Upper Austria

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Upper Austria
Country flag State coat of arms
Country flag State coat of arms
Basic data
National language : German
State capital : Linz
Biggest City : Linz
National anthem : Hoamatgsang
ISO 3166-2 : AT-4
Abbreviation: Upper Austria
Website: www.land-oberoesterreich.gv.at
Map: Upper Austria in Austria
Liechtenstein Schweiz Bodensee Vorarlberg Tirol Tirol Salzburg Kärnten Burgenland Wien Steiermark Oberösterreich Niederösterreich Italien Slowenien Deutschland Kroatien Slowakei Tschechien UngarnUpper Austria in Austria.svg
About this picture
geography
Area : 11,979.91 km²
- of which country: 11,718.32 km² (97.8%)
- of which water: 263.6 km² (2.2%)
- Rank: 4th of 9th
Geographic location : 47 ° 27 '- 48 ° 45' n. Br.
12 ° 44 '- 14 ° 59' a. L.
Expansion: North – South: 145.8 km,
West – East: 166.4 km
The highest point: 2995  m above sea level A.
( High Dachstein )
Deepest point: 239  m above sea level A.
( Grein )
Administrative division
Districts : 003 statutory cities
0 15 districts
Judicial districts : 018th
Municipalities : 438, of which
032 towns and
151 market communities
Map: administrative districts
Bezirk Braunau am Inn Bezirk Eferding Bezirk Freistadt Bezirk Gmunden Bezirk Grieskirchen Bezirk Kirchdorf Linz Bezirk Linz-Land Bezirk Perg Bezirk Ried im Innkreis Bezirk Rohrbach Bezirk Schärding Steyr Bezirk Steyr-Land Bezirk Urfahr-Umgebung Bezirk Vöcklabruck Wels (Stadt) Bezirk Wels-LandLocation of the district map A Ooe ohne.svg in the federal state of Upper Austria (clickable map)
About this picture
population
Residents : 1,490,279 (January 1, 2020)
- Rank: 3rd of 9th
Population density : 124 inhabitants per km²
Proportion of foreigners: 13.2% (January 1, 2020)
politics
Governor : Thomas Stelzer ( ÖVP )
Ruling parties: ÖVP, FPÖ , SPÖ , Greens
(labor agreement
between ÖVP and FPÖ)
Distribution of seats in the state parliament :
21st
18th
11
6th
21st 18th 11 6th 
A total of 56 seats
Last choice: September 27, 2015
economy
Gross domestic product : 58.138 billion euros (2015)
GDP per capita: 40,300 euros
Unemployment rate : 4.4% (September 2018)

Upper Austria is an Austrian federal state ; The state capital is Linz . With an area of ​​11,982 square kilometers, Upper Austria is the fourth largest and with 1.47 million inhabitants the third largest federal state in Austria . It borders on Bavaria ( Germany ), southern Bohemia ( Czech Republic ) and, within Austria , on Lower Austria , Styria and the state of Salzburg . The name of the country is derived from the name of the previous territory , the Archduchy of Austria ob der Enns , one of the Habsburg hereditary lands .

Geology and geography

Granite and gneiss highlands

North of the Danube Valley and in the Sauwald is the Bohemian Massif (also known as the Bohemian Massif), the geologically oldest landscape in Austria. It is an old fold mountains and is in the western part of the Moldanubicum , in the eastern part (outside Upper Austria) from the Moravicum . The Bohemian mass represents the base of a former high mountain range (called the basement), which was created during the Variscan orogeny (mountain formation) in the Paleozoic . Further remnants of this mountain formation in Central Europe are the German low mountain ranges. Acid plutonites such as granite and gneiss dominate . The removed itself entirely Mountains was probably broken in the course of alpidic orogeny in clods and lifted slightly, making its current topography of hills results (Hull landscape) .

Upper Austrian Alps

At that time the Tethys stretched south of the Variscan mountain range and grew larger and larger as the continental plates drifted apart towards the end of the Paleozoic Era. Under tropical or subtropical conditions, sediments were deposited here during the Mesozoic that were later pushed over and transported to the north during the Alpine mountain formation , which began towards the end of the Cretaceous . This is how the south-north succession of nappes, the northern limestone Alps , the flysch zone and the subalpine molasses emerged , with remnants of the Helvetic nappes being preserved. The lime formed in the Tethys during the Triassic is rich in fossils that are found today, especially in the Dachstein Mountains and around Hallstatt . Particular locations for ammonites are the mountains around Gosau , west of the Dachstein .

While the Alps initially rose from the Tethys as an island chain and continued to grow, the process of erosion of the young mountains began at the same time, which, however, could not compensate for the extent of the uplift.

Molasse zone

Between these two very different mountains there is a sedimentation zone that was created by the deposits of erosion in the Alps, the so-called titan zone .

