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To understand where it is better to buy a hotel in Austria, we offer you a description of several federal states of this country and a general description of the country itself. In this article, we will not discuss profitability, the process of property registration, and factors to consider when choosing a business.
This publication will provide information to understand what is closer to the buyer in terms of location, climate, and landscape. And, of course, we will not forget to mention the population of the federal states of Austria.
So, in this article, we will consider several federal states of Austria, namely:
Austria is a country in Central Europe with no coastline, with a population of about 8.8 million people. It is bordered by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovenia and Italy to the south, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. Austria is a democratic and federal state, specifically a semi-presidential republic. It has nine federal states, most of which originated from historical crown lands: Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Vienna. Vienna is also the federal capital and the most populous city in the country. Other populated places include Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck. The country borders the Bohemian massif and the Tyrol on the north, the Karavanken and Styrian mountains on the south, the Pannonian plain on the east, and the Rhine and Lake Constance on the west. Over 62 percent of its territory consists of high mountain ranges.
Vienna is the capital of the Austrian Republic and simultaneously one of the nine Austrian provinces. Vienna on the Danube, with a population of about 1.9 million, is the most populous city in Austria, the second largest in the German-speaking world, and the sixth largest city in the European Union. The metropolitan area of Vienna has about 2.8 million inhabitants – about a third of Austria’s total population.
Architecturally, Vienna is still dominated by buildings around the Vienna Ringstrasse from the Wilhelm period, as well as Baroque and Art Nouveau styles. Due to its role as the imperial capital and residence of the Austrian Empire since 1804, Vienna became a cultural and political center of Europe in the 19th century. Around 1910, when Vienna was the capital of the Habsburg monarchy, the city was one of the largest in the world with over two million inhabitants. The historic center of Vienna and the Schönbrunn Palace are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. About 7.5 million tourists per year and around 16.5 million overnight stays make Vienna one of the most visited cities in Europe.
Already at the Congress of Vienna 1814/15, the city played a significant role in international diplomacy, which it has retained to this day. As a venue for international congresses and conferences, Vienna today hosts more than 30 international organizations, including the OPEC oil cartel, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the OSCE. The United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) is one of the four United Nations offices in the Vienna International Centre (VIC), widely known as the city of the UN.
Furthermore, Vienna is considered a city with a very high quality of life. In the international Mercer 2017/2018 study, which compared the quality of life for expatriates based on 39 criteria such as political, economic, social, and environmental factors in 231 major cities worldwide, Vienna ranked first for the ninth consecutive year. A study conducted by the United Nations showed that Vienna in 2012 was the richest city in the world. Additionally, Vienna has repeatedly ranked in the Economist Intelligence Unit rating, which compares categories of stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure in 140 major cities worldwide.
Another result was obtained in the OECD study in 2018, which showed that Vienna has experienced a significant decline in well-being from 2008 compared to 2000 (rank 84), and now the city ranks 104th out of 329 compared to major cities and metropolises. This study also notes that Vienna, along with other federal states, has income in the top quarter of the OECD. Representatives of the “Austrian province” attribute this criticism to accusations that the Austrian state does not take the principle of federalism in Austria seriously, as it does not maintain any federal institutions outside the federal capital, except those responsible for policies in neighboring states Germany and Switzerland.
Vienna is located on the eastern edge of the Alps, at the foot of the alpine foothills to the east, leading to the Pannonian Plain. The city center already extends into the plain on the Danube, in the western parts of the Vienna Woods, the easternmost mountain group of the Northern Alps. Vienna inherited only a relatively small part of the city. About half of Vienna is meadows, with larger areas also used for agriculture.
Vienna rises to 151 meters above sea level, while Lobau reaches a height of 542 meters above sea level. To the northwest, west, and southwest of Vienna, the Vienna Woods with its heights (Leopoldsberg, Kahlenberg) and forests extend into the city territory. The Danube enters Vienna through the Vienna Gate, an area between Leopoldsberg on the right bank and Bisamberg on the left bank. Numerous streams flow into the city from the Vienna Woods, the most famous of which is the Wienfluss. The mountains in the west continue south with glacial terraces (Vienna Woods and Laaer Berg). This entire area is used for viticulture, forming the Vienna wine region.
