Austria (the official name of the Republic of Austria) - a country in Central Europe with the capital - Vienna. The five largest cities in the country, except in Vienna, as part of Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Area of the country - 83 871 km ², population - 8,404,252 people (2011).
It
has borders with the Czech Republic in the north-east - with Slovakia
in the east - with Hungary, in the south - with Slovenia and Italy to
the west - with Liechtenstein and Switzerland, in the north-west - with
Germany.
Austria - a parliamentary republic led by the federal president, elected for a term of 6 years. Geographically,
Austria consists of nine federal states: Burgenland, Vienna, Upper
Austria, Salzburg, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Styria.
In Austria speak German, which both lexically and grammatically different from the German language in Germany. Furthermore, it is difficult to understand the many dialects spoken in the Alpine regions.
Austrian flag - one of the oldest symbols of statehood in the world. According
to legend, it was created with a light hand Leopold V of Austria in
1191 during one of the battles of the Third Crusade.
The
name of the country comes from the word drevnenemetskogo Ostarrichi -
«Eastern country", and Austria as a proper name was first mentioned in
chronicles in 996 years.
Austria by 70% - a mountainous country which is, on average, at 900 meters altitude above the sea level. Most
of the country is occupied by the Eastern Alps, which, in turn, are
divided into the Northern Alps of Tyrol and Salzburg Alps in the north,
and the Zillertal Alps Kar nikskie the south. Highest point - Mount Grossglockner (3,797 m), with one of Europe's largest glacier - Pastures.
Despite its relatively small size, this European country - a popular tourist destination. Austria
is required to attend all self-respecting amateur skiers and other
winter sports, fans of active tourism and eco-tourists, because the
country has a large number of national parks.
Customs regulations
Personal items needed during the journey, can be imported duty-free. Persons
under 18 years of age may bring in duty-free for personal use, 200
cigarettes (or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco), and 2 liters of wine or 3
liters of beer and an additional 1 liter spirits. Major holidays
January 1 - New Year January 6 - The Day of the Three Hierarchs May 1 - Easter Monday (a public holiday) August 15 - Ascension, Whit Monday, Assumption October 26 - National Day November 1 - All Saints Day December 25 - Christmas Day How to get there By air
The main international airport - Vienna. In ski season organized charter flights to Salzburg and Innsbruck. In addition, you can use the airports of neighboring Schengen countries - Munich, Milan or Venice.
The
preferred almost any city in Austria to fly aircrafts Austrian
Airlines, which operates flights from several cities of Russia - Moscow,
St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov and Sochi. How to get to Vienna, you can read here. By train
Thro train from Moscow 33 hours traveling through Poland and the Czech Republic. With the transplant can go through Slovakia and Hungary. Also,
you can drive with a transfer through Poland and Germany in the area of
Salzburg and Innsbruck, but such a move would not be cheaper flight. By car
Distance
from Vienna on the highway Moscow - 1950 km, Berlin - 635 km, Paris -
1265 km, Zürich - 765 km, Prague - 280 km, Munich - 445 km, Bratislava -
65 km, Budapest - 245 km.
Climate
It came together just two climate zones. In the west, wet weather prevails in the south and south-east - the continental. So fans bask in the sun is best to go to Austria in May or June. Although the Austrians consider the best time of the year the autumn, when there is no heat and cold to far away. They
occur only in January, and the cold weather they can be called only
conditionally: below -2 ° C are rarely, except in mountain areas Ski resorts inAustria
To date,Austriais one of theleading incomingtourists,skiers andsnowboarders.Components of successare simple:shortflight, greatslopesand a lot ofaccommodation options- fromluxuryfive-starhotelwith a spaandhot springsto budgetapartments.Thus, thisalpine countrycan meet theneeds of differentcategories of touristswho lovethe mountains.More informationabout skiresorts inAustria, youcan readour article"Review of theski resorts in Austria."And below, we listthe most interestingregions ofskiingin the country