The excavation material transported to the north was initially deposited in the flat and increasingly narrow arm of the Tethys between the Alps in the south and the continent in the north ( Molasse basin ). With the simultaneous uplift of the Alps and the northward movement of the African plate, the arm of the sea was filled in (fresh water molasse) and the current picture of the geological tripartite division of Upper Austria into the Bohemian Massif, the Tertiary hill country as a deposition area for the clastic sediments of the alpine erosion in the middle, emerged and the Northern Limestone Alps in the south.

Ice Age overprinting

The part of geological history that preceded our present age, the Holocene , the Pleistocene or Ice Age , most clearly shaped today's landscape of Upper Austria in the Alps and in the Alpine foothills . It was the time of the last major glaciation phase in the Alps to this day, in which the mountains were covered for the most part by ice masses, which penetrated far into the foreland with huge glacier tongues. In addition to the Dachstein Glacier , the Salzach Glacier advanced into what is now Upper Austria and was considerably larger in size. Fed by the ice masses of the Central Alps, the glacier rolled at least four times (according to the classic Quaternary stratigraphy) through the Salzach Valley and the Salzburg Basin to the north, and then expanded into a branched, fan-shaped system of side glaciers. While Hausruck and Kobernaußerwald north of the Traun were not eroded, the neighboring regions in the Salzburger and Südinnviertel lake areas were run over by the Salzach Glacier.

Flora and fauna, nature reserves

Due to the division into altitude levels (from 239 to 2995 meters) and into the three biogeographical regions (Bohemian Massif, the climatically favored central area and the Limestone Alps), Upper Austria is home to a flora of around 1,800 vascular plants that is rich in species by Central European standards . As everywhere in Central Europe, large parts of the landscape are strongly influenced by humans. For the preservation of natural and near-natural habitats, there are 156 nature and landscape protection areas in Upper Austria  , 24 of which are  European protected areas ( Natura 2000 areas and others, partly overlapping with the 164 regional legal areas), the Kalkalpen National Park , 109  nature reserves , 16  landscape protection areas (including 2  nature parks ), 7 protected landscape parts, and 562  natural monuments .

So far, 75 species of mammals have been found in the wild in Upper Austria. Of these, mongooses and nutria are captive refugees ; Mouflon and Alpine marmot were released. In the past 100 years, 361 bird species have been recorded in the area, but many only once. 163 bird species breed in Upper Austria. In addition, the area is inhabited by seven species of tailed amphibians, twelve species of frogs and eleven different species of reptiles.

Large landscapes

Upper Austria has a share in three large natural areas . From north to south, Upper Austria is divided into three geological and landscape areas, which continue west to Bavaria on the one hand and east to Lower Austria on the other.

Upper Austria's highest mountain: Hoher Dachstein (Ladislaus Benesch, around 1900)

The highest point in the country is the Hohe Dachstein (2995 meters) on the southern tip of Upper Austria, with the only glacier area in the country. Since the border with Styria lies on the Kalkalpen main ridge, the highest mountain, which is entirely on Upper Austrian soil, is the Great Priel at 2515 meters.
The lowest point in the country is where the Danube finally changes to Lower Austria, east of the Machland at the entrance to the Nibelungengau .

Lakes

Practically all of the large Upper Austrian lakes are located in the Salzkammergut, such as the Almsee , Attersee , Gosauseen , Hallstätter See , Irrsee , Langbathseen , Mondsee , Offensee , Traunsee and Wolfgangsee .

Rivers

Oh , Ager , Aist , Alm , Antiesen , Aschach , Danube , Enns , Große Gusen , Kleine Gusen , Gusen , Inn , Krems , Mattig , Große Mühl , Kleine Mühl , Naarn , Rodl , Salzach , Steyr , Trattnach , Traun , Vöckla ;

climate

Climatically, Upper Austria is in the zone of the Central European transitional climate . Due to the location on the northern edge of the Alps, the weather is clearly influenced by the Atlantic . The central area shows a cool temperate - fully humid type ( beech climate , Cfbaccording to Köppen / Geiger ) with prevailing northwest wind weather . The south lies in the zone of a pronounced northern damming zone and therefore has the highest rainfall in Austria. There are also frequent foehns ( Alpine climate , northern type of Randalpe ). The highlands of the north, however, are more clearly subpolar , boreal and fully humid ( Dfbaccording to Köppen / Geiger) and more moderate than in the Alpine region, but with an annual mean that is one degree Celsius lower.

The warmest area in Upper Austria is the Linz Basin with an annual mean of around nine degrees Celsius. With the exception of the mountains, the average temperatures in the rest of the country such as the Alpine Foreland, Eferdinger Basin and Traun-Enns-Platte are in the range of six to eight degrees Celsius (annual mean from 1961 to 1990). At an altitude of 2000 meters, the average annual temperature is around one degree.