The eastern part of the city is characterized by the Vienna Basin of the Marchfeld plain, which is used for agriculture. To the southeast is Lobau, Vienna’s share of the Donau-Auen National Park. Given the prevailing westerly winds (as in many European cities), high-class neighborhoods are more on the western outskirts of the city, where, among other things, the air is cleaner, while older industrial areas are closer to the southeastern edge of the city.
Vienna, which also functions as an official district as a political district, has been divided into 23 municipal districts (1905–1938: 21 districts, 1938–1954: Greater Vienna with 26 districts) since 1954. Regarding Vienna, the districts are either named (e.g., “Ottakring”) or numbered (e.g., “16th district” or “Sixteenth,” written as “Vienna 16”). These numbers are placed on each road sign before the street name (e.g., “16th, Thaliastraße”) and form the second and third digits of the postal code (from 1010 for the 1st district to 1230 for the 23rd district).
The historical old town. Today, most of the 1st district, which still existed in the revolutionary year of 1848 according to the urban territory, was part of the city. Under Emperor Franz Joseph, there were three major city expansions from 1849/50, 1890 to 1892, and 1904/05.
On March 17, 1849, the imperial patent issued a temporary municipal code for the monarchy; according to it, the suburbs … always had to form a single local church with the actual city. Thus, the suburbs of Vienna were included ex lege.
In 1850, the suburbs of Vienna existing in 1849 were divided into districts 2 to 8 within the Linienwalls. In 1861, the original 4th district was split into two districts. In 1874, the 4th and 5th districts of the 4th and 5th districts were merged into the new 10th district, Favoriten. According to the Lower Austria Provincial Act of December 1890, which came into effect on January 1, 1892, the modern suburbs on the right bank of the Danube, which at that time were called suburbs, were included, although some of them were already urban districts. Thus, Vienna now had 19 districts. In 1900, the northern part of the 2nd district was declared the 20th district. In the third major expansion, decided in 1904 and implemented in 1905, the large community of Floridsdorf was included on the left bank of the Danube as the 21st district; it extended from Strebersdorf in the north to Lobau in the southeast. (The area between the Danube and the Old Danube remained, but partially until 1938 in the 2nd district.) Four times, its urban territory experienced Vienna during the time of National Socialism, as the dictatorship of October 15, 1938, created Greater Vienna with 26 districts. This extension was largely reversed by the decision of the National Council, Vienna Landtag, and Lower Austrian Landtag in 1946, which only came into effect in 1954 due to vetoes by the occupying powers. Of the 97 places created in 1938, only 17 remain in Vienna: on the left bank of the Danube, Stammersdorf, Süssenbrunn, Breitensee, and Essling, on the right bank of the Danube (southern and southwestern outskirts), Albern, Unterlaa, Oberlaa, and Rothneusiedl, eight towns of today’s 23rd district (Liesing), including Lainzer Tiergarten and Hadersdorf-Weidlingau on the western outskirts. As a result, some district boundaries changed between 1954 and 1956. The city limits have remained unchanged since 1954.
When defining the district boundaries, they tried to clearly align them along important roads or rivers, although this meant that some former communities were divided. The inner districts 1 and 3-9 are bordered by a belt from the outer districts. In districts 1, 2, 3, 9, 11, 19, and 20, the Danube Canal is part of the district boundaries, in districts 2, 11, 19, 20, 21, and 22 – the Danube. The Danube Canal and the Danube separate districts 2 and 20 from all others. Districts 21 and 22 are the only ones on the left bank of the Danube. Even the Wien River almost always borders the district throughout its course through the city (except for the section from the western city limits to Hütteldorf).
