Austria

Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of roughly 8.5 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west.

The territory of Austria covers 83,879 square kilometres (32,386 sq mi) and has an alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous, lying within the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft).

Language

The majority of the population speak local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and Austrian German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene.

German is the national official language and constitutes a lingua franca and de facto second language: most Austrians other than (mostly rural) seniors are able to speak it. It is the language used in media, in schools, and formal announcements. The variety of German used, Austrian German is partially influenced by Austro-Bavarian and uses many "Germanized" words and expressions deriving from it.

Alemannic is spoken in Vorarlberg. Vorarlberg uses a High Alemannic, the same dialect group as that spoken in Northern Switzerland (outside Basel) and parts of southern Alsace, France. To most Germans and Austrians outside of Vorarlberg it is very difficult to understand, as it is more similar to Swiss German, with many grammatical and pronunciation differences.

The main native language of Austria outside Vorarlberg is Austro-Bavarian, which is spoken using many different dialects. The northern parts of Austria (including Vienna, the capital) speak Central Austro-Bavarian dialects and the southern parts Southern Austro-Bavarian dialects. Austro-Bavarian differs heavily from high German, making it hard for German speakers of different regions to understand the native population.

Magical Culture

Young witches and wizards from Austria attend Durmstrang for their education.

Austria has a Ministry of Magic, based in Vienna.

The country holds an annual national duelling championship. Georg Kirchlehner first won the title in 1993. He continued to hold the title for 11 years, which broke the Austrian record. To his annoyance he lost in 2004 and while he regained the title in 2005.

Trivia

Stroh is an Austrian rum that comes in five varieties based on alcoholic content.

At Absit Omen

Georg Kirchlehner was born and grew up in Austria.

Jacoba Schlagenweit has spent time travelling through the country.

Sasha Schlagenweit's parents would lie to other Muggles that Sasha was at boarding school in Austria and had found a nice girlfriend from Vienna as part of their cover story that he was a wizard They Say Time is a Healer and The Roads Finally Lead Home (Sasha does ordinarily spend a lot of time in Austria during school holidays, and may have fabricated the girlfriend)

Rufus Delacroix tells Kronos Malvivicus that he has two alehouses in Austria The Runes of Dead Loves, The Runes of Dead Memories

Johann Storm spent ten months immersing himself in the different dialects in 2001, which came in useful when working with Vedir Prideaux and Landis Morgan to decode a dark magic text

Characters Born in Austria

• Georg Kirchlehner, Salzburg