{{infobox country|maxwidth	250px|width250px
local name	Austria
Conventional long name	Republic of Austria
Native name
common name	Austria
image coat	Austria Bundesadler.svg
Map caption
national anthem	(German) ''Land of Mountains, Land by the River''File:Land der Berge Land am Strome instrumental.ogg
official languages	German
Languages type	Spoken languages
Languages	Austro-Bavarian, Alemannic in Vorarlberg. Locally also Slovene, Burgenland Croatian and Hungarian
Ethnic groups	91.1% Austrians,8.9% foreigners -4% former Yugoslavs,1.6% Turks,2.4% others and unspecified
ethnic groups year	2001
capital	Vienna
government type	Federal Parliamentary republic
leader title1	President
leader name1	Heinz Fischer
leader title2	Chancellor
leader name2	Werner Faymann (SPÖ)
leader title3	President of the National Council
leader name3	Barbara Prammer (SPÖ)
sovereignty type	Independence
established event1	Austrian State Treaty in force
established date1	27 July 1955 (Duchy: 1156, Austrian Empire: 1804, First Austrian Republic: 1918–1938, Second Republic since 1945)
accessioneudate	1 January 1995
area km2	83,855
area rank	115th
area magnitude	1 E10
percent water	1.7
area sq mi	32,377
population estimate	8,414,638
population estimate year	2011
population estimate rank	92nd
population density km2	99
population density rank	99th
population density sq mi	257
population census	8,032,926
population census year	2001
gdp ppp	$343 billion
gdp ppp year	2011
gdp ppp per capita	$41.979
gini	26
gini year	2007
gini category	low
gdp nominal	$405 billion
gdp nominal year	2011
gdp nominal per capita	$48,350
hdi year	2010
hdi	0.851
hdi rank	25th
Hdi category	very high
fsi	26
fsi year	2007
fsi rank	166th
Fsi category	Sustainable
currency	Euro (€) ²
currency code	EUR
time zone	CET
drives on	right
utc offset	+01
time zone dst	CEST
utc offset dst	+02
demonym	Austrian
cctld	.at ³
calling code	43
footnote1	Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian are officially recognised regional languages and Austrian Sign Language is a protected minority language throughout the country.
footnote2	Euro since 1 Jan 1999 virtual, since 1 Jan 2002 real currency; before: Austrian Schilling.
footnote3	The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states. }}

Austria ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Austria (), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below , and its highest point is . The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.

The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.

When the Habsburg (Austro-Hungarian) Empire collapsed in 1918 with the end of World War I, Austria used the name German Austria („Deutschösterreich”, later „Österreich”) in an attempt for union with Germany but was forbidden due to the Treaty of Saint Germain. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919. In the 1938 Anschluss, Austria was occupied and annexed by Nazi Germany. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Nazi Germany was occupied by the Allies and Austria's former democratic constitution was restored. In 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral.

Today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.6 million, is Vienna. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,723 (2010 est.). The country has developed a high standard of living and in 2010 was ranked 25th in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, and is a founder of the OECD. Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the European currency, the euro, in 1999.

Etymology

The German name for Austria, , derives from the word ''Ostarrîchi'', which first appears in the "Ostarrîchi document" of 996. This word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin into a local (Bavarian) dialect. The name means "Eastern borderlands." It was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976. The word "Austria" is a latinization of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century.

Friedrich Heer, one of the most important Austrian historians in the 20th century, stated in his book ''Der Kampf um die österreichische Identität'' (''The Struggle Over Austrian Identity''), that the Germanic form ''Ostarrîchi'' was not a translation of the Latin word, but both resulted from a much older term originating in the Celtic languages of ancient Austria: more than 2,500 years ago, the major part of the actual country was called ''Norig'' by the Celtic population (Hallstatt culture); according to Heer, ''no-'' or ''nor-'' meant "east" or "eastern", whereas ''-rig'' is related to the modern German ''Reich'', meaning "realm". Accordingly, ''Norig'' would essentially mean ''Ostarrîchi'' and ''Österreich'', thus ''Austria''. The Celtic name was eventually Latinised to ''Noricum'' after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern day Austria, in approximately 15 BC. ''Noricum'' later became a Roman province in the mid 1st century AD.

History

Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes. The Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province. Present day Petronell-Carnuntum in Eastern Austria was an important army camp turned capital city in what became known as the Upper Pannonia province. Fifty thousand people called Carnuntum home for nearly 400 years.

After the fall of the Roman Empire the area was invaded by Bavarians, Slavs and Avars. The Slavic tribe of the Carantanians migrated into the Alps and established the realm of Carantania, which covered much of eastern and central Austrian territory. Charlemagne conquered the area in 788 AD, encouraged colonisation and introduced Christianity. As part of Eastern Francia, the core areas that now encompass Austria were bequeathed to the house of Babenberg. The area was known as the ''marchia Orientalis'' and was given to Leopold of Babenberg in 976.

The first record showing the name Austria is from 996 where it is written as ''Ostarrîchi'', referring to the territory of the Babenberg March. In 1156 the Privilegium Minus elevated Austria to the status of a duchy. In 1192, the Babenbergs also acquired the Duchy of Styria. With the death of Frederick II in 1246, the line of the Babenbergs went extinct.

As a result Ottokar II of Bohemia effectively assumed control of the duchies of Austria, Styria and Carinthia. His reign came to an end with his defeat at Dürnkrut at the hands of Rudolph I of Germany in 1278. Thereafter, until World War I, Austria's history was largely that of its ruling dynasty, the Habsburgs.

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, henceforth 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 Netherlands for the family. 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, Bohemia and the part of Hungary not occupied by the Ottomans came under Austrian rule. Ottoman expansion into Hungary led to frequent conflicts between the two empires, particularly evident in the so-called Long War of 1593 to 1606. The Turks made incursions into Styria nearly twenty times; burning, pillaging, and taking thousands of slaves.

During the long reign of Leopold I (1657–1705) and following the successful defense of Vienna in 1683 (under the command of the King of Poland, John III Sobieski), a series of campaigns resulted in bringing all of Hungary to Austrian control by the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699.

Emperor Charles VI relinquished many of the fairly impressive gains the empire made in the previous years, largely due to his apprehensions at the imminent extinction of the House of Habsburg. Charles was willing to offer concrete advantages in territory and authority in exchange for other powers' worthless recognitions of the Pragmatic Sanction that made his daughter Maria Theresa his heir. With the rise of Prussia the Austrian–Prussian dualism began in Germany. Austria participated, together with Prussia and Russia, in the first and the third of the three Partitions of Poland (in 1772 and 1795).

Austria later became engaged in a war with Revolutionary France, at the beginning highly unsuccessful, with successive defeats at the hands of Napoleon meaning the end of the old Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Two years earlier, in 1804, the Empire of Austria was founded. In 1814 Austria was part of the Allied forces that invaded France and brought to an end the Napoleonic Wars.

It thus emerged from the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as one of four of the continent's dominant powers and a recognised great power. The same year, the German Confederation, () was founded under the presidency of Austria. Because of unsolved social, political and national conflicts the German lands were shaken by the 1848 revolution aiming to create a unified Germany. A unified Germany would have been possible either as a Greater Germany, or a Greater Austria or just the German Confederation without Austria at all. As Austria was not willing to relinquish its German-speaking territories to what would become the German Empire of 1848, the crown of the newly formed empire was offered to the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. In 1864, Austria and Prussia fought together against Denmark and successfully freed the independent duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Nevertheless as they could not agree on a solution to the administration of the two duchies, they fought in 1866 the Austro-Prussian War. Defeated by Prussia in the Battle of Königgrätz, Austria had to leave the German Confederation and subsequently no longer took part in German politics.

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the ''Ausgleich'', provided for a dual sovereignty, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, under Franz Joseph I. The Austrian-Hungarian rule of this diverse empire included various Slavic groups including Croats, Czechs, Poles, Rusyns, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenes and Ukrainians, as well as large Italian and Romanian communities.

As a result, ruling Austria–Hungary became increasingly difficult in an age of emerging nationalist movements, causing a high reliance on the use of an expanded secret police. Yet the government of Austria tried its best to be accommodating in some respects: The ''Reichsgesetzblatt'', publishing the laws and ordinances of Cisleithania, was issued in eight languages, all national groups were entitled to schools in their own language and to the use of their mother tongue at state offices, for example. The government of Hungary to the contrary tried to magyarise few ethnic entities. Thus the wishes of ethnic groups dwelling in both parts of the dual monarchy hardly could be solved.

20th century

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914 by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip) was used by leading Austrian politicians and generals to persuade the emperor to declare war on Serbia, thereby risking and prompting the outbreak of World War I which led to the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Over one million Austro-Hungarian soldiers died in World War I.

On 21 October 1918, the elected German members of the ''Reichsrat'' (parliament of Imperial Austria) met in Vienna as the Provisional National Assembly for German Austria (''Provisorische Nationalversammlung für Deutschösterreich''). On 30 October the assembly founded the State of German Austria by appointing a government, called ''Staatsrat''. This new government was invited by the emperor to take part in the decision on the planned armistice with Italy, but refrained from this business; this left the responsibility for the end of the war on 3 November 1918, solely to the emperor and his government. On 11 November the emperor, counseled by ministers of the old and the new government, declared he would not take part in state business any more; on 12 November German Austria, by law, declared itself to be a democratic republic and part of the new German republic. The constitution, renaming ''Staatsrat'' to ''Bundesregierung'' (federal government) and ''Nationalversammlung'' to ''Nationalrat'' (national council) was passed on 10 November 1920.