Vienna’s climate creates a transitional climate with oceanic influences from the west and continental influences from the east. This is noticeable annually, as measurement results fluctuate significantly. Overall, Vienna generally has less precipitation and longer periods of drought. Winters are relatively mild compared to other parts of Austria. The average air temperature in the city center is 11.4 degrees Celsius on average over 30 years, and 10.2 degrees Celsius on the outskirts (ZAMG Wetterstation Hohe Warte). The average amount of precipitation is about 600 millimeters, with an average of 741.5 millimeters measured in the west of the city and only 514.5 millimeters in the east. There are about 60 summer days and 70 frost days. On August 8, 2013, the highest temperature in Vienna was recorded at 39.5 degrees Celsius at the Inner City measuring station. Vienna is home to the headquarters of the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG).
The state of Salzburg is a federal state in Austria (federal land). The capital of the state is the city of Salzburg. The independent historical development of the federal state as a spiritual imperial principality from 1328 to 1803 and an electorate until 1805, as well as its affiliation with the Bavarian Imperial Circle during this time, distinguishes the country from the history of all other Austrian countries.
The Salzburg area covers an area of 7,156.03 km². The highest elevation in Salzburg is the Grossvenediger, at 3,657 meters above sea level. This mountain is also the fourth highest in Austria. The state borders are 174 km of Austrian state borders, mostly to the northwest to Bavaria/Germany and to a small extent to the southwest to South Tyrol/Italy. Otherwise, Salzburg borders Tyrol to the west and southwest, Upper Austria to the northeast, Styria to the east, and Carinthia to the south.
The landscape of Salzburg is divided into five districts, the boundaries of which are identical to the political districts of the country.
The northern part of the country is divided into two districts:
Flachgau is the northernmost area of the country, which also includes the closest surroundings to the south of the city of Salzburg. Its name was based on the names of other “mountain” districts created later and expresses the geographical character of the area. It consists of the Salzburg Voralpenland and small parts of the northern limestone Alps belonging to the Osterhorngruppe.
Tennengau connects Flachgau to the south and covers the area around the city of Hallein and the communities to the south. Its name comes from the Tennengebirge, the first part of the name tracing back to the word fir. Essentially, it includes the wide Salzachtal and the mountains of the northern limestone Alps on both sides.
The southern part of Salzburg is divided into three districts:
Pinzgau occupies the western part of it. Its name may derive from the Celtic tribe Ambisontar. A common explanation is that this district is “rush,” as this plant was likely frequent here.
Pongau forms the middle of the three southern districts. The name comes from Pong, the former name of today’s Bischofshofen. Pong itself probably traces back to the Celtic word for boundary.
Lungau is located in the southeast of the Salzburg region. The origin of the name is unclear but is quite accurately attributed to either a Slavic or Celtic word. It may be connected with Lonka, which refers to the same Slavic word “swamp,” the name of a stream in the north of Lungau.
These three southern regions are divided into High Tauern and Lungau in the Lower Tauern, both of which are part of the central Alps. Together they are called – especially from the perspective of the less mountainous regions of Salzburg – “Innergebirge.”
The province of Salzburg is divided into five political districts and one legally established city, the city of Salzburg. The districts are still commonly referred to as Gaue (landscape areas).
The province of Salzburg has eleven municipalities with city rights.
Carinthia (Slovenian Koroška, formerly also Kärnten) is the southernmost state of the Republic of Austria. The capital of the state is Klagenfurt am Wörthersee. Carinthia borders the province of Tyrol to the west, Salzburg to the north, Styria to the north and east, and Italy and Slovenia to the south.
The name Carinthia may derive from the Celtic name karanto for “stone, rock.” Names like Karnburg, Karawanken, and similar ones belong to the same root. The Venetians also have the word karanto for dry and firm soil, with similar meaning in Friulian karanto. The earliest mention of the name Carinthia is probably in the cosmography of the anonymous Ravennate, dated to the 8th-9th centuries.
