Page 556 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

554  GERM AN Y , A USTRIA , AND SWITZERLAND

control of Rudolf of Habsburg, who was
elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1273.
Over the next three centuries, the
Habsburg domains grew, occasionally
by conquest, but usually by means of
marriages and inheritances. In time, it
became a matter of course that they
were elected as Holy Roman Emperors.
From the 15th century, Turkish invasions
threatened the Habsburg lands. In 1683, The Central, one of the grandest of Vienna’s coffee houses
the Turks laid siege to Vienna, but they
were dispersed by a relieving army. followed bitter struggles between Right
This marked the start of many successful and Left for control of the new Austrian
campaigns in the Balkans. In the 18th republic. The country was annexed by
century, Austria was a major power, Germany in 1938 and then, following
although the rise of Prussia and Napoleon’s Hitler’s defeat in 1945, came under Allied
occupation of Vienna in 1809 dented control until 1955, when it became a
Habsburg pride. The Austrian empire sovereign state once more. As a keen
was considerably weakened in the 19th member of the EU, Austria has flourished
century by the growth of nationalist economically, but the old political
movements, but Vienna enjoyed its heyday divisions have arisen. The far-right FPÖ
as a great cosmopolitan European capital. (then led by Jörg Haider) were part of
After World War I, the defeated Austrian government coalitions from 2000 –
Empire was dismembered and countries resulting in international outrage – until
such as Czechoslovakia and Hungary the Social Democratic party (SPÖ) took
gained their independence. There over in 2006. Elections in 2013 saw a

Exploring Austria Sights at a Glance CZECH REPUBLIC Prague Brno
Austria’s main attractions are the alpine resorts in the west of 1 Vienna pp556–65 Ceské
the country around Innsbruck and the capital, Vienna, in the 2 Eisenstadt Regensburg Budĕjovice 303 7
east. In between, there are many other sights worth seeking 3 Graz
4 Melk and the Wachau
out: ancient monasteries and castles, well-preserved medieval 5 Linz Freistadt Krems Stockerau A5 SL OV AKIA
cities, such as Salzburg and Graz, the picturesque lakes of the 6 Hallstatt Donau 125 Melk and Donau
Salzkammergut region, and the scenic stretch of the Danube 7 Salzburg Munich Linz the Wachau S33 VIENNA BRATISLAVA
(Wien)
known as the Wachau. Road and rail communications along 8 Innsbruck A8 St Pölten A1 A4
A1
the main axis of the country between 147 Steyr Waidhofen A3
Eisenstadt
Vienna, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck Munich A1 20 Wiener Neusiedler
are very good. Ulm Salzburg A9 25 Mariazell Neustadt See
Ulm Munich GERMANY Bad Ischl Budapest
AUSTR I A
Kufstein Hallstatt S6
Bregenz Liezen Kapfenberg
A12 Kitzbühel Bischofshofen Radstadt A2 HUNGARY
St Gallen Dornbirn Jenbach Zell am See Leoben
198
Feldkirch Inn Innsbruck 165 Piesendorf Knittelfeld
Zürich A12 167 A10 S36
A14 97
LIECHTENSTEIN St Anton Landeck A13 Mayrhofen Badgastein Obdach Graz
Milan 315 Gmund A9
Lienz Spittal St Veit
SWITZERLAND A2
Bolzano Villach Klagenfurt
I T A L Y Wörthersee
An advanced skiier on the snowy slopes of Tyrol Ljubljana Zagreb
in Austria Udine SL OVENIA
Ljubljana
For hotels and restaurants see p574 and p575
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