Today I'd like to tell you something about Austria.:
The size is about 84. 000 km2 and has a population of 7. 500. 000 people.
Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Carinthia, Styria and Burgenland.
Each of them has it's own capital:
Vienna, St. Pölten, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Bregenz, Klagenfurth, Graz and Eisenstadt. (Sheet Nr. 1)
Our neighbouring countries are:
Liechtenstein
Switzerland
Germany
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Hungary
Slovenia
Italy (Sheet Nr. 2)
On the map you find Austria in middle Europe. Now I want to show you the flags of the countries. (Sheet Nr. 3)
Our country's name was not always Austria, but in former times Ostarrichi. It is 1005 years old. At the 1st November 995 Emperor Otto III gave some land around the place Niuvanhova to the Bishop of Freising. This land was named Ostarrichi, also by an document. The place was renamed Neuhoven, and still today you can see there the stone of memorandum.
There were two reigning dynasties, the Babenberger, who ruled from 976 to 1246 and the Habsburger, who ruled from 1278 to 1918. The last ruler of the Babenberger was Friedrich II who died in 1246. The last austrian Emperor was Karl. His wife Zita died only eleven years ago. (Sheet Nr. 4)
Emperor Franz-Joseph I reigned for 68 years (1848 - 1916) and was so the emperor who had the power for the longest time. His wife was the famous Elizabeth, short Sisi. The couple had four children: Sophie, who died at the age of only two years, Gisela, Rudolph, the crown prince, and Valerie. After the suicide of Rudolph in Mayerling, his cousin Ferdinand became the crown prince. At the 28. 6. 1914 he was murdered in Sarajevo, and for that reason the first world war broke out. After the war, at the 12. 11. 1918 the first republic was proclaimed. The second world war was from 1939 till 1945 and from that year on until today we have the second republic in Austria. At the 15. 5. 1955 the Austrian State Contract was signed. Leopold Figl, who was the minister of foreign affairs, claimed the famous sentence: "Austria is free". (Sheet Nr. 5)
Thousands of people came to see this historical meeting or bought a TV to see this special event.
The name of our President today is Dr. Thomas Klestil, Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel is our Federal Chancellor and our Minister of foreign affairs is Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
