Welcome
Austria's diversity does not only shine through its landscape but through its population as well. Due to its central location in the heart of Europe and its vibrant history, a cross-section of cultures flow together and are combined in Austria.

Climate
Austria is located in a temperate climatic zone with a Central European climate influenced by the Atlantic climate. The four seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) each have typical temperature and climatic characters.
Due to the topographical diversity and the relatively large West-East expanse, there are three differentiating climatic regions:
East: Pannonian climate with a continental influence - low precipitation, hot summers but only moderately cold winters.
Alpine Regions: Alpine climate - high precipitation ( except inner alpine valley regions such as the upper Inntal), short summers, long winters.
Remainder of the country: transient climate influenced by the Atlantic (in the West) and a continental influence in the South-east.

Fauna
In Austria there is a predominantly Central European fauna: deer, stag, rabbit, pheasant, fox, badger, marten, partridge.
Native to the alpine regions are the chamois, groundhog, eagle and mountain jackdaw. Characteristic of the Pannonian fauna is the vast bird population in the reed beds of Lake Neusiedl (heron, spoonbill, scooper, wild goose, and many more). In recent years, Austria is home again to a small bear population, which can mainly be found in the heavily wooded southern and central mountainous regions.

Flora
The diversity of topographical and climatic conditions accounts for the country's species-rich flora. Austria is one of Europe's most heavily wooded countries.
Characteristic are the deciduous forest (oak, beech) and the mixed forest (beech, fir) and in the higher altitude regions fir, larch and pine. Especially diverse and colorful is the alpine flora: edelweiss, gentian, alpine carnation, arnica, alpine rose, heather and much more. The northern edge of the Alps is especially dominated by grassland; typical in the Pannonian region are the scrub forest, mixed deciduous forest and the steppe moors. East of Lake Neusiedl one finds a specific salt steppe flora. Austria's nature parks, that stretch across 3 percent of the country, document the diversity of the landscape with its in part unique natural landscapes, such as the rain and virgin forests.

Form of Government / People
Austria is a federal republic state with a parliamentary democracy.
It consists of 9 independent federal states (Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Vienna) with their own provincial governments. The federal legislation is exercised by the national council (Nationalrat) together with the Upper House of Parliament (Bundesrat) - the two chambers of Parliament.
Austria is a member of the European Union, the United Nations as well as most UN organizations.
Of the approximately 8 million inhabitants of Austria, 98% speak German. The six ethnic groups officially recognized in Austria (Burgenlandic Croatians, Roma, Slovaks, Slovenians, Czechs and Hungarians) are concentrated in the east and south of the country.
Approximately 78 % of Austrians are Roman Catholic, 5 % are Protestant, 4,5 % belong to other faiths.

General Geography
Area: 83,858 km²
Austria is located in southern Central Europe. It has common borders with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The Austrian landscape points to a rich natural structure: High and central mountain regions, hill country and plains. The Alpine region (Eastern Alps, High Tauern, Carnican Alps, Southern Karawank mountains and parts of the Southern Alps) stretches from the West to the South to the Vienna Basin, and takes up approximately two thirds of the country's surface area. The western part of the country is mountainous while the east is hill country and flatlands which stretch to the Pannonian Plain in northern Burgenland.
The highest mountain is the Grossglockner with 3,797 m, the major river is the Danube with an approximate length of 350 km in the Austrian area.

Currency, Foreign Exchange
The Euro: As a member of the European Union, Austria has been part of the Economic and Currency Union - which introduced the EURO as common currency - since 1.1. 1999. Since 1.1.2002 the Euro has been circulating in cash form as well. The Euro is subdivided into 100 cents. 1 EURO = 13.7603 Austrian Schillings The following Euro-banknotes and coins are in circulation: Banknotes with facevalues of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Euro Coins of 1 and 2 Euro denominations as well as 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents. However, banknotes and coins in Austrian Schillings will remain a legal tender in Austria until 28.2.2002.
Foreign Exchange: National and foreign currencies can be imported and exported in unlimited amounts. Banking Hours Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8 a.m to 12:30 p.m and 1 p.m to 3 p.m Thursday 8 a.m to 12:30 p.m and 1:30 p.m to 5:30 p.m Credit Cards: Credit cards are accepted in cities and tourist centres by numerous hotels, restaurants, shops and gas stations. If and which credit cards are accepted is indicated by the logos displayed on the exterior facade of the respective business (usually on the entrance door).

Health
Medical Service, Pharmacies: Austria is 'well-stocked' with doctors and pharmacies.
Pharmacies operate a rota system for night and Sunday duty; when closed a notice is displayed giving the addresses of the nearest pharmacies that are open.
Emergency Numbers: Ambulance/Doctor on call: Tel. 144 Medical radio service: Tel. 141 Mountain rescue service: Tel. 140 Information on local medical emergency services is available at the local gendarmerie and police stations as well as in the telephone book and in daily newspapers.
Health Insurance Coverage: Insured persons of the EWR-member states (= EU-member states + Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) as well as in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary in urgent cases can use their holiday insurance coverage form - obtained from their health insurer before starting their holiday - for medical care in Austria to the same benefits as those granted to persons insured in Austria. Information available at the respective health insurance company in the national state.

Post/Telephone
Post Offices- Opening Hours: The respective opening hours of post offices vary and are posted at the entrances of the post offices. Most post offices are open from Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m to 12:00 noon and 14:00 to 18:00 p.m. Cashiers close: generally Monday to Friday, 17:00 p.m. Some main and station post offices in larger cities are also open at night, as well as Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, however with a restricted range of services.
Postal Rates: From Austria to countries abroad there are 2 mailing possibilities: "Priority" (fastest possible mailing / airmail) "Non Priority" (cheaper, but takes longer) and 2 distance zones - "Europe" and "World". Standard letters up to 20g are mailed priority worldwide without any additional surcharges. Rates for standard letters and postcards: Priority (up to 20 g): € 0.51 for Europe, € 1.09 for World Non-Priority (up to 50 g): € 0.73 for Europe, € 1.02 for World For domestic mail there is no differentiation between "Priority" and "Non-Priority"; postcards are a separate mailing category. Rates for standard letters up to 20 g and postcards € 0.51 Stamps are available at all post offices and in tobacconists' shops (Tabak Trafiken).
Mail boxes are painted yellow; red stripes indicate that they are also emptied on weekends and public holidays.
Telephone: Jet2Web Telekom offers a broad range of tariffs. The new TikTak-Tariff Family with seconds-based billing after the 30th second, is complementary to the traditional Impulse-Tariffs. The calling charges are scaled according to time of day and distance: 2 time zones for all tariff models - "Peak time" (Mon - Fri 8:00 a.m.- 6 p.m.) and "Off-peak time" (remainder of time). 2 local (regional and Austria-zone) and 17 international zones in the Impulse Tariff Model. 2 national zones (local zone with own area code and Austria) and just 5 international zones with the TikTak-Tariff Model. For call boxes and card-operated pay phones of Jet2Web Telekom there is only one local zone (entire federal state) and no time scale. There are also a number of other providers in Austria, for fixed as well as mobile telephone networks, with varying tariffs.
Mobile telephones: GSM-Handys can be brought along into Austria and may be used here as well, insofar as they are able to be operated (if an open network access exists). With respect to other network facilities there are other restrictions. Please check with your GSM-service provider if they have a roaming-partner in Austria.

This text was provided by "Österreich Werbung" -
www.austria-tourism.at