The Treaty of Saint-Germain of 1919 (for Hungary the Treaty of Trianon of 1920) confirmed and consolidated the new order of Central Europe which to a great part had been established in November 1918, creating new states and resizing others. Over 3-million German speaking Austrians found themselves living outside of the newborn Austrian Republic as minorities in the newly formed or enlarged respective states of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Italy. This included the provinces of South Tyrol and German Bohemia, the later which would play a role in sparking WWII. The South Tirol Question would become a lingering problem between Austria and Italy until it was officially settled by the 1980s with a large degree of autonomy being granted by the Italian national government. Between 1918 and 1919 Austria was known as the State of German Austria (). Not only did the Entente powers forbid German Austria to unite with Germany, they also rejected the name German Austria in the peace treaty to be signed; it was therefore changed to Republic of Austria in late 1919.

After the war inflation began to devaluate the ''Krone'', still Austria's currency. In the autumn of 1922 Austria was granted an international loan supervised by the League of Nations. The purpose of the loan was to avert bankruptcy, stabilise the currency and improve its general economic condition. With the granting of the loan, Austria passed from an independent state to the control exercised by the League of Nations. In 1925 the ''Schilling'', replacing the ''Krone'' by 10,000:1, was introduced. Later it was called the Alpine dollar due to its stability. From 1925 to 1929 the economy enjoyed a short high before nearly crashing after Black Friday.

The First Austrian Republic lasted until 1933 when Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss, using what he called "self-switch-off of Parliament" (), established an autocratic regime tending toward Italian fascism. The two big parties at this time, the Social Democrats and the Conservatives, had paramilitary armies; the Social Democrats' ''Schutzbund'' was now declared illegal but still operative as civil war broke out.

In February 1934 several members of the ''Schutzbund'' were executed, the Social Democratic party was outlawed and many of its members were imprisoned or emigrated. On 1 May 1934, the Austrofascists imposed a new constitution ("Maiverfassung") which cemented Dollfuss's power but on 25 July he was assassinated in a Nazi coup attempt.

His successor, Kurt Schuschnigg, struggled to keep Austria independent as "the better German state", but on 12 March 1938, German troops occupied the country while Austrian Nazis took over government. On 13 March 1938, the ''Anschluss'' of Austria was officially declared. Two days later Hitler, a native of Austria, proclaimed the "re-unification" of his home country with the rest of Germany on Vienna's Heldenplatz. He established a plebiscite confirming the union with Germany in April 1938.

Austria was incorporated into the Third Reich and ceased to exist as an independent state. The Aryanisation of the wealth of Jewish Austrians started immediately mid-March with a so called "wild" (i.e. extra-legal) phase but soon was structured legally and bureaucratically to strip Jewish citizens of any asset they may have possessed. The Nazis called Austria "Ostmark" until 1942 when it was again renamed and called "Alpen-Donau-Reichsgaue". Some of the most prominent Nazis were of Austrian origin, including Adolf Hitler, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Adolf Eichmann, Franz Stangl, and Odilo Globocnik, as were 40% of the staff at Nazi extermination camps. Vienna fell on 13 April 1945, during the Soviet Vienna Offensive just before the total collapse of the Third Reich. The invading Allied powers, in particular the Americans, planned for the supposed "Alpine Fortress Operation" of national redoubt that was largely to have taken place on Austrian soil in the mountains of the eastern Alps. However it never materialized because of the rapid collapse of the Reich.

Karl Renner and Adolf Schärf (Socialist Party of Austria [Social Democrats and Revolutionary Socialists]), Leopold Kunschak (Austria's People's Party [former Christian Social People's Party]) and Johann Koplenig (Communist Party of Austria) declared Austria's secession from the Third Reich by the Declaration of Independence on 27 April 1945 and set up a provisional government in Vienna under state Chancellor Renner the same day, with the approval of the victorious Red Army and backed by Stalin. (The date is officially named the birthday of the second republic.) At the end of April, most of Western and Southern Austria still was under Nazi rule. On 1 May 1945, the federal constitution of 1929, which had been terminated by dictator Dollfuss on 1 May 1934, was declared valid again.

Total military deaths from 1939–1945 are estimated at 260,000. Jewish Holocaust victims totaled 65,000. About 140,000 Jewish Austrians had fled the country in 1938–39. Thousands of Austrians had taken part in serious Nazi crimes, a fact officially recognised by Chancellor Franz Vranitzky in 1992.

Much like Germany, Austria was divided into British, French, Soviet and American zones and governed by the Allied Commission for Austria. As forecast in the Moscow Declaration in 1943, there was a subtle difference in the treatment of Austria by the Allies. The Austrian Government, consisting of Social Democrats, Conservatives and Communists (until 1947) and residing in Vienna, which was surrounded by the Soviet zone, was recognised by the Western Allies in October 1945 after some doubts that Renner could be Stalin's puppet. Thereby the creation of a separate Western Austrian government and the division of the country could be avoided. Austria, in general, was treated as though it had been originally invaded by Germany and liberated by the Allies.

On 15 May 1955, after talks which lasted for years and were influenced by the Cold War, Austria regained full independence by concluding the Austrian State Treaty with the Four Occupying Powers. On 26 October 1955, after all occupation troops had left, Austria declared its "permanent neutrality" by an act of parliament, which remains to this day but has been implicitly overlapped by constitutional amendments concerning Austria as member of the European Union from 1995 onwards.

The political system of the Second Republic is based on the constitution of 1920 and 1929, which was reintroduced in 1945. The system came to be characterised by ''Proporz'', meaning that most posts of political importance were split evenly between members of the Social Democrats and the People's Party. Interest group "chambers" with mandatory membership (e.g. for workers, business people, farmers) grew to considerable importance and were usually consulted in the legislative process, so that hardly any legislation was passed that did not reflect widespread consensus. Since 1945 a single-party government took place only 1966–1970 (Conservatives) and 1970–1983 (Social Democrats). During all other legislative periods, either a grand coalition of Conservatives and Social Democrats or a "small coalition" (one of these two and a smaller party) ruled the country.

Following a referendum in 1994, at which consent reached a majority of two thirds, the country became a member of the European Union on 1 January 1995.

The major parties SPÖ and ÖVP have contrary opinions about the future status of Austria's military non-alignment: While the SPÖ in public supports a neutral role, the ÖVP argues for stronger integration into the EU's security policy; even a future NATO membership is not ruled out by some ÖVP politicians. In reality, Austria is taking part in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, participates in the so-called Petersburg Agenda (including peace keeping and peace creating tasks) and has become member of NATO's "Partnership for Peace"; the constitution has been amended accordingly. Since 2008, due to the Schengen Agreement, the only neighbouring country performing border controls towards Austria is Liechtenstein.

Politics

The Parliament of Austria is located in Vienna, the country's largest city and capital. Austria became a federal, parliamentary, democratic republic through the Federal Constitution of 1920. The political system of the Second Republic with its nine states is based on the constitution of 1920 and 1929, which was reenacted on 1 May 1945. The head of state is the Federal President (''Bundespräsident''), who is directly elected by popular vote. The chairman of the Federal Government is the Federal Chancellor, who is appointed by the president. The government can be removed from office by either a presidential decree or by vote of no confidence in the lower chamber of parliament, the Nationalrat. Voting for the federal president and for the Parliament used to be compulsory in Austria, but this was abolished in steps from 1982 to 2004.

The Parliament of Austria consists of two chambers. The composition of the Nationalrat (183 seats) is determined every five years (or whenever the Nationalrat has been dissolved by the federal president on a motion by the federal chancellor, or by Nationalrat itself) by a general election in which every citizen over 16 years (since 2007) has voting rights. While there is a general threshold of 4 percent for all parties at federal elections (Nationalratswahlen), there remains the possibility to gain a direct seat, or , in one of the 43 regional election districts.

The Nationalrat is the dominant chamber in the formation of legislation in Austria. However, the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, has a limited right of veto (the Nationalrat can—in almost all cases—ultimately pass the respective bill by voting a second time. This is referred to as '''Beharrungsbeschluss'', lit. "vote of persistence"). A convention, called the was convened on 30 June 2003 to decide upon suggestions to reform the constitution, but failed to produce a proposal that would receive the two-thirds of votes in the Nationalrat necessary for constitutional amendments and/or reform.

With legislative and executive, the courts are the third column of Austrian state powers. Notably the Constitutional Court (''Verfassungsgerichtshof'') may exert considerable influence on the political system by ruling out laws and ordinances not in compliance with the constitution. Since 1995, the European Court of Justice may overrule Austrian decisions in all matters defined in laws of the European Union. Austria also implements the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, since the European Convention on Human Rights is part of the Austrian constitution.