The areas with the lowest rainfall, with annual rainfall between 750 and 800 millimeters, are in the eastern Mühlviertel ( Feldaist Basin) and in the Eferdinger Basin. The higher mountain regions of the Mühlviertel and the Sauwald as well as the Alpine foothills are enclosed by the 1000 millimeter isohyete . In the mountains, however, the amounts of precipitation are much higher due to the accumulation of clouds. Annual precipitation of 2000 millimeters and more (3000 millimeters in the Dachstein Mountains) is reached at altitudes above 1500 meters above sea level.

Focus

The center of the federal state of Upper Austria is in the municipality of Gunskirchen (district of Wels-Land) ( ).

Administrative division

The districts of Upper Austria

The four quarters of Upper Austria:
_ Mühlviertel
_ Innviertel
_ Hausruckviertel
_ Traunviertel

Upper Austria is traditionally divided into four parts, the Hausruckviertel , the Innviertel , the Mühlviertel and the Traunviertel . This also corresponded to the district division of the Habsburg Monarchy from the middle of the 18th to the middle of the 19th century, where there was accordingly a Hausruck, Inn, Mühl and Traunk district . In 1867 the districts were replaced by the system of political districts , since then they no longer have any political meaning and are purely landscape names.

The quarters also function as territorial units of spatial planning, but in this context there is an additional unit: the area between the cities of Linz, Eferding, Wels, Steyr and Enns is called the “fifth quarter” of Upper Austria's central area .

These five regions also roughly form the statistical NUTS 3 units of Upper Austria, but the Hausruckviertel is divided up in order to meet the requirements of statistically roughly equal areas:

  • AT311 Innviertel : districts Braunau am Inn, Grieskirchen, Ried im Innkreis, Schärding (Innviertel and northwestern Hausruckviertel)
  • AT312 Linz-Wels : districts of Linz-Stadt, Linz-Land, Wels-Land, Eferding, parts of the Urfahr-Umgebung district (central area and eastern Hausruckviertel)
  • AT313 Mühlviertel : districts Freistadt, Perg, Rohrbach, parts of the district Urfahr-Umgebung (Mühlviertel without the city region Linz)
  • AT314 Steyr-Kirchdorf : Steyr, Kirchdorf district, Steyr-Land district (south-eastern Traunviertel)
  • AT315 Traunviertel : Gmunden district, Vöcklabruck district (western Traun and Hausruck district)

Before the Innviertel became part of Upper Austria in 1779, there was the following quarter division: Mühlviertel, Black (t) zviertel or Machlandviertel , Haus (ruck) viertel, Traunviertel . With the incorporation of the Innviertel, Machland and Mühlviertel were merged under the latter name in order to continue to maintain the four-part division. The current demarcation between the NUTS units Traun and Hausruckviertel is based on the more recent district boundaries and therefore no longer corresponds to the historical boundary that was formed by the Traun . In their original boundaries, the districts of Upper Austria today only have the purpose of defining electoral districts, in addition to their popular identity.

Districts, municipalities and statutory cities

According to the current administrative division, the state is divided into:

history

Map of Austria ob the Enns and the county of Schaunberg , around 1378
The ducal hat is a symbol of the country

In the Middle Ages, a large part of Upper Austria belonged to the Duchy of Styria for a long time . King Ottokar Premysl of Bohemia to separated the Styria belonging Traungau 1254 in the Peace of the oven and in 1261 in the Treaty of Vienna from this, and designed the country to principality above the Enns from. Julius Strnadt historically describes the year 1260 as the year of birth of the state above the Enns. In 1264 the name supra anasum ('Ob (erhalb) der Enns') was first mentioned in a document , and Konrad von Summerau is named in a document as the district judge of the province of Upper Austria , although the name Austria superior (" Upper Austria ") was at that time was still valid for Tyrol and Upper Austria .

After 1490, the area gained a certain degree of independence in the Holy Roman Empire as part of the Principality of Austria ob der Enns, and the estates held their own state parliaments in Linz. In addition to lords, knights and prelates, the princely cities also played an important role. From 1520 the land opened up to the Reformation , 30 years later the majority of Upper Austrians were Protestant . When the Habsburg lands were divided in 1564, Upper Austria, together with Lower Austria and the Bohemian lands, fell to the Roman-German Emperor Maximilian II. After 1600, the Counter-Reformation began under Emperor Rudolf II and his successor Matthias . That is why the estates in Upper Austria entered into an alliance with the Bohemian countries in 1619. On behalf of Emperor Ferdinand II , the troops of the Bavarian Elector Maximilian I fought and defeated the rebels in 1620. For a few years the principality came under the rule of the elector. The Protestant nobility was given the choice of converting or leaving the country.

