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Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder (singular Land). Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Politics of Austria take place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic Republic, with a Federal Chancellor The Constitution of Austria ( Österreichische Bundesverfassung) is the body of all constitutional law of the Republic of Austria on the federal level. The Austrian Federal President ( German language: Österreichischer Bundespräsident) is the federal Head of state of Austria. Heinz Fischer (born 9 October 1938) is the federal president of Austria. The Austrian Federal Government (Bundesregierung is the Austrian Cabinet. The Chancellor of Austria (in German: Bundeskanzler) is the Head of government in Austria. Alfred Gusenbauer (born February 8, 1960) has been Chancellor of Austria since January 2007 and the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Austria In Austrian politics, the Vice-Chancellor ( Vizekanzler) is a member of the federal government acting as a deputy to the Federal Chancellor. Wilhelm Molterer (born 14 May, 1955 in Steyr) is an Austrian politician currently Vice Chancellor of Austria and Minister of Finance In the Parliament of Austria ( Österreichisches Parliament) is vested the legislative power of the Republic of Austria. The Federal Assembly (in German, Bundesversammlung) is the name given to a formal joint-session of the two houses of the Austrian federal The Federal Council of Austria or Bundesrat is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Austria. The National Council (Nationalrat is one of the two houses of the Federal Assembly of Austria, the bicameral federal Parliament of Austria This article lists political parties in Austria. Austria has a Multi-party system This article provides information on Elections and election results in Austria. The 2006 general election for the National Council in Austria was held on 1 October 2006. Presidential elections were held in Austria on 25 April 2004. The election for the National Council of 24 November 2002 took place prematurely only three years after the last elections In Austria, the legislative election of October 3, 1999 (elections for the National Council of Austria) caused a major upheaval in the political The Austrian presidential election of 1998 was won by the incumbent president Thomas Klestil, who sought reelection as an independent candidate Six political parties are represented in the legislative assemblies of the nine Austrian states Austria is divided into 84 political districts ( Politische Bezirke ' and 15 Statutarstädte which form their own districts The 1955 Austrian State Treaty ended the four-power occupation and recognized Austria as an independent and sovereign state The European Union is a unique entity possessing elements of Intergovernmentalism, Supranationalism and a Multi-party Parliamentary democracy Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Since Land is also the German word for "country", the term Bundesländer ("Federal States"; singular Bundesland) is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses both terms. The Constitution of Austria ( Österreichische Bundesverfassung) is the body of all constitutional law of the Republic of Austria on the federal level. In English, the term (Bundes)land is commonly rendered as "state" or "province".
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Federalism and state responsibilities
Each Austrian state has an elected legislature, the Landtag, a state government, the Landesregierung, and a governor, the Landeshauptmann. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation A Landtag ( Diet) is a representative assembly or Parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority A Landeshauptmann ( German for "state captain" literally 'country headman' plural Landeshauptleute or Landeshauptmänner as in Styria till 1861 Elections are held every five years (six years in Upper Austria). Upper Austria (Oberösterreich Horní Rakousko is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. The state constitution, among other things, determines how the seats in the state government are assigned to political parties, with most states having a system of proportional representation based on the number of delegates in the Landtag in place. The Landeshauptmann is always elected by the Landtag, meaning that it may be necessary to form a coalition in order to secure the election of a particular candidate. Vienna, the capital of Austria, plays a double role as city and "Bundesland", meaning that the mayor serves as governor and the city council as Landtag at the same time. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. A Landtag ( Diet) is a representative assembly or Parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority
It must be noted, however, that Austrian federalism is generally considered largely notional, as the states are granted comparatively few actual legislative powers. A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" While it is true that the federal constitution grants all legislative powers to the states initially, they are subsequently taken away to such an extent that only relatively few matters (most importantly building and zoning codes, natural protection, hunting, fishing, farming, youth protection and such remain, as well as the right to levy certain taxes).
Almost all matters of practical importance, including, but not limited to, criminal law, civil law, corporate law, most other aspects of economic law, education, academia, welfare, telecommunications, and the health care system, are to be regulated by federal laws. There is also no stand-alone judiciary of the Länder, the federal constitution defining jurisdiction as an exclusively federal matter. In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State
This is largely due to historic reasons, as central power during the time of the empire was largely concentrated in Vienna. This historical development is in stark contrast to developments in Germany.