Recent developments

After general elections held in October 2006, the Social Democrats emerged as the largest party, whereas the People's Party lost about 8% in votes. Political realities prohibited any of the two major parties from forming a coalition with smaller parties. In January 2007 the People's Party and Social Democrats formed a grand coalition with the social democrat Alfred Gusenbauer as Chancellor. This coalition broke up in June 2008. Elections in September 2008 further weakened both major parties (Social Democrats and People's Party) but together they still held more than 50% of the votes with the Social Democrats holding the majority. They formed a coalition with Werner Faymann from the Social Democrats as Chancellor. The positions of the Freedom Party and the deceased Jörg Haider's new party Alliance for the Future of Austria, both parties on the political right, were strengthened during the election.

Foreign relations

The 1955 Austrian State Treaty ended the occupation of Austria following World War II and recognised Austria as an independent and sovereign state. On 26 October 1955, the Federal Assembly passed a constitutional article in which "Austria declares of her own free will her perpetual neutrality". The second section of this law stated that "in all future times Austria will not join any military alliances and will not permit the establishment of any foreign military bases on her territory". Since then, Austria has shaped its foreign policy on the basis of neutrality, but rather different from the neutrality of Switzerland.

Austria began to reassess its definition of neutrality following the fall of the Soviet Union, granting overflight rights for the UN-sanctioned action against Iraq in 1991, and, since 1995, it has developed participation in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Also in 1995, it joined the Partnership for Peace and subsequently participated in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. Meanwhile, the only part of the Constitutional Law on Neutrality of 1955 still valid fully is not to allow foreign military bases in Austria.

Austria attaches great importance to participation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and other international economic organisations, and it has played an active role in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). As an OSCE participating State, Austria’s international commitments are subject to monitoring under the mandate of the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

Military

The manpower of the Austrian Armed Forces () mainly relies on conscription. All males who have reached the age of eighteen and are found fit have to serve a six months military service, followed by an eight year reserve obligation. Both males and females at the age of sixteen are eligible for voluntary service. Conscientious objection is legally acceptable and those who claim this right are obliged to serve an institutionalised nine months civilian service instead. Since 1998, women volunteers have been allowed to become professional soldiers.

The main sectors of the Bundesheer are Joint Forces (Streitkräfteführungskommando, SKFüKdo) which consist of Land Forces (Landstreitkräfte), Air Forces (Luftstreitkräfte), International Missions (Internationale Einsätze) and Special Forces (Spezialeinsatzkräfte), next to Mission Support (Kommando Einsatzunterstützung; KdoEU) and Command Support (Kommando Führungsunterstützung; KdoFüU). Austria is a landlocked country and has no navy.

In 2004, Austria's defence expenditures corresponded to approximately 0.9% of its GDP. The Army currently has about 45,000 soldiers, of whom about half are conscripts. As head of state, Austrian President (currently Heinz Fischer) is nominally the Commander-in-Chief of the Bundesheer. In practical reality, however, command of the Austrian Armed Forces is almost exclusively exercised by the Minister of Defense, currently Norbert Darabos.

Since the end of the Cold War, and more importantly the removal of the former heavily guarded "Iron Curtain" separating Austria and Hungary, the Austrian military has been assisting Austrian border guards in trying to prevent border crossings by illegal immigrants. This assistance came to an end when Hungary joined the EU Schengen Area in 2008, for all intents and purposes abolishing "internal" border controls between treaty states. Some politicians have called for a prolongation of this mission, but the legality of this is heavily disputed. In accordance with the Austrian constitution, armed forces may only be deployed in a limited number of cases, mainly to defend the country and aid in cases of national emergency, such as in the wake of natural disasters. They may generally not be used as auxiliary police forces.

Within its self-declared status of permanent neutrality, Austria has a long and proud tradition of engaging in UN-led peacekeeping and other humanitarian missions. The Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU), in particular, an all-volunteer unit with close ties to civilian specialists (e.g. rescue dog handlers) enjoys a reputation as a quick (standard deployment time is 10 hours) and efficient SAR unit. Currently, larger contingents of Austrian forces are deployed in Bosnia, Kosovo and, since 1974, in the Golan Heights.

Administrative divisions

As a federal republic, Austria is divided into nine states (). These states are then divided into districts () and statutory cities (). Districts are subdivided into municipalities (). Statutory Cities have the competencies otherwise granted to both districts and municipalities. The states are not mere administrative divisions but have some legislative authority distinct from the federal government, e.g. in matters of culture, social care, youth and nature protection, hunting, building, and zoning ordinances. In recent years, it has been discussed whether today it is appropriate for a small country to maintain ten parliaments.

Geography

Austria is a largely mountainous country due to its location in the Alps. The Central Eastern Alps, Northern Limestone Alps and Southern Limestone Alps are all partly in Austria. Of the total area of Austria (), only about a quarter can be considered low lying, and only 32% of the country is below . The Alps of western Austria give way somewhat into low lands and plains in the eastern part of the country.

Austria lies between latitudes 46° and 50° N, and longitudes 9° and 18° E.

It can be divided into five areas, the biggest being the Eastern Alps, which constitute 62% of nation's total area. The Austrian foothills at the base of the Alps and the Carpathians account for around 12% and the foothills in the east and areas surrounding the periphery of the Pannoni low country amount to about 12% of the total landmass. The second greater mountain area (much lower than the Alps) is situated in the north. Known as the Austrian granite plateau, it is located in the central area of the Bohemian Mass and accounts for 10% of Austria. The Austrian portion of the Vienna basin comprises the remaining 4%.

The six highest mountains in Austria are:

style="width:150px;"	Range
align="left"	Großglockner		>	align="left"	Wildspitze	|		Ötztal Alps
align="left"	Weißkugel	|		Ötztal Alps
align="left"	Großvenediger	|		Hohe Tauern
align="left"	Similaun	|		Ötztal Alps
align="left"	Großes Wiesbachhorn	|		Hohe Tauern

Phytogeographically, Austria belongs to the Central European province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Austria can be subdivided into four ecoregions: the Central European mixed forests, Pannonian mixed forests, Alps conifer and mixed forests and Western European broadleaf forests.

Climate

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 (−10 – 0 °C), summer temperatures can be relatively warm, with average temperatures in the mid-20s and a highest temperature of .

Economy

Austria is the 12th richest country in the world in terms of GDP (Gross domestic product) per capita, has a well-developed social market economy, and a high standard of living. Until the 1980s, many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised; in recent years, however, privatisation has reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies. Labour movements are particularly strong in Austria and have large influence on labour politics. Next to a highly developed industry, international tourism is the most important part of the national economy. Germany has historically been the main trading partner of Austria, making it vulnerable to rapid changes in the German economy. However, since Austria became a member state of the European Union it has gained closer ties to other European Union economies, reducing its economic dependence on Germany. In addition, membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the aspiring economies of the European Union. Growth in GDP accelerated in recent years and reached 3.3% in 2006. Austria indicated on 16 Nov 2010 that it would withhold the December installment of its contribution to the EU bailout of Greece citing material worsening of the Greek debt situation and apparent inability of Greece to collect the level of tax receipts it had previously promised.

Since the fall of communism, Austrian companies have been quite active players and consolidators in Eastern Europe. Between 1995 and 2010, 4'868 mergers & acquisitions with a total known value of 163 bil. EUR with the involvement of Austrian firms have been announced. The largest transactions with involvement of Austrian companies have been: the acquisition of Bank Austria by Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank for 7.8 bil. EUR in 2000, the acquisition of Porsche Holding Salzburg by Volkswagen Group for 3.6 bil. EUR in 2009, and the acquisition of Banca Comercială Română by Erste Group for 3.7 bil. EUR in 2005.

Currency

In Austria, the euro was introduced as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, and euro coins and banknotes entered circulation on 1 January 2002. As a preparation for this date, the minting of the new euro coins started as early as 1999, however all Austrian euro coins introduced in 2002 have this year on it; unlike other countries of the Eurozone where mint year is minted in the coin. Eight different designs, one per face value, were selected for the Austrian coins. In 2007, to adopt the new common map like the rest of the Eurozone countries, Austria changed the common side of its coins.

Before adopting the Euro in 2002 Austria had maintained use of the Austrian schilling which was first established in December 1924. The Schilling was abolished in the wake of the Anschluss in 1938 and was reintroduced after the end of the World War II in November 1945.

Austria has one of the richest collection of collectors' coins in the Eurozone, with face value ranging from 10 to 100 euro (although a 100,000 euro coin was exceptionally minted in 2004). These coins are a legacy of an old national practice of minting of silver and gold coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not legal tender in all the eurozone. For instance, a €5 Austrian commemorative coin cannot be used in any other country.

Energy

In 1972, the country began construction of a nuclear-powered electricity-generation station at Zwentendorf on the River Danube, following a unanimous vote in parliament. However, in 1978, a referendum voted approximately 50.5% against nuclear power, 49.5% for, and parliament subsequently unanimously passed a law forbidding the use of nuclear power to generate electricity.

Austria currently produces more than half of its electricity by hydropower. Together with other renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass powerplants, the electricity supply from renewable energy amounts to 62.89% of total use in Austria, with the rest being produced by gas and oil powerplants.