In 1779, in the Peace of Teschen, the Innviertel, which previously belonged to the Duchy of Baiern, became part of Upper Austria. During the Napoleonic Wars , Upper Austria was occupied several times by French troops. The state capital Linz also administered the state of Salzburg from 1816 to 1854 . In 1918, after the First World War and the fall of the multi-ethnic state Austria-Hungary , the new Republic of German Austria established “Upper Austria” as the region's official name. One year after the annexation of Austria to the German Reich on March 13, 1938, the Reichsgau Oberdonau was formed on the territory of Upper Austria on May 1, 1939 , which also included the German-settled South Bohemian areas according to the Munich Agreement , as well as the Ausseer , which was separated from Styria Country . After the Second World War , these areas were reclassified in 1945, Upper Austria south of the Danube including the Ausseer Land was occupied by the US until 1955 , north of the Danube it was occupied by the Soviets until 1955 .

politics

The Upper Austrian state constitution defines Upper Austria as an independent federal state of the democratic republic of Austria. In its constitution, Upper Austria is committed to a united Europe that is committed to democratic, constitutional, social and federal principles as well as the principle of subsidiarity , preserves the independence of the regions and ensures their participation in European decisions. Upper Austria defines its position in Europe in the state constitution as an independent, future-oriented and self-confident region that contributes to the further development of a united Europe.

legislative branch

The legislature in Upper Austria is exercised by the Upper Austrian Landtag . The main task of the Landtag lies in the legislation for Upper Austria. Furthermore, the state parliament elects the state government and can dismiss it by means of a vote of no confidence. In addition, the state parliament approves the state budget and has the right to submit written and oral inquiries to the state government. There are currently around 170 provincial laws in Upper Austria. These can be brought into the state parliament at the suggestion of the government, a state parliament committee, three members of parliament or at the initiative of the state population. The state parliament meets at least once a month for a public session in the Linz Landhaus . The representatives are elected every six years. The ÖVP has almost consistently achieved a majority in the state elections since 1945, and on several occasions it also determined the state parliament with an absolute majority, most recently from 1979 to 1991. Only in 1967 the SPÖ was able to overtake the ÖVP in the state elections and draw level with the ÖVP in terms of mandates. Since 1967 the SPÖ has continuously lost votes, but in the state elections in 2003 it won massive votes from the FPÖ , which had peaked in 1997, lost votes again in 2003 and was even overtaken by the Greens . The 2009 state elections brought slight gains for the ÖVP and heavy losses for the SPÖ. The Greens were able to defend their state council mandate with minimal profits, but were overtaken by the FPÖ again due to their strong gains. After the state elections in 2009, the ÖVP was represented with 28, the SPÖ with 14, the FPÖ with 9 and the Greens with 5 seats. After the state elections in 2015 , the mandate distribution in the state parliament is:

  • 21 ÖVP
  • 18 FPÖ
  • 11 SPÖ
  • 6 greens

executive

The Linz country house is the seat of the state government

The executive power in the state is exercised by the Upper Austrian provincial government . This consists of the governor, two deputies and six regional councilors. The state government is composed as a "concentration government" according to the proportional system , i. H. all parties with a certain number of representatives in the state parliament are represented by at least one seat in the government. The state government is elected by the state parliament. As the highest executive body of the state administration, the state government enforces the state laws and administers the state budget. At the top is the governor, who represents the government externally and chairs the weekly, closed meetings in the country house. According to the rules of procedure of the Upper Austrian provincial government, the provincial government deals collegially in its meetings with government proposals to the Landtag, statutory ordinances and certain administrative ordinances, (constitutional) matters legally bound to a collegial resolution and decisions about the provincial assets of particular importance, such as grants over 20,000 euros. All other decisions are made by the respective member of the government independently, but the state government can adopt monocratic decisions and lead them to collegial decision-making.

Former Governor Josef Pühringer (2009)
Governor Thomas Stelzer (2015)

The ÖVP has provided the governor continuously since 1945. From March 2, 1995, Josef Pühringer held this position. After the state elections in 2003, Pühringer entered into a government agreement with the Greens and formed the first black-green coalition at state level in Austria . While the FPÖ lost its seats in the state government, the Greens moved into the state government for the first time. After the state elections in 2015 , a state government with a black-and-blue labor agreement was elected and sworn in for the first time on October 23, 2015 within the framework of a proportional government. Four ÖVP and three FPÖ government members were represented in the Pühringer V state government, while the SPÖ and the Greens each have a state council. In addition to Governor Pühringer, the ÖVP was represented in the government by Deputy Governor Thomas Stelzer and the Provincial Councilors Michael Strugl and Maximilian Hiegelsberger . On April 6, 2017, Thomas Stelzer became governor, the Stelzer provincial government succeeded the Pühringer V provincial government, Christine Haberlander became the new provincial councilor, and Michael Strugl's deputy governor. The FPÖ is represented by Deputy Governor Manfred Haimbuchner and the Provincial Councilors Elmar Podgorschek and Günther Steinkellner . Regional Councilor Birgit Gerstorfer is in government for the SPÖ, and Regional Councilor Stefan Kaineder for the Greens , who succeeded Rudi Anschober on January 30, 2020 after he moved to the federal government.

