Austria's Geographic Identity: Northern Europe Or Not?

Austria is a landlocked country in Central Europe, with its capital in Vienna. It is bordered by eight countries: Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The country is largely mountainous, with approximately 60% of its territory belonging to the Eastern Alps. Austria's geographic position has long placed it at the centre of trade routes between major European economic and cultural areas. Its landscape is characterised by mountains and forests, with the Austrian Alps forming the physical backbone of the country. While Austria is not considered part of Northern Europe, its northeastern part is bordered by the Danube River, which flows between the eastern edge of the Alps and the hills of Bohemia and Moravia.

Austria's geographic position

Austria's landscape is largely mountainous, with approximately 60% of its territory belonging to the Eastern Alps. The country can be divided into five areas: the Eastern Alps, which constitute 62% of the nation's total area; the Austrian foothills at the base of the Alps and the Carpathians, accounting for 12%; the foothills in the east and areas surrounding the Pannonian Lowlands, also accounting for about 12%; the Austrian granite plateau, located in the central area of the Bohemian Massif, which makes up 10%; and the remaining 4% is the Vienna Basin.

The Danube River is the longest river in Austria, with 350km of it flowing through the country. The biggest lake is Lake Constance, of which 11% of the shoreline is in Austria. The highest mountain is Grossglockner, at 3,798 meters above sea level.

The country's central location makes it easily accessible from anywhere in the world. Vienna, in particular, is well-connected to major cities in Europe and many gateways in the US. Austria's national carrier, Austrian Airlines, flies directly to Vienna from several US cities.

Given the extreme topographic differences, the climate in Austria varies widely. The higher altitudes tend to be colder, and the country experiences a mix of Central European maritime and dry continental climates, with humid summers and cold winters.

The country's climate

Austria's climate varies across the country, which can be divided into three climatic zones. The eastern part of the country has a continental Pannonian climate, with colder winters and hotter summers, and moderate precipitation throughout the year. The central Alpine region has an Alpine climate, characterised by high precipitation, short summers, and long winters. The remaining western part of the country belongs to the transitional central European climatic zone, which is typically temperate with high precipitation.

The lowland regions in the north and east of the country have more continental-influenced conditions, with colder winters and hotter summers. In contrast, the southeastern areas of Austria have longer and warmer, almost Mediterranean-like summers. The western part of the country is subject to the influence of the temperate Atlantic climate, resulting in milder winters and warm summers.

Overall, Austria lies within a temperate climatic zone, with temperatures depending largely on altitude. The country's highest mountain, the Grossglockner, stands at 3,797 m (12,457 ft) above sea level. The coldest month is usually January, with temperatures beginning to rise again in February and reaching up to 12°C in March. Summers can be hot, with temperatures sometimes exceeding 30°C, although summer evenings are typically cool.

Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with the driest months being May, September, and the first half of October. April and November tend to be the wettest periods. The amount of precipitation is determined by altitude, with high-level areas in the Alps receiving over 2000 mm of rainfall per year, while some regions in the flatlands of Austria receive only 600 mm annually.

Austria's diverse topography, including mountain ranges, hills, and plains, contributes to the variation in climate across the country. The Alps, in particular, have a significant influence on the country's climate.

Its neighbours

Austria is bordered by eight countries: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Italy. The country's proximity to its neighbours contributes to its cultural diversity.

Austria has longstanding historical links, common borders, and geographical similarities with its neighbours, especially in the Alpine and Danube regions. Neighbourly cooperation is also an important part of the European integration process, such as in the framework of European regional cooperation programmes.

Austria's bilateral relations with its neighbours have strengthened since the major EU enlargement in 2004, with exports to Central and Eastern Europe nearly tripling. The Covid-19 pandemic further deepened regional cooperation, leading to the formation of the "Central Five"—an ad hoc format of regional cooperation between Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

Austria's relationship with its neighbours is a regional priority in its foreign policy. The country pays special attention to its immediate neighbours, with whom it shares intense economic interrelations. Trade with these countries accounts for more than half of Austria's trade flows.