Demographics

Austria's population estimate in April 2011 was 8,414,638. The population of the capital, Vienna, exceeds 1.7 million (2.2 million including the suburbs), representing about a quarter of the country's population. It is known for its vast cultural offerings and high standard of living.

Vienna is by far the country's largest city. Graz is second in size, with 250,099 inhabitants, followed by Linz (188,968), Salzburg (150,000), and Innsbruck (117,346). All other cities have fewer than 100,000 inhabitants.

Language

German is Austria's official language and is spoken natively by 88.6% of the population—followed by Turkish (2.3%), Serbian (2.2%), Croatian (1.6%), Hungarian (0.5%), Bosnian (0.4%) and Slovenian (0.3%).

The official German used in education, publications, announcements and websites is Austrian German, which is mostly identical to the German used in Germany but with some vocabulary differences. In terms of native language, however, various local Austro-Bavarian (Alemannic in Vorarlberg) are spoken instead, and Standard German is more or less a second language to Austrians. The dialects more or less qualify for classification as separate languages but are not treated as such, even though Austro-Bavarian is sometimes used in media and more so in TV comedy shows.

The Austrian federal states of Carinthia and Styria are home to a significant indigenous Slovene-speaking minority while in the easternmost state, Burgenland (formerly part of the Hungarian portion of Austria–Hungary), there are significant Hungarian- and Croatian-speaking minorities. Of the remaining number of Austria's people that are of non-Austrian descent, many come from surrounding countries, especially from the former East Bloc nations. So-called guest workers ''(Gastarbeiter)'' and their descendants, as well as refugees from the Yugoslav wars and other conflicts, also form an important minority group in Austria. Since 1994 the Roma–Sinti (gypsies) have been an officially recognised ethnic minority in Austria.

According to census information published by Statistik Austria for 2001 there were a total of 710,926 foreign nationals living in Austria. Of these, the largest by far are 283,334 foreign nationals from the former Yugoslavia (of whom 135,376 speak Serbian; 105,487 Croatian; 31.551 Bosnian -- i.e. basically there are altogether 272,414 Austrian resident native speakers of what was officially called Serbo-Croatian until the disintegration of Yugoslavia, and is still considered as a single language by linguists the world over -- plus 6,902 Slovenian and 4,018 Macedonian speakers).

The next largest population of linguistic and ethnic groups are the 124,392 who speak German as their mother tongue even though they hail from outside of Austria (mainly immigrants from Germany, some from Switzerland and South Tyrol, Italy); 123,417 who speak Turkish; 25,155 English; 24,446 Albanian; 17,899 Polish; 14,699 Hungarian; 12,216 Romanian; 7,982 Arabic; 6,891 Slovak; 6,707 Czech; 5,916 Persian; 5,677 Italian; 5,466 Russian; 5,213 French; 4,938 Chinese; 4,264 Spanish; 3,503 Bulgarian. The populations of the rest fall off sharply below 3,000. Between 200,000 and 300,000 ethnic Turks (including minority of Turkish Kurds) currently live in Austria. They are the largest single immigrant group in Austria, closely followed by the Serbs.

As of 2006, some of the Austrian states introduced standardised tests for new citizens, to assure their language ability, cultural knowledge and accordingly their ability to integrate into the Austrian society. For the national rules, see Austrian nationality law – Naturalisation.

Ethnic groups

An estimated 13,000 to 40,000 Slovenes in the Austrian state of Carinthia (the Carinthian Slovenes) as well as Croats (around 30,000) and Hungarians in Burgenland were recognised as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the Austrian State Treaty () of 1955. The Slovenes in the Austrian state of Styria (estimated at a number between 1,600 and 5,000) are not recognised as a minority and do not enjoy special rights, although the State Treaty of 27 July 1955 states otherwise.

The right for bilingual topographic signs for the regions where Slovene- and Croat-Austrians live alongside the German speaking population (as required by the 1955 State Treaty) is still to be fully implemented. Many Carinthians are afraid of Slovenian territorial claims, pointing to the fact that Yugoslav troops entered the state after each of the two World Wars and considering that some official Slovenian atlases show parts of Carinthia as Slovene cultural territory. The recently deceased governor, Jörg Haider, has made this fact a matter of public argument in autumn 2005 by refusing to increase the number of bilingual topographic signs in Carinthia. A poll by the Kärntner Humaninstitut conducted in January 2006 states that 65% of Carinthians are not in favour of an increase of bilingual topographic signs, since the original requirements set by the State Treaty of 1955 have already been fulfilled according to their point of view.

Another interesting phenomenon is the so called "Windischen-Theorie" stating that the Slovenes can be split in two groups: actual Slovenes and ''Windische'' (a traditional German name for Slavs), based on differences in language between Austrian Slovenes, who were taught Slovene standard language in school and those Slovenes who spoke their local Slovene dialect but went to German schools. The term ''Windische'' was applied to the latter group as a means of distinction. This politically influenced theory, dividing Slovene Austrians into the "loyal Windische" and the "national Slovenes", was never generally accepted and fell out of use some decades ago.

Religion

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" rules="all" style="width:250px; float:right; margin:1em; background:#fff; border:2px solid #aaa; font-size:100%;" |- style="background:#ddd;" | colspan="8" style="text-align:center;"| Main Denominations in Austria |- style="background:#f0f0f0; text-align:center;" ! year ! population ! Catholics ! percentage ! Lutherans ! percentage |- style="text-align:center;" | 1951 || 6,933,905 || 6,170,084 || 89.0 %||429,493||6.2% |- style="text-align:center;" | 1961 || 7,073,807 || 6,295,075 || 89.0 %||438,663||6.2% |- style="text-align:center;" | 1971 || 7,491,526 || 6,548,316 || 87.4 %||447,070||6,0% |- style="text-align:center;" | 1981 || 7,555,338 || 6,372,645 || 84.3 %||423,162||5,6% |- style="text-align:center;" | 1991 || 7,795,786 || 6,081,454 || 78.0 %||338,709||5.0% |- style="text-align:center;" | 2001 || 8,032,926 || 5,915,421 || 73.6 %||376,150||4.7% |- style="text-align:center;" | 2005 || 8,250,000 || 5,662,782 || 68.5 %|| -|| – |- style="text-align:center;" | 2008|| 8,350,000 || 5,579,493|| 66.8 %||328,346||3.9% |- style="text-align:center;" |2009 || 8,376,761 || 5,530,000 || 66.0 %||325,314||3.9% |- style="text-align:center;" |2010 || 8,404,252 || || ||323,863||3.8% |} At the end of the 20th century, about 74% of Austria's population were registered as Roman Catholic, while about 5% considered themselves Protestants. Austrian Christians are obliged to pay a mandatory membership fee (calculated by income—about 1%) to their church; this payment is called "Kirchenbeitrag" ("Ecclesiastical/Church contribution").

Since the second half of the 20th century, the number of adherents and churchgoers has started declining. Data for the end of 2005 from the Austrian Roman Catholic church lists 5,662,782 members, or 68.5% of the total Austrian population, and a Sunday church attendance of 753,701 or 9% of the total Austrian population. Data for the end of 2008 published by the Austrian Roman Catholic church shows a further reduction to 5,579,493 members or 66.8% of the total Austrian population, and a Sunday church attendance of 698,527 or 8% of the total Austrian population. The Lutheran church also recorded a loss of 47904 adherents between 2001 and 2008.

About 12% of the population declared that they have no religion. in 2001. Of the remaining people, around 340,000 are registered as members of various Muslim communities, mainly due to the influx from Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. About 180,000 are members of Orthodox Churches (mostly Serbs), more than 20,000 are active Jehovah's Witnesses and about 8,100 are Jewish.

The Austrian Jewish Community of 1938—Vienna alone counted more than 200,000—was reduced to around 4,500 during the Second World War, with approximately 65,000 Jewish Austrians killed in the Holocaust and 130,000 emigrating. The large majority of the current Jewish population are post-war immigrants, particularly from eastern Europe and central Asia (including Bukharan Jews). Buddhism was legally recognised as a religion in Austria in 1983.

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,

54% of Austrian citizens responded that ''"they believe there is a God"''.

34% answered that ''"they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force"''.

8% answered that ''"they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force"''.

While northern and central Germany was the origin of the Reformation, Austria and Bavaria were the heart of the Counter-Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries, when the absolute monarchy of Habsburg imposed a strict regime to restore Catholicism's power and influence among Austrians. The Habsburgs for a long time viewed themselves as the vanguard of Catholicism and all other confessions and religions were repressed.

In 1781, in the era of Austrian enlightenment, Emperor Joseph II issued a Patent of Tolerance for Austria that allowed other confessions a limited freedom of worship. Religious freedom was declared a constitutional right in Cisleithania after the Austro-Hungarian ''Ausgleich'' in 1867 thus paying tribute to the fact that the monarchy was home of numerous religions beside Roman Catholicism such as Greek, Serbian, Romanian, Russian, and Bulgarian Orthodox Christians (Austria neighboured the Ottoman Empire for centuries), Calvinist, Lutheran Protestants and Jews. In 1912, after the annexation of Bosnia Hercegovina in 1908, Islam was officially recognised in Austria.