However, the state governor (Landeshauptmann) is also in charge of the administration of much of federal administrative law within the respective state, which makes this post an important political position. A Landeshauptmann ( German for "state captain" literally 'country headman' plural Landeshauptleute or Landeshauptmänner as in Styria till 1861 Furthermore, state competences include zoning laws, planning issues and public procurement on the regional level, which adds considerable weight to state politics. As a practical matter, there have been cases where states have been able to block projects endorsed by the federal government, as in the case of a railway tunnel that was to be built below the Semmering. For the town of the same name see Semmering Austria. Semmering (el
Still, Austrian Länder are formally and practically endowed with a much smaller degree of statehood than American or even German states are. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Germany (Deutschland is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen States, known in German as Länder (singular Even so, Austrians tend to passionately identify with their respective Land and often defend what little independent governance their states have. It is not unheard of for Austrians to consider themselves, for instance, Tyrolean first, Austrian second. Tyrol ( Tirol) is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria.
Geography
The nine states of Austria, listed alphabetically by official German name, are:
| State (Bundesland) | Capital |  |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Native | English | Native | ||
| 1 | Burgenland | Eisenstadt | |||
| 2 | Carinthia | Kärnten | Klagenfurt | ||
| 3 | Lower Austria | Niederösterreich | St. Pölten | ||
| 4 | Upper Austria | Oberösterreich | Linz | ||
| 5 | Salzburg | Salzburg | |||
| 6 | Styria | Steiermark | Graz | ||
| 7 | Tyrol | Tirol | Innsbruck | ||
| 8 | Vorarlberg | Bregenz | |||
| 9 | Vienna | Wien | Vienna | Wien | |
The biggest part of the land in the states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Vienna, and Burgenland are situated in the Danube valley and thus consist almost completely of accessible and easily arable terrain. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Burgenland ( Croatian Gradišće, Slovenian Gradiščansko, Hungarian Várvidék, Őrvidék or Felsőőrvidék Eisenstadt (Kismarton Železna Kapla Željezno is a City in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. Carinthia (Kärnten Koroška is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Klagenfurt guildhall 19072006 01jpg|thumb|220px|City hall in Klagenfurt´s center Neuer Platz]] Klagenfurt am Wörthersee ( Slovene: Celovec) is the Capital Lower Austria (Niederösterreich is one of the nine states or Bundesländer in Austria. Sankt Pölten ( St Pölten) is the capital city of the Austrian State of Lower Austria. Upper Austria (Oberösterreich Horní Rakousko is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Linz is the third largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7154 km² located adjacent to the German border is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Styria (Steiermark is a state or Bundesland, located in the southeast of Austria. Graz (etymologically from Slovene: Gradec IPA /gradeʦ/ "little castle" with a population of around 290000 as of 2008 (of which 252852 have principal Tyrol ( Tirol) is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. Innsbruck is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria. Vorarlberg is the westernmost state ( Land) of Austria. Though it is the second smallest in terms of area ( Vienna is the smallest it borders Bregenz is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost federal state of Austria. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The other five states, in contrast, are located in the Alps and thus comparatively unsuitable for agriculture. Their terrain is also relatively unfavourable to heavy industry and long-distance trade. Accordingly, the population of what now is the Republic of Austria has been concentrated in the former four states since prehistoric times. Austria's most densely populated state is the city state of Vienna, the heart of what is Austria's only metropolitan area. A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large Metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central Lower Austria only ranks fourth with regard to population density even though containing Vienna's suburbs; this is due to large areas of land predominantly agricultural. The alpine state of Tyrol, the less alpine but geographically secluded state of Carinthia, and the definitely not alpine but near-exclusively agricultural state of Burgenland are Austria's least densely populated states. The alpine state of Vorarlberg is an anomaly.