Judiciary

Upper Austria is the seat of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Linz, one of the four higher regional courts in Austria. In addition to Upper Austria, the OLG Linz also looks after the neighboring state of Salzburg. Upper Austria also has four regional courts at the Linz , Ried im Innkreis , Steyr and Wels locations . The lowest level of the judicial system in Upper Austria is formed by the 28 district courts.

E-government

The state of Upper Austria offers e-government solutions to make it easier to deal with administrative procedures . With these online forms, citizens can a. Applications for grants and subsidies, the Upper Austria family card or the recognition of a photovoltaic system as a green electricity system. The AFORMSOLUTION (AFS) form server from the Austrian IT service provider aforms2web is used for this.

Coat of arms, flag, hymn and country patron

Upper Austria coat of arms.svg

State symbols are the colors (flag and flag) of the state of Upper Austria, the state coat of arms, the state seal and the state anthem.

Flag of Tirol and Upper Austria.svg

The Upper Austrian coat of arms consists of a split shield crowned with the Austrian Archduke's hat. Heraldically on the right, the shield shows a golden eagle with a red tongue and red claws on a black background, and on the left it is split three times from silver and red. The state coat of arms can be displayed in color or black and white. The coat of arms was established in 1930 and goes back to the coat of arms of the Lords of Machland .

The colors of the province of Upper Austria are white and red. The Upper Austrian flag consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the top stripe being white and the bottom stripe being red. The ratio of the flag's height to its length is 2: 3. The flag was officially introduced on April 25, 1949.

The song Hoamatgsang was declared the Upper Austrian national anthem by the Upper Austrian state parliament on November 29, 1952. The text was written by Franz Stelzhamer in 1841 , the music was composed by Hans Schnopfhagen in 1884 . Of the original eight stanzas, the first two and the last stanza are part of the national anthem.

The state patrons of Upper Austria are of equal rank St. Florian and St. Leopold .

population

On January 1, 2020, 1,490,279 people lived in the country, 94,944 (6.41%) EU / EEA / CH citizens and 94,112 (6.35%) third-country nationals. The majority of the population who immigrated in the last few decades comes from Germany , Southeastern Europe and Anatolia , with 1.64% from Germany, 1.45% from Bosnia and Herzegovina , 1.46% from Serbia , Montenegro and Kosovo and 1.03% come from Turkey . Due to the large wave of refugees since the second half of 2015, the number of people from Afghanistan rose to 7,023 (0.47%) and from Syria to 5,611 (0.38%). The Mühlviertel has been inhabited by a few hundred Sinti since the Middle Ages, and very few of them actually profess their ethnic group when counting.

The majority of Upper Austrians are Christian: in 2001, 79.4% of the people still belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, around 4.4% were members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and 4.0% professed Islam. 8.8% were without confession. By the end of 2019, the proportion of Catholics had decreased to 63 percent, the corresponding proportion of Evangelical AB was around 3.2% of the Upper Austrian population.

The development of the population according to the information from the Austrian statistical office was converted to the current territorial status of Upper Austria. The figures up to 1700 given in the table have been rounded. Between 1754 and 1857 only the civil population present was counted. From 1869 censuses were carried out every ten years. Until 1923, only the civilian population present was counted and only from 1934 to 1981 the resident population. The figures from 1982 to 2001 show the annual average population; these figures were determined retrospectively in 2002. Since 2002 the main residences have been used to determine the population on the basis of the central population register.

The Central Bavarian dialect is mainly spoken in Upper Austria .

Population development


Culture and sights

In addition to promoting culture, the state of Upper Austria also operates some cultural institutions itself, such as the Upper Austrian State Museum or the State Theater in the state capital Linz. Initiated by ORF Upper Austria and the Linz Brucknerhaus , the Ars Electronica , the largest international festival for digital art, has been taking place in the state capital every year since 1979 .

St. Florian Monastery

Abbey, monasteries and churches

There are numerous monasteries and monasteries in Upper Austria that have always been centers of culture. The best known are St. Florian Monastery , Wilhering Monastery and Kremsmünster Monastery , as well as the Schlägl , Schlierbach , Reichersberg , Engelszell and Lambach monasteries .