Austria remained largely influenced by Catholicism. After 1918, First Republic Catholic leaders such as Theodor Innitzer and Ignaz Seipel took leading positions within or close to Austria's government and increased their influence during the time of the Austrofascism; Catholicism was treated much like a state religion by Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt Schuschnigg. Although Catholic (and Protestant) leaders initially welcomed the Germans in 1938 during the Anschluss of Austria into Germany, Austrian Catholicism stopped its support of Nazism later on and many former religious public figures became involved with the resistance during the Third Reich. After the end of World War II in 1945, a stricter secularism was imposed in Austria, and religious influence on politics declined.

Education

Responsibility for educational in Austria is entrusted partly to the Austrian states (Bundesländer) and partly to the federal government. School attendance is compulsory for nine years, i.e. usually to the age of fifteen.

Kindergarten education, free in most states, is provided for all children between the ages of three and six years and, whilst optional, is considered a normal part of a child's education, due to its high takeup rate. Maximum class size is around 30, each class normally being cared for by one qualified teacher and one assistant. Standard attendance times are 8 am to 12 pm, with extra afternoon care also frequently provided for a fee.

Primary education, or Volksschule, lasts for four years, starting at age six. Maximum class size is 30, but may be as low as 15. It is generally expected that a class will be taught by one teacher for the entire four years and the stable bond between teacher and pupil is considered important for a child's well-being. The so called "3Rs"(Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic) dominate lesson time, with less time allotted to project work than in the UK. Children work individually and all members of a class follow the same plan of work. There is no streaming. Lessons begin at 8 am and last until noon or 1 pm with hourly five- or ten-minute breaks. Children are given homework daily from the first year. Historically there has been no lunch hour, with children returning home to eat. However, due to a rise in the number of mothers in work, primary schools are increasingly offering pre-lesson and afternoon care.As in Germany, secondary education consists of two main types of schools, attendance at which is based on a pupil's ability as determined by grades from the primary school. The Gymnasium caters for the more able children, in the final year of which the Matura examination is taken, which is a requirement for access to university. The Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education but also for various types of further education (Höhere Technische Lehranstalt HTL = institution of higher technical education; HAK = commercial academy; HBLA = institution of higher education for economic business; etc.). Attendance at one of these further education institutes also leads to the Matura. Some schools aim to combine the education available at the Gymnasium and the Hauptschule, and are known as Gesamtschulen. In addition, a recognition of the importance of learning English has led some Gymnasiums to offer a bilingual stream, in which pupils deemed able in languages follow a modified curriculum, a portion of the lesson time being conducted in English.

As at primary school, lessons at Gymnasium begin at 8 am and continue with short intervals until lunchtime or early afternoon, with children returning home to a late lunch. Older pupils often attend further lessons after a break for lunch, generally eaten at school. As at primary level, all pupils follow the same plan of work. Great emphasis is placed on homework and frequent testing. Satisfactory marks in the end-of-the-year report ("Zeugnis") are a prerequisite for moving up ("aufsteigen") to the next class. Pupils who do not meet the required standard re-sit their tests at the end of the summer holidays; those whose marks are still not satisfactory are required to re-sit the year ("sitzenbleiben").

It is not uncommon for a pupil to re-sit more than one year of school. After completing the first two years, pupils choose between one of two strands, known as "Gymnasium" (slightly more emphasis on arts) or "Realgymnasium" (slightly more emphasis on science). Whilst many schools offer both strands, some do not, and as a result, some children move schools for a second time at age 12. At age 14, pupils may choose to remain in one of these two strands, or to change to a vocational course, possibly with a further change of school.

The Austrian university system had been open to any student who passed the Matura examination until recently. A 2006 bill allowed the introduction of entrance exams for studies such as Medicine. In 2001, an obligatory tuition fee ("''Studienbeitrag''") of €363.36 per term was introduced for all public universities. Since 2008, for all EU students the studies have been free of charge, as long as a certain time-limit is not exceeded (the expected duration of the study plus usually two terms tolerance). When the time-limit is exceeded, the fee of around €363.36 per term is charged. Some further exceptions to the fee apply, e.g. for students with a year's salary of more than about €5000. In all cases, an obligatory fee of €15.50 for the student union and insurance is charged..

Culture

Music

Austria's past as a European power and its cultural environment have generated a broad contribution to various forms of art, most notably among them music. Austria has been the birthplace of many famous composers such as Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss, Sr. and Johann Strauss, Jr. as well as members of the Second Viennese School such as Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and Alban Berg. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, then an independent Church Principality, though one that was culturally closely connected to Austria, and much of Mozart's career was spent in Vienna.

Vienna has long been especially an important centre of musical innovation. 18th and 19th century composers were drawn to the city due to the patronage of the Habsburgs, and made Vienna the European capital of classical music. During the Baroque period, Slavic and Hungarian folk forms influenced Austrian music.

Vienna's status began its rise as a cultural center in the early 16th century, and was focused around instruments including the lute. Ludwig van Beethoven spent the better part of his life in Vienna. Austria's current national anthem, attributed to Mozart, was chosen after World War II to replace the traditional Austrian anthem by Joseph Haydn.

Austria has also produced one notable jazz musician, keyboardist Josef Zawinul, who helped pioneer electronic influences in jazz as well as being a notable composer in his own right. The pop and rock musician Falco was internationally acclaimed during the 1980s, especially for his song "Rock Me Amadeus" dedicated to Mozart. The drummer Thomas Lang was born in Vienna in 1967 and is now world renowned for his technical ability, having played with artists such as Geri Halliwell and Robbie Williams.

Art and architecture

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.

Cinema and theatre

Austrian contributions to the worlds of film and theatre have traditionally been strong. Sascha Kolowrat was an Austrian pioneer of filmmaking. Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang, Josef von Sternberg, and Fred Zinnemann originally came from Austria before establishing themselves as internationally relevant movie makers. Willi Forst, Ernst Marischka, or Franz Antel enriched the popular cinema in German language speaking countries. Michael Haneke became internationally known for his disturbing cinematic studies, before receiving a Golden Globe for his critically acclaimed film ''The White Ribbon'' in 2010.

The first Austrian film director receiving an Academy Award was Stefan Ruzowitzky. Many Austrian actors were able to pursue a career, the impact of which was sensed beyond national borders. Among them were Peter Lorre, Helmut Berger, Curd Jürgens, Senta Berger, Oskar Werner, and Klaus Maria Brandauer. Hedy Lamarr and Arnold Schwarzenegger became American as well as international movie stars. Christoph Waltz rose to international fame with his performance in ''Inglourious Basterds'', earning the Palme d'Or for best actor at Cannes in 2009, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2010. Max Reinhardt was a master of spectacular and astute theater productions. Otto Schenk not only excelled as a stage actor, but also as an opera director.

Science and philosophy

Austria was the cradle of numerous scientists with international reputation. Among them are Ludwig Boltzmann, Ernst Mach, Victor Franz Hess and Christian Doppler, prominent scientists in the 19th century. In the 20th century, contributions by Lise Meitner, Erwin Schrödinger and Wolfgang Pauli to nuclear research and quantum mechanics were key to these areas' development during the 1920s and 1930s. A present-day quantum physicist is Anton Zeilinger, noted as the first scientist to demonstrate quantum teleportation.

In addition to physicists, Austria was the birthplace of two of the most noteworthy philosophers of the 20th century, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper. In addition to them, biologists Gregor Mendel and Konrad Lorenz as well as mathematician Kurt Gödel and engineers such as Ferdinand Porsche and Siegfried Marcus were Austrians.

A focus of Austrian science has always been medicine and psychology, starting in medieval times with Paracelsus. Eminent physicians like Theodore Billroth, Clemens von Pirquet, and Anton von Eiselsberg have built upon the achievements of the 19th century Vienna School of Medicine. Austria was home to psychologists Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Paul Watzlawick and Hans Asperger and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl.

The Austrian School of Economics, which is prominent as one of the main competitive directions for economic theory, is related to Austrian economists Joseph Schumpeter, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Ludwig von Mises, and Friedrich Hayek. Other noteworthy Austrian-born émigrés include the management thinker Peter Drucker, sociologist Paul Felix Lazarsfeld scientist Sir Gustav Nossal, sociologist Paul Felix Lazarsfeld and the 38th Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Literature

Complementing its status as a land of artists and scientists, Austria has always been a country of poets, writers, and novelists. It was the home of novelists Arthur Schnitzler, Stefan Zweig, Thomas Bernhard, Franz Kafka, and Robert Musil, of poets Georg Trakl, Franz Werfel, Franz Grillparzer, Rainer Maria Rilke, Adalbert Stifter, Karl Kraus and children's author Eva Ibbotson.

Famous contemporary playwrights and novelists are Nobel prize winner Elfriede Jelinek, Peter Handke and Daniel Kehlmann.

Food and drink

Austria's cuisine is derived from that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Austrian cuisine is mainly the tradition of Royal-Cuisine ("Hofküche") delivered over centuries. It is famous for its well-balanced variations of beef and pork and countless variations of vegetables. There is also the "Mehlspeisen" Bakery, which created particular delicacies such as Sachertorte, "Krapfen" which are doughnuts usually filled with apricot marmalade or custard, and "Strudel" such as "Apfelstrudel" filled with apple, "Topfenstrudel" filled with a type of cheese curd called "topfen", and "Millirahmstrudel" (milk-cream strudel).