Carinthia borders East Tyrol to the west, Salzburg to the northwest, Styria to the northeast, and Slovenia and the Italian regions of Friuli and Veneto to the south. The total length of the borders with neighboring states is 280 km. The state’s territory narrows to just 44 km in the middle, creating a division between Upper Carinthia (dominated by high mountains) and Unterkärnten (marked by the Klagenfurt basin). The Klagenfurt basin, bounded by the Austrian Central Alps to the north and the Karawanken to the south, is where the state capital Klagenfurt is located. To its west lies Lake Wörthersee. Along with many other lakes, it is a center of summer tourism.
Several valleys cross the country, with the largest ones next to the Drava being Möll, Gail, Rosen, Jaun, and Lavanttal. The most important river in Carinthia is the Drava. Hydroelectric plants of the former “Draukraft” provide twelve percent of Austria’s electricity.
Unterostalpian: The Matrei zone represents a narrow band of rock and limits the Tauern window to the south. The rocks were deposited in the Cretaceous and later transformed. Also called Tauernflysch, the Matreier zone is sometimes also considered the Tauernfenster.
Central Eastern Alps. The Eastern Alps mostly consist of mica schists, paragneisses, orthogneisses, amphibolites, quartzites, eclogites, and marbles. They form the Schobergruppe, Kreuzeckgruppe, parts of Goldeckgruppe, Ossiacher Tauern, the southern and western parts of Nockberge, as well as the Sau and Koralm. Most belong to Altkristallin. In the Mesozoic deposits of the Nockgebiet, there are deposits called the Mesozoic Stangalm, extending from Innerkrems in Predigertshöhe south of Bad Kleinkirchheim.
Oberostalpian: This subdivision includes the Gurktal and Drauzug (Gailtaler Alps and Northern Karawanken). They cover Altkristallin. The Gurktal ceiling consists of metamorphosed ancient Paleozoic deposits (phyllites, quartzites, siliceous slates, carbonates), as well as alkaline volcanic substances (metatuffs, diabases, green slates). In the Turracher Höhe-Königstuhl area, Upper Carboniferous deposits, which are rich in fossil plants and locally contain anthracite coal, are present. Also, in the Nock area at Pfannock, Mesozoic deposits of the Upper Palaeozoic, which were “folded” between the Gurktal ceiling and the Near Eastern Stangalm Mesozoic, occur.
The Gailtaler Alps and Northern Karawanken consist of crystalline basement (Gailtalcristallin, Eisenkappler crystal) and sedimentary deposits. They extend in the Gailtaler Alps from Permian to Upper Triassic, from Karawanken to Lower Mella; they contain varying amounts of carbonate rocks. The own glaciers form the carbon of Neusch and the massif of Dobratsch. Northern Karawanken north of the peri-Adriatic sheet consists of Permo-Mesozoic rocks, Eisenkappler Diabaszug, and Eisenkappler Altkristallin, granite, and Tonalite.
The Carinthian Alps of Carinthia and the Southern Karawanken areas are part of the southern alpine region. They lie south of the peri-Adriatic seam. The Carnic Alps consist mainly of marine deposits from the Late Ordovician to Triassic. The deeper, predominantly ancient Paleotropical floor mainly consists of sandstones (greywacke and quartzite). The younger, higher floor consists of quartz-rich sandstones, clay slates, and fossiliferous limestones forming the Auerninga and Rattendorfer layers. The Southern Karawanken resemble the Carnic Alps. The lower floor from Ordovician to Carboniferous rocks appears in the Seebach Aufbruch. The main chain consists of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and powerful marine deposits of the Triassic. The latter form the most important massifs, such as the Kocutta, Wertatsch, Hochstuhl, and Mittagskogel.
Carinthia is located in the temperate zone of Central Europe. The influence of the Mediterranean climate is usually overestimated. Although the main alpine ridge represents a clear watershed, there is no climatic barrier, especially in the eastern part of the Eastern Alps. The climate is, however, greatly altered due to its southern location, topography, and other local conditions, so the climate is very finely structured.
An important phenomenon in the Klagenfurt basin and the surrounding valleys is the variation in winter temperature. Cold air lakes and, consequently, usually foggy cover often reach heights up to 1000 m above sea level. A. Temperature between 1000 and 1400 meters is often 15 °C higher than in the valley. Kärntner Kältesee is the largest of the Eastern Alps. This is the main reason for the relatively low annual average temperature compared to other regions of Austria. Parts of South Tyrol or Ticino do not have a year-round temperature advantage over the regions north of the main alpine ridge.