State populations and capitals
The following ranked list of Austrian states cites official Statistik Austria population estimates from October 1, 2006 [1]:
| State | Capital | Population | Area (km²) | Pop. density | Cities | Towns | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vienna | Vienna | 1,660,534 | 415 | 4,001. The Statistik Austria is the name with which the Austrian statistical office ( Statistisches Amt) appears in public matters Events 331 BC - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Lower Austria | Sankt Pölten | 1,588,545 | 19,178 | 82. Lower Austria (Niederösterreich is one of the nine states or Bundesländer in Austria. Sankt Pölten ( St Pölten) is the capital city of the Austrian State of Lower Austria. 8 | 74 | 499 |
| 3 | Upper Austria | Linz | 1,405,986 | 11,982 | 117. Upper Austria (Oberösterreich Horní Rakousko is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Linz is the third largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich 3 | 29 | 416 |
| 4 | Styria | Graz | 1,203,986 | 16,392 | 73. Styria (Steiermark is a state or Bundesland, located in the southeast of Austria. Graz (etymologically from Slovene: Gradec IPA /gradeʦ/ "little castle" with a population of around 290000 as of 2008 (of which 252852 have principal 5 | 34 | 509 |
| 5 | Tyrol | Innsbruck | 698,472 | 12,648 | 55. Tyrol ( Tirol) is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. Innsbruck is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria. 2 | 11 | 268 |
| 6 | Carinthia | Klagenfurt | 560,753 | 9,536 | 58. Carinthia (Kärnten Koroška is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Klagenfurt guildhall 19072006 01jpg|thumb|220px|City hall in Klagenfurt´s center Neuer Platz]] Klagenfurt am Wörthersee ( Slovene: Celovec) is the Capital 8 | 17 | 115 |
| 7 | Salzburg | Salzburg | 529,085 | 7,154 | 74. Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7154 km² located adjacent to the German border is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. 0 | 10 | 109 |
| 8 | Vorarlberg | Bregenz | 364,611 | 2,601 | 140. Vorarlberg is the westernmost state ( Land) of Austria. Though it is the second smallest in terms of area ( Vienna is the smallest it borders Bregenz is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost federal state of Austria. 2 | 5 | 91 |
| 9 | Burgenland | Eisenstadt | 280,350 | 3,966 | 70. Burgenland ( Croatian Gradišće, Slovenian Gradiščansko, Hungarian Várvidék, Őrvidék or Felsőőrvidék Eisenstadt (Kismarton Železna Kapla Željezno is a City in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. 7 | 13 | 158 |
The population figures cited are generally assumed to be accurate to within five percent and to remain so until the next census, scheduled for 2011. 2011 ( MMXI) will be a Common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. Areas are given in square kilometres, population density is expressed in inhabitants per square kilometre. Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume For the purpose of the above list, a city is a community defined to be a city by Austrian law; a town is a community not defined to be a city. A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status Many of Austria's cities have population figures on the order of ten thousand inhabitants; some are even smaller.
Historical development
In terms of boundaries, the present-day state of Salzburg is coterminous with the former Austro-Hungarian Duchy of Salzburg. Austria-Hungary was the extensive multiethnic empire with a German-speaking nucleus, which emerged as the Republic of Austria after the empire was torn apart by nationalist and republicanist forces around the end of World War I. An empire (from the Latin " Imperium " denoting military Command within the ancient Roman government) is a State that The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Republicanism is the Ideology of governing a nation as a Republic, with an emphasis on Liberty, Rule of law, Popular sovereignty World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The states of Upper Austria and Lower Austria are essentially equivalent to what were formerly the two autonomous halves of the Archduchy of Austria, a principality which formed the empire's historic heartland. Similarly, the state of Carinthia descends from the Duchy of Carinthia, the state of Styria descends from the Duchy of Styria, and the state of Tyrol descends from the Princely County of Tyrol; these provinces had to cede territories to Italy and Yugoslavia when Austria emerged in its present form. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian Also, the state of Vorarlberg had been a semi-autonomous part of the County of Tyrol up until 1918. Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The city state of Vienna was a part of Lower Austria up until 1921. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar The state of Burgenland is a more or less artificially agglutinated entity made up of the German-speaking area that Hungary ceded to Austria in 1920-1921. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar
See also
- Distribution of seats in the Austrian Landtage
- Districts of Austria
- Flags of Austrian states
- Coats of arms of the Austrian states
References
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