The most famous churches are the neo-Gothic St. Mary's Cathedral in Linz, built between 1862 and 1935 , which is the largest church in Austria; the Linz Martinskirche , one of the oldest churches in Austria; the pilgrimage churches Pöstlingbergkirche , pilgrimage basilica Maria Puchheim and pilgrimage church Stadl-Paura ; the parish church of Braunau with the third highest church tower in Austria; the churches in St. Wolfgang and Kefermarkt with their winged altars. The parish churches of Niederkappel and Aigen represent important buildings of historicism. Also noteworthy is the parish church Ebelsberg with the only Art Nouveau facility in Upper Austria. Important modern church buildings are the Linz Peace Church and the Parish Church of Attnang .

Seeschloss Ort in Gmunden

Castles and Palaces

Well-known castles in Upper Austria are Clam Castle , which Otto von Machland had built in 1149, as well as Altpernstein and Wildberg Castle and the Schaunburg , Scharnstein and Waxenberg ruins .

The most important castles are the Linz Castle , Ort in Gmunden , Castle Ennsegg in Enns , Lamberg Castle in Steyr , Schloss Parz in Grieskirchen , Castle Starhemberg in Eferding , Greinburg Castle , Schloss Weinberg and the surge Aistersheim .

Linz Music Theater

Theater and music

The largest theater in Upper Austria is the Landestheater Linz with the music theater and the theater. It offers opera, operetta, musical, ballet and drama. The Bruckner Orchester Linz is also closely connected to the theater and the Brucknerhaus as the largest symphony orchestra in Upper Austria and one of the best orchestras in Austria.

The city theaters in Wels , Grein and Bad Hall as well as the Lehár Festival Bad Ischl with its famous operetta performances are also known.

The tradition of brass music in Upper Austria is also remarkable. There are more bands than there are parishes in the country. These are organized as a club and mostly play on a high musical level. There are also numerous musical groups that practice traditional folk music.

Steyr Working World Museum

Museums

The largest museum is the Linz Castle Museum of the Upper Austrian State Museums . The Landesgalerie, the Lentos Art Museum Linz , the Nordico City Museum Linz, the Ars Electronica Center Linz, the Museum Arbeitswelt Steyr , the Mühlviertel Castle Museum Freistadt , the Museum Angerlehner in Thalheim near Wels and the Kubin House in Zwickledt are also known . There are also numerous smaller museums in the communities.

Parks

There are currently four historical gardens in Upper Austria, which have come under the legal competence of the federal government since January 1, 2000 and have been placed under monument protection. The protected historical gardens and parks include the park of the Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl , the gardens of the Villa Toscana in Gmunden , the Art Nouveau park on Linz's Bauernberg and the park of Neuwartenburg Castle ( Timelkam ). In addition, there are around 160 historical gardens in Upper Austria, especially as part of palace complexes. There is a particularly high number of historical parks in the provincial capital Linz and in the summer resorts of the 19th century in Bad Ischl and Gmunden.

State garden shows have been held in Upper Austria every two years since 2005 . The objective of the state horticultural shows is the creation of living spaces and green areas from an environmental and ecological point of view in the Upper Austrian municipalities. The state horticultural shows are intended to show design options in green space and settlement design as well as in garden culture. The organizing community is selected by an advisory board. State garden shows were held in Vöcklabruck in 2007 , in Bad Schallerbach in 2009 , in Ansfelden / Ritzlhof in 2011 , in Bad Ischl in 2015 (“The Emperor's New Gardens”), and in Aigen-Schlägl in 2019 .

Steyr breakthrough power plant

More Attractions

Significant industrial monuments are the Art Nouveau power plant Steyrbruchbruch designed by Mauriz Balzarek , the Danube power plant Jochenstein built on the border with Bavaria and the tobacco factory in Linz , built in the style of New Objectivity .

Also worth mentioning are the bridgehead buildings with the Nibelungen Bridge built in Linz during the Nazi era and the numerous residential areas of this time, so-called Hitler buildings, in the Linz districts of Urfahr, Bindermichl and Spallerhof as well as in Steyr- Münichholz .

Cinemas

In 2012, Upper Austria had 27 cinemas with 87 cinemas and around 2.7 million admissions. After a long-term decline in these numbers, with a low point in 1992 with only 1.2 million admissions and 1994 with only 60 cinemas, the numbers have since increased again and now hold a value that roughly corresponds to that of the early 1970s. However, the structure has changed in favor of megaplex cinemas and at the expense of small cinemas with one and two halls, of which there were only 16 in 2012. In contrast, there are seven cinemas with three to five halls and four cinemas with more than six halls. Digital projection was introduced in 19 cinemas in 2012.

Economy and Infrastructure

In comparison with the gross domestic product of the European Union expressed in purchasing power standards, Upper Austria achieved an index of 132 (EU-28: 100 Austria: 129).

Upper Austria is one of the centers of Austrian industries. With direct exports worth 18.9 billion euros (2006), the state generates 26.5 percent of Austrian exports. Around 70 percent of exports go to the euro area. 68,626 commercial enterprises with 576,203 employees generate a gross regional product of 32.6 billion euros. The highest employment figures are found in the sectors (according to ÖNACE classification) of material goods production with 28%, trade with 18% and company-related services with 11%.

