13. Austria's Eisriesenwelt Caves, dubbed the "world of the ice giants", is the world's largest accessible ice cave system.
14. Once the center of the powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire, after defeat in World War I, Austria was reduced to a small republic.
15. Waltz was born in the suburbs of Vienna and in the Alpine region of Austria. Already in the 17th century, waltzes were played at Habsburg balls. It became very popular in Vienna at the beginning of the 19th century and then spread to the rest of Europe.
Vienna hosts more than 300 balls each year, usually between January and March. The most famous are Opernball (held at the Vienna State Opera since 1877), Philharmonic Ball (with a performance by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra), Blumenball (known for its flower arrangements), Zuckerbäckerball (held in the best confectionery in Vienna with an excellent selection of sweets).