One notable aspect of Austria's foreign relations is its protective function vis-à-vis Italy for the Austrian and Ladin minorities in South Tyrol. This commitment is mandated by the Paris Agreement of 1946 and the South Tyrol Package of 1969, aiming to secure the continued ethnic, cultural, social, and economic existence of the German and Ladin-speaking population in the region.

The Alpine landscape

The Alps offer a complex geological and topographical pattern, with rugged mountains, steep cliffs, and deep valleys. The landscape is shaped by the convergence of the Adriatic and Eurasian Plates, which crumpled and folded upwards, and the abrasive force of glaciers during the "ice age". The great climatic fluctuations of the Quaternary played a significant role in shaping the Alps, with at least four glacial phases leaving their mark.

The main rock formations traverse Austria from side to side, and the wine-growing regions form an arc in the east, resulting in a diverse viticultural landscape. The country's consolidated rocks belong to zones like the Moldanubian and Moravian zones in the Bohemian Massif, composed of crystalline rocks, and the Helvetic zone with its sedimentary rocks. Almost all types of rock can be found in Austria's vineyards.

The Alps cast their influence on the weather systems that determine the climate in Austria. The Atlantic maritime climate, continental climate, and Mediterranean high-pressure systems all interplay to shape the weather patterns in the country. The Mediterranean weather systems, in particular, bring warm air masses, periodically raising temperatures rapidly.

The Alps also present ecological challenges, with increasing traffic and pollution affecting the sensitive Alpine ecosystems. Efforts to address these issues include stricter environmental legislation and the development of a "piggy-back" system for loading semitrailers onto railroad cars.

The country's history

Austria's History

The area of today's Austria has been inhabited since at least the Paleolithic period. Around 400 BC, it was inhabited by the Celts and then annexed by the Romans in the late 1st century BC. Christianization in the region began in the 4th and 5th centuries, during the late Roman period, followed by the arrival of numerous Germanic tribes during the Migration Period.

Austria, as a unified state, emerged from the remnants of the Eastern and Hungarian March at the end of the first millennium, first as a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, it then developed into a Duchy in 1156, and was made an Archduchy in 1453. Being the heartland of the Habsburg monarchy since the late 13th century, Austria was a major imperial power in Central Europe for centuries and from the 16th century, Vienna was also serving as the Holy Roman Empire's administrative capital.

The Habsburgs began also to accumulate territory 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. In 1496, his son Philip the Fair married Joanna the Mad, the heiress of Castile and Aragon, thus acquiring Spain and its Italian, African, Asian, 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 Long War of 1593 to 1606. The Turks made incursions into Styria nearly 20 times, of which some are cited as "burning, pillaging, and taking thousands of slaves". In late September 1529, Suleiman the Magnificent launched the first siege of Vienna, which unsuccessfully ended, according to Ottoman historians, with the snowfalls of an early beginning winter.

During the long reign of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor following the successful defence of Vienna against the Turks in 1683, under the command of the King of Poland John III Sobieski, the Great Turkish War resulted in most of Hungary being controlled by Austria. This arrangement was formalized in the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699.

In the 18th century, Austria was involved in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), the Seven Years' War and Third Silesian War (1756–1763), the War of Bavarian Succession (1778–1779), the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) and the Congress of Vienna (1815).

After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph declared war on Serbia, which ultimately escalated into World War I. The empire's defeat and subsequent collapse led to the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria in 1918 and the First Austrian Republic in 1919. During the interwar period, anti-parliamentarian sentiments culminated in the formation of an Austrofascist dictatorship under Engelbert Dollfuss in 1934. A year before the outbreak of World War II, Austria was annexed into Nazi Germany by Adolf Hitler, and it became a sub-national division. After its liberation in 1945 and a decade of Allied occupation, the country regained its sovereignty and declared its perpetual neutrality in 1955.

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