In addition to native regional traditions, the cuisine has been influenced by Hungarian, Bohemia Czech, Jewish, Italian, Balkan and French cuisine, from which both dishes and methods of food preparation have often been borrowed. The Austrian cuisine is therefore one of the most multicultural and transcultural in Europe.

Typical Austrian dishes include Wiener Schnitzel, Schweinsbraten, Kaiserschmarren, Knödel, Sachertorte and Tafelspitz. There are also Kärntner Kasnudeln, which are pockets of dough filled with Topfen, potatoes, herbs and peppermint which are boiled and served with a butter sauce. Kasnudeln are traditionally served with a salad. Eierschwammerl dishes are also popular. The "Eierschwammerl", also known as "Pfifferling", are native yellow, tan mushrooms. The candy Pez was invented in Austria, as well as Mannerschnitten. Austria is also famous for its Mozartkugeln and its coffee tradition.

Beer is sold in 0.2 litre (a ''Pfiff''), 0.3 litre (a ''Seidel'', ''kleines Bier'' or ''Glas Bier'') and 0.5 litre (a ''Krügerl'' or ''großes Bier'' or ''Halbe'') measures. At festivals one litre ''Maß'' and two litre ''Doppelmaß'' in the Bavarian style are also dispensed. The most popular types of beer are lager (known as ''Märzen'' in Austria), naturally cloudy ''Zwicklbier'' and wheat beer. At holidays like Christmas and Easter bock beer is also available.

The most important wine-producing areas are in Lower Austria, Burgenland, Styria and Vienna. The Grüner Veltliner grape provides some of Austria's most notable white wines and Zweigelt is the most widely planted red wine grape.

In Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Styria and Carinthia, ''Most'', a type of cider or perry is widely produced.

Schnapps of typically up to 60 % alcohol or fruit brandy is drunk, which in Austria is made from a variety of fruits, for example apricots and rowanberries. The produce of small private schnapps distilleries, of which there are around 20,000 in Austria, is known as ''Selberbrennter'' or ''Hausbrand''. A very high percentage schnaps is called "Umblachter" and has up to 85% Alcohol.

Sports

Due to the mountainous terrain, alpine skiing is a prominent sport in Austria. Similar sports such as snowboarding or ski-jumping are also widely popular and Austrian athletes such as Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Hermann Maier and Toni Sailer are widely regarded as some of the greatest alpine skiers of all time.

A popular team sport in Austria is football, which is governed by the Austrian Football Association. Austria was among the most successful football playing nations on the European continent placing 4th at the 1934 FIFA World Cup, 3rd at the 1954 FIFA World Cup and 7th at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. However, recently Austrian football has been much less internationally successful in this discipline. It also co-hosted the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship with Switzerland. The national Austrian football league is the Austrian Bundesliga, which includes teams such as record-champions FK Austria Wien, SK Rapid Wien, Red Bull Salzburg and Sturm Graz.

Besides football, Austria also has professional national leagues for most major team sports including the Austrian Hockey League for ice hockey, and the Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga for basketball. Bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton are also popular events with a permanent track located in Igls, which hosted bobsleigh and luge competitions for the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck. The first Winter Youth Olympics in 2012 will be held in Innsbruck as well.

See also

Austrian colonial policy

Federal Criminal Police Office (Austria)

Index of Austria-related articles

List of European Research Council grants awarded to Austrian institutions

List of twin towns and sister cities in Austria

Telephone numbers in Austria

References

;Bibliography

Rathkolb, Oliver. ''The Paradoxical Republic: Austria, 1945–2005'' (Berghahn Books; 2010, 301 pages). Translation of 2005 study of paradoxical aspects of Austria's political culture and society.

External links

Austria entry at ''Encyclopædia Britannica''

Austria information from the United States Department of State

Portals to the World from the United States Library of Congress

Austria at ''

Information on Austria Sorted by regions. Choose from 5 languages.

;Government

Federal Chancellery of Austria ''official government portal''

AEIOU Austria Albums (in German, English)

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

;Travel

Austria.info Official homepage of the Austrian National Tourist Office

Austria.mu Homepage of the Austrian Museums

TourMyCountry.com Website on Austrian culture, cuisine and tourist attractions

Tourist Informations Service from Austria

Europe Pictures – Austria

;Miscellaneous

Austrian Law Information on Austrian Law

History of Austria: Primary Documents from ''EuroDocs''

Guide to materials pertaining to Austria, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library

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Name	Hans Oster
Birth date	August 09, 1887
Death date	April 09, 1945
Birth place	Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Death place	Flossenbürg concentration camp, Nazi Germany
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Germany Nazi Germany
Branch	Abwehr
Serviceyears	1907–19321935–1944
Rank	Major General
Battles	World War IWorld War II
Laterwork	}}

Hans Oster (August 9, 1887 – April 9, 1945) was a German Army general, deputy head of the Abwehr under Wilhelm Canaris, and an opponent of Adolf Hitler and Nazism. He was a leading figure of the German resistance from 1938 to 1943.

Early career

He was born in Dresden, Saxony in 1887, the son of an Alsatian pastor of the French Protestant Church. He entered the artillery in 1907. In World War I, he served on the Western Front until 1916, when he was appointed as Captain to the German General Staff.

After the war, he was thought well enough to be kept in the reduced Reichswehr, whose officer corps was limited to 4,000 by Treaty of Versailles. However, he had to resign from the army in 1932, when he got into trouble because of an indiscretion during the Carnival in the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland, where Reichswehr officers were prohibited.

He soon found a job in a new organization which Hermann Göring set up under the Prussian police. He transferred to the Abwehr in October 1933. It was in this connection that he met future conspirators Hans Bernd Gisevius and Arthur Nebe, who were then working in the Gestapo. Oster also became a close confidant of Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr.

Opposition to Hitler

Like many other army officers, Oster initially welcomed the Nazi regime, but his opinion soon soured after the 1934 "Night of the Long Knives", in which the Schutzstaffel (SS) extrajudicially murdered many of the leaders of the rival Sturmabteilung (SA) and their political opponents, including General Kurt von Schleicher, last Chancellor of Weimar Republic, and Major-General Ferdinand von Bredow, former head of the Abwehr. In 1935, Oster was allowed to reenlist in the army, but never on the General Staff. By 1938, the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair and Kristallnacht (state-sanctioned pogrom of Jews in Germany) turned his antipathy into a hatred of Nazism. In the course of the Fritsch crisis, Oster met General Ludwig Beck, Chief of General Staff, for the first time.

Oster's position in the Abwehr was invaluable to the conspiracy. The Abwehr could provide false papers and restricted materials, provide cover by disguising conspiratorial activities as intelligence work, link various resistance cells that were otherwise disparate, and supply intelligence to the conspirators. He also played a central role in the first military conspiracy to overthrow Hitler, which was rooted in Hitler's intention to invade Czechoslovakia. In August 1938, Beck spoke openly at a meeting of army generals in Berlin about his opposition to a war with the western powers over Czechoslovakia. When Hitler was informed of this, he demanded and received Beck’s resignation. Beck was highly respected in the army and his removal shocked the officer corps. His successor as Chief of Staff, Franz Halder, remained in touch with him and also with Oster. Privately, he said that he considered Hitler “the incarnation of evil.” During September, plans for a move against Hitler were formulated, involving Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben, the army commander of the Berlin Military Region, and thus well-placed to stage a coup.

Oster, Gisevius and Schacht urged Halder and Beck to stage an immediate coup against Hitler, but the army generals argued that they could mobilize support among the officer corps for such a step only if Hitler made overt moves towards war. Halder nevertheless asked Oster to draw up plans for a coup. It was eventually agreed that Halder would instigate the coup when Hitler committed an overt step towards war. Therefore, emissaries of the conspirators traveled to Great Britain with assistance of Oster's Abwehr to urge the British to stand firm against Hitler over the Sudeten crisis. On 28 September, however, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain agreed to a meeting in Munich, at which he accepted the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. Hitler's diplomatic triumph undermined and demoralized the conspirators. Halder would no longer support a coup. This was the nearest approach to a successful conspiracy against Hitler before the 20 July plot of 1944.

As war again grew more likely in mid 1939, the efforts for a pre-emptive coup were revived. Oster was still in contact with Halder and Witzleben. But many officers, particularly those from Prussian landowning backgrounds, were strongly anti-Polish and saw a war to regain Danzig and other lost eastern territories as justified.

After the outbreak of World War II, resistance in the army became more problematic since it could lead to defeat of Germany. However, when Hitler decided to attack France soon after the Polish campaign in 1939, Halder along with other ranking generals thought it to be hopelessly unrealistic and again entertained the idea of coup, urged by Oster and Canaris. However, when Hitler vowed to destroy the "spirit of Zossen" (Zossen was where headquarters of Army High Command was located), by which he meant defeatism, Halder feared that their conspiracy was about to be discovered and destroyed all incriminating documents.