Important industries are:

raw materials

In the Hausruck area, lignite was mined until 1995 (for example in Ampflwang , Thomasroith ( Ottnang ) and Wolfsegg ).

In the foothills of the Alps, small amounts of crude oil are produced (as in Lohnsburg am Kobernaußerwald , Voitsdorf and Sattledt ). Natural gas is z. B. at Puchkirchen , Pfaffstätt , and Atzbach promoted.

The salt mine near Hallstatt is historically significant . In Bad Ischl , too, the rock salt is dissolved into the brine and transported through the brine pipeline to the saline in Ebensee in order to extract salt from it.

In the case of Tragwein , kaolin is mined in opencast mining and mining. In St. Georgen an der Gusen is quartz mined and refined. Gypsum mining is carried out at Spital am Pyhrn .

traffic

Upper Austria is well developed through international traffic routes. Important road connections are the West Autobahn A 1, Mühlkreis Autobahn A 7, Innkreis Autobahn A 8 and Pyhrn Autobahn A 9. The extension of the Mühlkreis Autobahn as the Mühlviertel expressway S 10 to the Czech Republic and the Linz Autobahn A 26 are important road construction projects of the future. In 2017, the degree of motorization (passenger cars per 1000 inhabitants) was 622.

One of the most important Austrian railway lines runs through Upper Austria with the Westbahn . Other important railway lines are the Summerauer Bahn and the Pyhrnbahn . There are important train stations in Linz , Wels and Attnang-Puchheim .

Other transport hubs are two large Danube ports in Linz and Enns and Linz Airport .

media

The daily newspaper with the highest circulation in Upper Austria is the Upper Austrian News . The Oberösterreichische Rundschau publishes three issues a week (regional edition on Thursday, Sunday Rundschau and Korrekt-Kleinanzeiger). Furthermore, the weekly view and the tips appear weekly .

The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) is represented with a broadcasting house in Linz. The largest private television broadcaster is LT1 . Together with HT1, it broadcasts unencrypted across Europe via the Astra 1H television satellite. The non-commercial television broadcaster DORF TV has been broadcasting in large parts of the state since June 2010 .

In addition to the state ORF radio programs, various private broadcasters are fighting for the radio market: Life Radio , Welle 1 , Radio Arabella and KroneHit . Radio FRO , Free Radio Freistadt and Free Radio Salzkammergut have established themselves as non-commercial private radio stations in the greater Linz area.

power supply

The energy supply of Upper Austria is mainly guaranteed by the state-owned Energie AG . This operates 34 water and two thermal power plants in Riedersbach and Timelkam as well as photovoltaic systems in Eberstalzell and on the Loser . Six of the hydropower plants are located in Salzburg , one hydropower plant and the solar power plant in Styria . The composite Hydro Power AG operates the five Donaukraftwerke in Upper Austria. The Energie AG subsidiary AVE operates two waste incineration plants (Wels and Lenzing ). The Linz municipal company Linz AG owns three district heating plants, which are also used to generate electricity. In addition, Linz AG also operates four hydropower plants.

education

Upper Austria has four universities, all of which are in Linz. With around 19,300 students, the State University of Linz (Johannes Kepler University Linz) is the largest educational institution. It offers academic training in the fields of social and economic sciences, law, and technology and natural sciences. The second state university is the University for Artistic and Industrial Design Linz (Art University) . In addition to these, there are also the Catholic Theological Private University Linz (KTU) and the Anton Bruckner Private University in the state.

The FH Upper Austria offers education in different areas (technology, economy and social issues) at four locations ( Hagenberg , Linz, Steyr and Wels ). Approximately 5900 students are currently taking advantage of the training opportunities offered at these educational institutions.

The former Pedagogical Academies have also been run as a university since October 1, 2007. Both such institutions in Upper Austria are located in Linz: the State University of Education Upper Austria and the Catholic University of Education of the Diocese of Linz .

Varia

From the old name of Upper Austria - Land ob der Enns - the opening phrase of fairy tales developed in Hungarian . Just as in German most fairy tales begin with “Once upon a time…”, Hungarian fairy tales usually begin with “Messzi, messzi földön, még az operencián is túl” (in a distant, distant land, beyond Ob der Enns ). In Hungarian fairy tales, the "operenciai tenger" (the Ob -der-Enns'ische Meer ) occurs again and again, meaning the lakes in the Salzkammergut.