(Inaccurate) impressions of Mediterranean climate influence mainly arise from the warm, sunny summer months. Thus, at many stations in the Klagenfurt basin and adjacent major valleys, the daily maximum in July exceeds 25 °C, which is higher than the average compared to other regions of Austria.
The annual temperature variation in the valleys typically ranges from 20 to 24 °C, while in mountain conditions it ranges from only 14 to 20 °C.
Precipitation corresponds to the Central European pattern with precipitation minima in winter (February) and maxima in summer. In the southern parts of the country (Gailtal, Gailtaler Alps, Karawanken), as a southern alpine element, a second maximum of precipitation occurs in late autumn (October/November) due to minima in the Adriatic or Genoa. Precipitation in summer is often due to heavy rains, especially thunderstorms. In general, annual precipitation decreases from west to east. In the mountains in the northwest and south, there is especially high precipitation (more than 2000 mm per year), while the remaining parts of the country are in a rain shadow. The dry areas are mainly the regions of Kraffelt (750 mm), Görtschitztal, and Lower Lavanttal (800 mm), as well as the northern Klagenfurt basin, Möll, and Lienertal.
The number of snow-covered days in the Klagenfurt basin and in large valleys ranges from 75 to 100 days, with even fewer in the Lower Lavant valley. However, in large parts of the mountains, it is more than 150 days. Conversely, the growing season (days above +5 °C): in high mountains up to 90 days, in most parts of the country from 180 to 220 days, in Drautal, the Klagenfurt basin, and in Lower Lavanttal from 220 to 230 days.
Styria is one of the nine federal states of the Republic of Austria. Its capital is Graz, followed by Leoben, Kapfenberg, Bruck an der Mur, and Feldbach. It is the second largest in terms of area and the fourth largest in Austria, bordering the Austrian provinces of Carinthia, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and Burgenland, as well as the Republic of Slovenia to the south. The inhabitants are called Styrians.
Until the end of World War I, there was a much larger Duchy of Styria in Austria-Hungary from 1867, than the Crown land of the Austrian Empire. After the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy in October/November 1918 and the Saint-Germain Treaty of 1919, Lower Styria belonged to Slovenia.
The federal state of Styria has an area of 16,398.74 km², making it the second largest province in Austria. It has a 145-kilometer external border with Slovenia, making it – except for Vienna – the federal state with the shortest border with foreign countries. The internal border with adjacent federal states is 870 km.
Recently, the state capital Graz and the Graz-Umgebung district are referred to as Mittelsteiermark. This area is geographically not assigned to either Eastern or Western Styria. This classification of Styria, where most of Upper Styria is more western than Western Styria, sometimes causes confusion among non-specialists. This refers to the time before World War I when Eastern and Western Styria together formed “Middle Styria,” while Lower Styria was a mixed German-Slovenian language territory with the capital Marburg an der Drau (Slovenian Maribor). This changed after World War I in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and today belongs to Slovenia. The southern part of the country from the Deutschlandsberg – Leibnitz – Bad Radkersburg line is called Südsteiermark and should not be confused with Lower Styria. However, in everyday speech (at least in Upper Styria), Südsteiermark is still often equated with Untersteiermark by name.
Styria is also popularly known as the “Green Mark” and – mainly in tourism – as the “Green Heart of Austria” because about 61 percent of its land is covered by forests and another quarter is occupied by meadows, pastures, orchards, and vineyards.
The Ennstal, located in the northern part of the country with its rugged peaks, from Dachstein to the Gesäuse National Park, and the mountain plateaus between the Hochschwab and the Rax also made Styria known as an alpine state. In this area is the Hochwildstelle (also Hohe Wildstelle) with 2747 meters above sea level. It is the highest mountain entirely within Styria. The south of the country is mostly hilly (wine-growing area), but the fields of Graz and Leibnitz along the Mur River are fair.
