Austria And Australia: Worlds Apart Or Close Neighbours?

Austria and Australia are two different countries with similar names. They are located in different hemispheres and separated by an ocean. Austria is a landlocked country in Central Europe, while Australia is an island country in the southern hemisphere. The two names, however, are derived from different languages: Austria comes from High German, and Australia comes from Latin. Interestingly, both names originate from the Proto-Indo-European language base, with Austria meaning eastern borderland and Australia meaning southern land.

The distance between Vienna, Austria and Sydney, Australia

Austria and Australia are two countries with very similar names, but they are not connected. The two names are derived from different languages, with Austria coming from High German and Australia from Latin. However, both names date back to the same Proto-Indo-European language base, from the word "ausōs", meaning "dawn".

Austria, or the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, with Vienna as its most populous city and state.

Australia, on the other hand, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the east.

Now, to answer the question of how far apart these two countries are, let's look at the distance between their capitals, Vienna and Sydney. The flight distance between Vienna, Austria, and Sydney, Australia, is approximately 9,925 miles (15,974 kilometres). This corresponds to an approximate flight time of 19 hours and 17 minutes. The time difference between the two cities is 10 hours, so when it's 2:57 pm in Vienna, it's 12:57 am the next day in Sydney.

The etymology of Austria and Australia

Etymology of Austria

The name Austria is derived from the German name Österreich. This name is thought to have come from the Old High German Ostarrîchi, which means "eastern realm". The name was first recorded in 996 and was applied to the Margraviate of Austria, a borderland of the Duchy of Bavaria. The name is comparable to Austrasia, the early medieval term for the "eastern lands" of Francia.

The Latinised name Austria is first recorded in the 12th century. The name has often been a source of confusion because, while it renders the Germanic word for "east", it is reminiscent of the Latin term for "south", auster.

Etymology of Australia

The name Australia, on the other hand, comes from the Latin Terra Australis, meaning "southern land". This name was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders in the early 19th century and has been in official use since 1817. The name Australia was originally applied to the continent now known as Antarctica and was later reassigned to New Holland, the fifth continent.

The geography of Austria

The Austrian Alps can be subdivided into a northern and a southern limestone range, composed of rugged mountains and separated by a softer central range of crystalline rocks. The highest elevation is the Grossglockner, rising to 3,797 or 3,798 metres. The western Austrian states of Vorarlberg, Tirol, and Salzburg are characterised by majestic mountains and scenery, with this high Alpine landscape extending to parts of Carinthia, Salzkammergut, and Styria.

North of the Alpine spur lies a hilly subalpine region stretching between the northern Alps and the Danube River, which winds through the country towards the Hungarian Plain. The lowlands east of Vienna are considered a western extension of this plain. Austria is also a land of lakes, with notable examples including Lake Constance (Bodensee) in the west and the marshy Neusiedler Lake (Neusiedlersee) in the east.

The country's landscape is diverse, with the contrast between these two lakes—one Alpine and the other a steppe lake—being illustrative. Austria can be divided into three unequal geographical areas: the Alps, which occupy about 62% of the country; the Pannonian plain to the east; and the Bohemian Forest, an older, lower granite mountain range to the north of the Danube.

The Alps cast a long shadow over the country's other landform regions, with just over 28% of Austria being moderately hilly or flat. The country's areas of permanent settlement, which exclude forests, Alpine pastures, and barren land, cover only about 40% of the country, or 35,000 km2. The majority of this is in the Danube Valley and the lowlands or hilly regions to the north, east, and south of the Alps.

The Alps also influence the weather patterns in Austria, which has a central European transitional climate with warm summers and cold winters. The country is influenced by three main weather systems: Atlantic maritime, continental, and Mediterranean. The Mediterranean weather systems can bring rapid temperature increases in the form of the föhn wind, which can cause headaches, irritability, and circulatory problems for some people.

Austria's land use reflects its geography, with about 40% of the country covered by forests, mostly in Alpine regions, and less than one-fifth of the land being arable. Almost half of the country's grassland consists of high Alpine pastures, which have traditionally been used for grazing dairy cattle during the summer months.

The history of Austria

In the 4th and 5th centuries, Christianization in the region began, and in the 6th century, the Bavarii, a Germanic people, occupied these lands until it fell to the Frankish Empire established by the Germanic Franks in the 9th century. The name Ostarrîchi (Austria) has been in use since 996 AD when it was a margravate of the Duchy of Bavaria and from 1156 an independent duchy (later archduchy) of the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806).

In the 13th century, the House of Habsburg began its rule over Austria, which lasted until 1918. In 1806, when Emperor Francis II of Austria dissolved the Holy Roman Empire, Austria became the Austrian Empire, and was also part of the German Confederation until the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. In 1867, Austria formed a dual monarchy with Hungary: the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When this empire collapsed after the end of World War I in 1918, Austria was reduced to the main, mostly German-speaking areas of the empire (its current frontiers), and adopted the name, the Republic of German-Austria.

After the First Republic, Austrofascism tried to keep Austria independent from the German Reich. Engelbert Dollfuss accepted that most Austrians were German and Austrian, but wanted Austria to remain independent from Germany. In 1938, Austrian-born Adolf Hitler annexed Austria to Germany, which was supported by a large majority of Austrians. After the German defeat in World War II, the German identity in Austria was weakened. Ten years after the Second World War Austria again became an independent republic as the Second Austrian Republic in 1955. Austria joined the European Union in 1995.

The history of diplomatic relations between Austria and Australia

Australia and Austria first established diplomatic relations in 1952 and celebrated 70 years of bilateral relations in 2022.

Early Connections

Australia has had links with Austria since the beginning of European settlement. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, Austrians visited Australia as members of scientific, diplomatic and religious missions. Most Austrian migration to Australia took place between the end of the Second World War and 1960.

Post-World War II

After World War II, the four Allied powers (the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union) divided Austria and Vienna into four occupation zones, with an Allied Council for Austria assuming authority over matters affecting the whole country. In 1955, these four powers and the Republic of Austria signed the Austrian State Treaty, which ended the occupation and declared Austria to be a free, independent, and neutral state. The U.S. played an essential role in the country’s reconstruction and in the Austrian State Treaty.

Recent History

In September 2021, Australia and Austria signed a Strategic Cooperation Arrangement. The Arrangement provides a framework for deepening collaboration across several priority areas, including trade and investment, foreign and security policy, climate and energy, education, and culture and sport.

Current Day

Austria's foreign policy is centralized around its support for a strong European Union, United Nations, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Council of Europe. Vienna hosts one of the four major office sites of the United Nations where many UN agencies are headquartered. Austria has been a European Union Member State since January 1995 and was President of the Council of the European Union for the third time in 2018. While maintaining its neutrality, Austria joined the NATO Partnership for Peace framework in 1995 and has deployed personnel in various security and peacekeeping operations and missions. Austria prioritises climate policy and sustainable development in international forums.

Frequently asked questions