Meanwhile, in an act that even other conspirators would have regarded as treason, Oster informed his friend Bert Sas, the Netherlands' military attaché in Berlin, more than twenty times of the exact date of the repeatedly delayed invasion of the Netherlands. Sas passed the information to his government, but was not believed. Oster calculated that his "treason" could cost the lives of 40,000 German soldiers and wrestled with his decision, but concluded that it was necessary to prevent millions of deaths that would occur in what would be undoubtedly a protracted war should Germany achieve an early victory.

The period between 1940 and 1942 was the nadir of German resistance. Some officers were pleased to be wrong in their fear of military disaster. Others still opposed Hitler and the Nazi regime, but felt that his enormous popularity with the people made any action impossible. Tireless, Oster nevertheless succeeded in rebuilding an effective resistance network. In 1941, when the systematic extermination of Europeans Jews began with the invasion of Soviet Union, his Abwehr group established contact with Henning von Tresckow's resistance group in Army Group Center. In 1942, his most important recruit was General Friedrich Olbricht, head of the General Army Office headquartered at the Bendlerblock in central Berlin, who controlled an independent system of communications to reserve units all over Germany. Oster's Abwehr group supplied British-made bombs to Tresckow's group for their various attempts to assassinate Hitler in 1943.

However, later in 1943, the Abwehr group's efforts to rescue Jews were discovered by the Gestapo and Oster was dismissed from his post. Hans von Dohnanyi, who joined the Abwehr shortly before war, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous Lutheran theologian and Dohnanyi's brother-in-law, helped 14 Jews to flee to Switzerland disguised as Abwehr agents in Operation U-7. Dohnanyi and Bonhoeffer were arrested on charges of alleged breach of monetary exchange laws, amongst others with the leading German insurance brokers Jauch & Hübener, Captain Walter Jauch of the Jauch family being a first cousin-in-law of Oster and Otto Hübener later being hanged. Oster was placed under house arrest. Their involvement in the German resistance was discovered after the failure of the 20 July Plot.

Death

Oster was arrested one day after the failed 20 July Plot to assassinate Hitler. On April 4, 1945, the diaries of Admiral Canaris were discovered and, in a rage upon reading them, Hitler ordered that the conspirators be executed.

On April 8, 1945, Oster, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Wilhelm Canaris, and other anti-Nazis were convicted and sentenced to death by an SS drumhead court-martial presided over by Otto Thorbeck. At dawn the next day, Oster, Bonhoeffer and Canaris were hanged in Flossenbürg concentration camp. They were forced to strip naked before being taken to the gallows. The camp was liberated two weeks later by American forces.

Fabian von Schlabrendorff, one of the few major coordinators of anti-Nazi activities to survive the war, described Oster as "a man such as God meant men to be, lucid and serene in mind, imperturbable in danger."

Quote

"He's a man of courage and conviction. And what resolution in his sermons! There should be a handful of such people in all our churches, and at least two handfuls in the Wehrmacht. If there were, Germany would look quite different!"

* Speaking about Mgr. Clemens August Graf von Galen, Roman Catholic bishop and vocal critic of Naziism.

See also

List of members of the 20 July plot

Footnotes

Further reading

Joachim Fest. ''Plotting Hitler's Death: The German Resistance to Hitler, 1933–1945'' (London, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1996).

Peter Hoffmann. ''The History of the German Resistance, 1933–1945'' (Montreal, McGill-Queen's University Press, 1996).

Terry Parssinen. ''The Oster Conspiracy of 1938'' (London, Harper Collins, 2004).

Roger Moorhouse. ''Killing Hitler'' (London, Jonathan Cape, 2006).

Terry Parssinen, ''Die vergessene Verschwörung. Hans Oster und der militärische Widerstand gegen Hitler'' (München, Siedler, 2008).

Category:1887 births Category:1945 deaths Category:People from Dresden Category:Abwehr Category:German military personnel of World War I Category:German military personnel of World War II Category:German Resistance members Category:People condemned by Nazi courts Category:People executed by hanging Category:People from the Kingdom of Saxony Category:Extrajudicial killings Category:Executed German people Category:Flossenbürg concentration camp victims

da:Hans Oster de:Hans Oster es:Hans Oster fr:Hans Oster it:Hans Oster he:הנס אוסטר la:Ioannes Paulus Oster nl:Hans Oster ja:ハンス・オスター no:Hans Oster nds:Hans Oster pl:Hans Oster pt:Hans Oster ru:Остер, Ханс fi:Hans Oster sv:Hans Oster tr:Hans Oster

Emily Fair Oster is an American economist. After receiving an B.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard in 2002 and 2006 respectively, Oster moved to the University of Chicago where she is now a Becker Fellow, which is a two year position at the Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory. She has recently accepted a position in the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago.

Oster is perhaps most well-known for her PhD dissertation, "Hepatitis B and the Case of the Missing Women," in which she suggests that biology can be used to reveal the truth about the missing-women puzzle. Oster points to findings that areas with high Hep B rates tend to have higher male-to female birth ratios. The fact that Hep B can cause a woman to conceive male children more often than female, she says, accounts for a bulk of the "missing women" in Amartya Sen's famous 1990 essay, "More Than 100 Million Women Are Missing." Sen, on the other hand, attributed the "missing women" to societal discrimination against girls and women in the form of the allocation of health, educational, and even food resources. The use of Hep B vaccine in 1982 led to a sharp decline in the male-to-female birth ratio, she notes in her dissertation.

These conclusions have been disputed by Avraham Ebenstein, whose work (focused on the more recent period, after Oster's analysis) finds that unnaturally high male-to-female ratios occur only for children born after the first-born. This suggests that sex-selective abortion is mostly responsible for the "missing women".

In April 2008, Oster released a working paper "Hepatitis B Does Not Explain Male-Biased Sex Ratios in China" in which she evaluates new data and admits that her old research was incorrect. " This has been seen as a sign of integrity by Freakonomics author Steven Levitt.

Oster's current work focuses primarily on HIV in Africa. In a 2007 Ted Talk, she discusses how an incentive-based analysis can illuminate public policy in trying to reduce the spread of HIV. For example, life expectancy in Africa is relatively low; therefore, more individuals may decide that taking precautionary measures to reduce the chances of death from AIDS aren't worth the effort. The implication is that AIDS education and preventive programs are more likely to succeed in areas with longer life expectancies, e.g. in areas with less malaria. Oster also notes that it is possible to compare AIDS prevalence in the absence of random HIV testing by looking at mortality data (since much of the data on people with AIDS in Africa focuses on pregnant women and intravenous drug users). By comparing mortality rates in the 20 to 40 year old age groups, where AIDS kills more than other diseases (of the very young or old), it is possible to estimate the extent of the AIDS epidemic even without direct HIV testing.

Early life

When Emily was two years old, her parents noticed that she would often talk to herself in her crib after they said good night and left her room. In order to figure out what she was saying, they placed a tape recorder in her room, which they would turn on once they had tucked her in. Those tapes were eventually passed on to psychologist and linguist friends of her parents. Careful analysis of Emily's speech showed that her language was much more complex when she was alone than it was when interacting with adults. This led to her being the subject of a series of academic papers which were collectively published as a compendium in 1989 titled Narratives from the Crib. The book was reprinted in 2006, featuring a foreword written by Emily.

Personal life

Emily is the daughter of Sharon M. Oster and Ray C. Fair, both professors of economics at Yale University. She married Jesse Shapiro, also a Becker Fellow and young economist in June 2006.

References

External links

Oster's home page (Chicago)

Emily Oster: What do we really know about the spread of AIDS? TED, March 2007

The Future of Economics Isn’t So Dismal New York Times, January 10, 2007

Preventing HIV in Africa: Understanding Sexual Behavior Change Video Interview

Category:American economists Category:Female economists Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Harvard University alumni Category:University of Chicago faculty

zh:艾蜜莉·奧斯特

name	Paul de Leeuw
birth name	Paul Henri de Leeuw
birth date	March 26, 1962
birth place	Rotterdam, Netherlands
residence	Blaricum, Netherlands
nationality	Dutch
employer	VARA
occupation	Actor, comedian, singer, television presenter
spouse	Stephan Nugter
children	Kas and Tobey (both adopted)
website	www.pauldeleeuw.nl
footnotes	}}

Paul Henri de Leeuw (born March 26, 1962 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch television comedian, singer and actor.

De Leeuw gained national fame in the late eighties and early nineties with television shows for broadcasting company VARA. Though satire was only a part of these shows and much of its humour was essentially harmless, he came into publicity with satire about Dutch show business personalities who were often ridiculed. Besides, many obscure musical acts were featured in his shows, many of which managed to gain national fame after they had been in De Leeuw's show (e.g. Twarres and René Klijn, a former boyband member who contracted AIDS). VARA has since continued his shows apart from a few interruptions, often with considerable success.

In the early nineties, Paul de Leeuw also had some shows celebrating the new year. In the 1993-1994 show he satirized the new commercial television station RTL 5 by announcing another new station, "RTL 6" (''RTL six, beter dan niks'' (lit. better than nothing)). This led to a trial by the RTL company, who demanded that De Leeuw withdraw his joke.

He and his husband, Stephan Nugter, have adopted two children: son Kas (adopted in October 2001) and son Tobey (adopted in December 2002).