The main river in Styria is the Mur, which originates in the Salzburg Lungau, shortly thereafter runs along the western part of Upper Styria at Predlitz, and flows mainly in an eastern direction to Bruck an der Mur. There the river bends and flows towards the Slovenian border in Spielfeld in a southern direction. From there, the Mur flows again in an eastern direction to Bad Radkersburg, forming a border with the southern neighboring state. The length of the Mur within Styria is 290.9 km.
The largest lake in Styria is Grundlsee with 4.3 km².
Tyrol is a federal state in western Austria and the northern and eastern parts of the historical alpine region of Tyrol. The capital of the state and also the most populous city is Innsbruck.
With an area of 12,640.17 square kilometers, Tyrol is the third largest state in Austria. It borders Vorarlberg to the west, Salzburg and Carinthia to the east, Bavaria (Germany) to the north, the canton of Graubünden (Switzerland) to the southwest, and South Tyrol and the province of Belluno (Italy) to the south. Of all the federal states, it has the longest external border, with a total length of 719 kilometers, and 11.9% – the lowest share of permanent settlements in the country.
The federal state is divided into nine political districts.
Tyrol is in a temperate zone and lies on the boundary between Atlantic, continental, and Mediterranean influences. The prevailing climate is the inner alpine mountain climate with subcontinental characteristics. Relatively humid summers, dry autumns, snowy winters, and strong local variations characterize the climate.
Chain mountains are weather shells, and the air can flow around individual mountain ranges. The northern limestone Alps mainly consist of mountain chains, where precipitation occurs under stagnant conditions. Additionally, they are usually mild and dry. Tyrol, like all of Central Europe, is influenced by the western wind zone, so the northern edge of the Alps is the wettest and snowiest.
The inner alpine valleys have a relatively mild climate. While the average annual precipitation in Reutte still amounts to 1375 millimeters, on the northern edge of the Karwendel Mountains about 2000 millimeters, and in Kufstein 1330 millimeters, it is around Innsbruck 900 millimeters, and in the upper Inn valley only 600 millimeters. Inner Alpine valleys are also characterized by large diurnal temperature amplitudes. Thus, the average daily maximum in July for Innsbruck is 25.1 °C higher than at most other weather stations in Austria.
The average height of Tyrol has a significant influence on temperature. Except for the surroundings of Kufstein, settlements are more than 500 meters. Mountains reduce the amount of possible sunshine, especially in narrow north-south valleys like the Ötztal and Pitztal.
Winter is usually characterized by alternating snowy and snowy weather. In the northern parts of the country (Unterland, Ausserfern, and Karwendelgebirge), thick snow masses of 50 cm and more are common, even at places below 1000 meters above sea level, due to the northern ground effect, which is particularly pronounced on cold fronts. Inner Alpine regions do not receive as much snow in such weather. Conversely, larger amounts of precipitation are possible inside the Alps, especially when warm fronts occur. As precipitation often falls as rain due to milder weather at lower elevations, there is a much lower chance of forming a dense snow cover in the upper Inn valley. It is often the case that there is less snow in Landeck and Innsbruck than in Wörgl or Kufstein. Spring is usually very unstable and rainy in the Alps, which can lead to cold periods. In summer, most precipitation occurs due to thunderstorms. Autumn is often characterized by long periods of good weather. A special weather phenomenon is the Föhn, which occurs, especially in transitional seasons, with wind speeds up to 200 km/h on the Patscherkofel, reaching up to 120 km/h in Innsbruck, and even in late autumn and early spring, temperatures can rise above 20 °C.
The choice, as always, is up to the client. We have offers in all the regions mentioned in this publication. With our help, you will be able to buy a hotel that suits you in terms of budget, soul, and taste, and that also meets financial expectations and appetites.
Our clients usually come from: Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Armenia, Belarus, and other CIS countries, but there are cases when we are approached by locals, representatives from the USA, Canada, and EU countries.
We would be happy to welcome you as one of our clients!
INVESTMAKLER
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