See also

Portal: Upper Austria  - Overview of Wikipedia content on Upper Austria

literature

  • Upper Austrians. Life pictures on the history of Upper Austria. Ed. from the Upper Austrian Provincial Archives. 8 volumes OÖLA, Linz 1981–1994.
  • Alfred Havlicek / Reinhold Gruber: Upper Austria, Edition Upper Austria - Styria, Vienna - Graz - Klagenfurt 2008, online

Web links

Commons : Upper Austria  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
 Wikinews: Upper Austria  - in the news
Wiktionary: Upper Austria  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wikivoyage: Upper Austria  - Travel Guide

Individual evidence

  1. Statistics Austria - Population at the beginning of 2002–2020 by municipalities (area status 01/01/2020)
  2. Population at the beginning of 2002-20 {nn} by detailed nationality - Upper Austria (preliminary results). Statistics Austria, accessed on February 16, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Gross regional product, absolute and per inhabitant by federal state, current prices. Statistics Austria, accessed on January 24, 2020 .
  4. ^ Gerhard Pils: The flora of Upper Austria. Ennsthaler Verlag, Steyr 1999, ISBN 3-85068-567-5 .
  5. Status 6/2010 Protected Areas: National Protected Areas. In: land-oberoesterreich.gv.at> Topics> Environment> Nature and Landscape ( NaLa ). Office of Upper Austria. State government: Directorate for State Planning, Economic and Rural Development - Nature Conservation Department, accessed on May 29, 2010 .
  6. Natural monument. GENISYS geographical nature conservation information system, accessed on January 24, 2020 (serial no. 660, i.e. approx. 100 deleted objects).
  7. Nature protection of the Upper Austria. Provincial government: "Protected animals in Upper Austria." Linz 2006.
  8. a b Climate in Upper Austria. Office of the Upper Austrian Provincial Government, accessed on November 12, 2008 .
  9. Walter Kilian, Ferdinand Müller, Franz Starlinger: The forest growth areas of Austria. A natural area structure according to forest ecological aspects . Ed .: Federal Forest Research Institute . 1994, ISSN  0374-9037 ( web document [PDF]).
  10. ^ Society for regional studies of Upper Austria in Zsarb. with the Central Institute for Meteorology (Hrsg.): Climatography and climatic atlas of Upper Austria . Linz / Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-9500627-4-2 .
  11. Center of the federal state of Upper Austria. (PDF) Office of Upper Austria. State government, accessed on May 18, 2020 .
  12. Upper Austria. State Constitutional Law (Upper Austria L-VG) and Upper Austrian State Parliament Rules of Procedure 2009 (Upper Austria LGO 2009) . Article 1a. In: Series of publications of the Province of Upper Austria . 4th edition. tape 1 . Linz ( land-oberoesterreich.gv.at [PDF]).
  13. The Upper Austria. Landtag - today. Office of Upper Austria. State government, accessed January 24, 2020 .
  14. state government. State of Upper Austria, accessed on January 24, 2020 .
  15. E-Government. State of Upper Austria, accessed on May 14, 2014 .
  16. a b c d e Quotes literally § 1, 2, 3 and 5 Land Law of 3 July 1997 on Upper Austrian Land Symbols .
  17. ^ A b Karl-Heinz Hesmer: "Flags and coats of arms of the world." Chronik Verlag, 2008, p. 122.
  18. Population on January 1st, 2019 by detailed nationality and federal state. (PDF) Statistics Austria, accessed on September 15, 2019 .
  19. Statistics Austria ( Memento from December 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) as of 2001.
  20. Faith and Religion in Upper Austria p. 27.
  21. Almost 5 million Catholics in Austria. In: kathisch.at. Catholic Church Austria, accessed March 8, 2020 .
  22. Numbers and facts. In: www.evang.at. Evangelical Church in Austria, accessed March 8, 2020 .
  23. Constitutional provision. Directory of parks and gardens in accordance with Section 1, Paragraph 12. In: ris.bka.gv.at. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .
  24. Eva Berger: “Historical Gardens of Austria. Gardens and parks from the Renaissance to around 1930. ”Volume 2.“ Upper Austria, Salzburg, Vorarlberg, Carinthia, Styria, Tyrol. ”Böhlau, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2003, ISBN 3-205-99352-7 .
  25. State horticultural shows in Upper Austria. State of Upper Austria, accessed on January 24, 2020 .
  26. K1. Structure of the cinemas (number of halls, seating capacity, display) in 2012 by federal state. Statistics Austria , accessed on July 25, 2014 .
  27. Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by NUTS 3 regions. Eurostat , February 26, 2016, accessed on December 3, 2016 .
  28. Statistics of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (1/2) ( Memento from February 6, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  29. land-oberoesterreich.gv.at
  30. ^ Statistics of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (2/2) ( Memento from February 6, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  31. statistik.at
  32. Ten years of highlights at the JKU - summary of the university council. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014 ; Retrieved May 19, 2014 .
  33. Facts & Figures , University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, as of November 15, 2016.

Coordinates: 48 ° 10 '  N , 14 ° 0'  E