Paul de Leeuw has had many hit singles in The Netherlands. He is most famous for: ''Vlieg met me mee'' (#2), ''Ik wil niet dat je liegt / Waarheen, waarvoor'' (#1), and '' 'k Heb je lief'' (#3). Since the beginning of his television and singing career he released albums and singles, always becoming a big success.

On Koninginnedag 2007 he was made a Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

25th Anniversary

Paul de Leeuw until mid-2009 hosted the weekly chat and comedy show ''Mooi! Weer De Leeuw''. On November 29, 2008 he celebrated his 25th television anniversary by staging a 12-hour marathon. Not forgetting the reason ''Mooi! Weer De Leeuw'' happened, he invited his one-time collaborator Jack Spijkerman (whose ''Kopspijkers''-show previously filled the ''Mooi! Weer De Leeuw'' time slot, before a row prompted VARA to cancel it with immediate effect) to reprise one item from ''Kopspijkers''; other guests included comedians Herman van Veen and Brigitte Kaandorp, and singer/musical actor Danny de Munk.

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 incident

De Leeuw is, despite being famous for a long time in the Netherlands, best-known internationally for presenting the results of the Dutch televote in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. De Leeuw was supposed to present the televote by simply thanking the presenters, performers and fans, before giving the result, but instead the openly gay De Leeuw gave his mobile number to the male presenter Sakis Rouvas live on-air, and made other comments which somewhat lengthened the Dutch results.

De Leeuw also made a reference to gay culture when he remarked that Rouvas and his female co-presenter Maria Menounos reminded him of ''Will & Grace''. As the results were live and required for the contest to continue, De Leeuw could not be cut off until he finished giving the voting results.

De Leeuw's actions resulted in negative comments from the commentators, with the BBC's Terry Wogan calling the act "pathetic" and asking "Who selected this eejit?" during the United Kingdom coverage of the contest. Other commentators, like the Portuguese Eládio Clímaco, didn't translate properly the gay remarks and said "he was saying that they really look like Greeks". De Leeuw presented the votes again for the Netherlands at the 2007 contest, and that time did not cause quite as much of a stir as he did the year before.

Animal rights dispute and controversy

In one show from ''Mooi! Weer De Leeuw'' a vegan streaker went unannounced in his show giving the attention about animal suffering. His main reason was for people to become a vegetarian for a better cause. The security wanted to take out the streaker but de Leeuw had taken the slip he was wearing already out of this man in public audience after a short while. The streaker felt offended after this situation and wanted to give charges to the police against de Leeuw that he have been molestated. Although charges against de Leeuw have been dropped. Some parents with children also find it shocking that this happened at the show which could or might offend young children as well.

Israëlean broadcast commotion

De Leeuw identifies as a strong Eurovision Song Contest follower with his own perspectives and beliefs. He presented the Dutch Eurovision occasionally as a host and commentator in 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006 en 2007. In 1998 and 1999 together with Linda de Mol. In 1995 a lot of commotion came out of this because he had started a tirade and outburst against the Israëlean broadcasting 'Amen'.

Works

In 2005, De Leeuw wrote the introduction to the Dutch edition of ''The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History'' by John Kennedy O'Connor.

Discography

''Voor u majesteit'' (1991)

''Van u wil ik zingen'' (1992)

''Plugged'' (1993)

''ParaCDmol'' (1994)

''Filmpje'' (1995)

''In heel Europa was er niemand zoals zij'' (1995)

''Encore'' (1996)

''Lief'' (1997)

''Stille liedjes'' (1999)

''Kerstkransje'' (2001)

''Zingen terwijl u wacht'' (2001)

''Metropaul'' (2004)

''Duizel mij'' (2005)

''Mooi! Weer Een Cd'' (2006)

''Het wordt winter'' (2008)

Filmography

List of films in which Paul de Leeuw performed as an actor:

''Jan Rap en z'n maat'' (1989)

''Filmpje!'' (1995)

''Heerlijk duurt het langst'' (1998)

''De Pijnbank'' (1998)

''Max Lupa'' (1999)

''Yes Nurse! No Nurse!'' (2002)

''K3 en het magische medaillon'' (2004)

''Alles is liefde'' (2007)

''Spion van Oranje'' (2009)

References

External links

Paul de Leeuw

Category:1962 births Category:Dutch comedians Category:Dutch film actors Category:Dutch television actors Category:Dutch television presenters Category:LGBT comedians Category:Eurovision Song Contest commentators Category:LGBT people from the Netherlands Category:Living people Category:People from Rotterdam Category:People from Nederlek

de:Paul de Leeuw es:Paul de Leeuw fy:Paul de Leeuw it:Paul de Leeuw li:Paul de Leeuw nl:Paul de Leeuw pl:Paul de Leeuw tr:Paul de Leeuw udm:Паул де Леу

name	Linda de Mol
birth date	July 08, 1964
birth place	Hilversum, Netherlands
occupation	actress, television presenter
spouse	Fred Reuter (1991–1995)Sander Vahle (not married)Jeroen Rietbergen (not married)
children	Julian (1997)Noa (1999)
footnotes	}}

Linda Margaretha de Mol (born July 8, 1964 in Hilversum), known as Linda de Mol, is a Dutch actress and television presenter in the Netherlands and in Germany. She is the sister of Endemol founder John de Mol. She has her own magazine ''Linda''.

Television

De Mol made her television debut at the age of 12 in ''Wat je zegt ben je zelf'', a programme made by children for AVRO.

In 1984 she resurfaced on Sky Channel, hosting music programmes such as ''Coca-Cola Eurochart Top 50'' and ''In touch with the Dutch'' (some of Endemol's first productions). From 1986 onwards Linda announced cartoons on ''The DJ Kat Show'' named after her feline sidekick played by US-exile puppeteer Robbie Hahn. In 1990 some of the scripts were re-written for ''Billy Hot Dog'', shown on TROS' Wednesday evening-slot.

By this time Linda was busy conquering her home-country and even Germany. She went on to present shows and quizzes such as ''Miljoenenjacht'' (the original version of ''Deal or No Deal''), ''De Slimste'', and ''M/V''. From 2005 to 2009 Linda starred in the weekly drama series ''Gooische Vrouwen'' on RTL4 (originally on Tien).

Dutch and English Programs

''Coca-Cola Eurochart Top 50''

''The DJ Kat Show''

''In touch with the Dutch''

''Linda'' (Talkshow)

''Billy Hot Dog''

''A to Z''

''Dierenbingo'' (Dutch for: Animal Bingo)

''De leukste thuis'' (Dutch for: The funniest at home)

''Love Letters''

''Homerun'' (Start 25 December 1997)

''Spangen'' (as of 1999)

''Postcodeloterij Miljoenenjacht'' (Dutch for: Millionhunt: The original version of Deal or No Deal)

''Gooische vrouwen'' (2005-) (Dutch for: Women from the Gooi (rich neighborhood in the Netherlands)

''Linda en Beau op zondag'' (Dutch for: Linda and Beau on Sundays)

''De Slimste'' (Dutch for: The Smartest)

''De Gouden Kooi'' (Kick-Off (2006)) (Dutch for: The Golden Cage - Kick Off)

''M/V'' (vanaf 16-11-2006, with Beau van Erven Dorens) (Dutch for: Man/Woman)

''Just the Two of Us'' (as of 11-03-2007, with Gordon)

''Ik hou van Holland'' (from March 2008 to April 2008) (Dutch for: I Love Holland: The original version of I Love My Country)

''Iedereen is gek op Jack'' (starting February 2011) (Dutch remake of ''Everybody loves Raymond'')

German Programs

''Traumhochzeit'' (1992–2000, start 19 January 1992) (2008-)

''Kollegen, Kollegen'' (1992, start: 15 September 1992)

''Surprise Show'' (1994, start 30 October 1994, with Kai Pflaume)

''Hausfieber''

''Kinder für Kinder'' (UNESCO, 25 December 1993 + 13 November 1994)

''Die Prominenten Playback Show'' (16 September 1995 en 7 December 1996)

''Soundmix-Show'' (30 December 1995–31 March 1996 and 4 January 1997 – 1 February 1997)

''Domino Day'' (1998–2002)

''Einer gegen 100'' (2002, start: 12 January 2002)

''Der MillionenDeal'' (2004, SAT.1, start: 1 May 2004)

''Mr. Nanny (Ein Mann für Mama) (Film 2006)

Filmography

''Alice in Glamourland'' (2004)

''Terug naar de kust'' (2009) (Dutch for: 'Back to the coast')

''Gooische Vrouwen'' (2010) (Dutch for: 'Women from the Gooi')

Music

In 1991 De Mol released a Dutch-language album written by Henk Westbroek of the former band Het Goede Doel. Six years later Dino released De Mol's holiday CD single "Perfect Harmony", a duet with Bold and the Beautiful star Jeff Trachta and featuring backing vocals by American singer Wendy Alane Wright.

External links

Linda. – her own magazine

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:Dutch film actors Category:Dutch television actors Category:Dutch game show hosts Category:People from Hilversum

de:Linda de Mol fr:Linda de Mol nl:Linda de Mol sh:Linda de Mol sv:Linda de Mol