Upper Austria

Oberösterreich Upper Austria
Flag	Coat of arms
Location
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Administration
Country	Austria
NUTS Region	AT3
Capital	Linz
Largest city	Linz
Governor	Josef Pühringer (ÖVP)
Votes in Bundesrat	12 (of 62)
Basic statistics
Area	11,980 km² (4,626 sq mi)
Population	1,405,986
- Density	117 /km² (304 /sq mi)
Other information
ISO region	AT-4
Website	www.land-oberoesterreich.gv.at

Upper Austria (German: Oberösterreich, Czech: Horní Rakousko, Austro-Bavarian: Obaöstarreich) is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg. With an area of 11,980 km² and 1.3 million inhabitants, Upper Austria is the fourth-largest Austrian state by land area and third-largest by population.

History

Origins

For a long period of the Middle Ages, much of Upper Austria belonged to the Duchy of Styria. In the mid 13th century the Traungau was removed from it by King Ottokar II of Bohemia, and it became known as the Principality above the Enns River, this name being first recorded in 1264. (At the time the term "Upper Austria" also included Tyrol and various scattered Habsburg possessions in South Germany.)

In 1490, the area was given a measure of independence within the Holy Roman Empire, with the status of a principality. By 1550 there was a Protestant majority. In 1564, Upper Austria, together with Lower Austria and the Bohemian territories, fell under Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II.

At the start of the 17th century the counter-reformation was instituted under Emperor Rudolf II and his successor Matthias. After a military campaign, the area was under the control of the Protestant Elector of Bavaria for some years in the early 17th century.

The Inn region was ceded from the Duchy of Bavaria to Upper Austria by the treaty of Tessin in 1779. During the Napoleonic Wars, Upper Austria was occupied by the French army on more than one occasion.

Nowadays

In 1918, after the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the name Oberösterreich was used to describe the province of the new Austria. After Austria was annexed by Adolf Hitler, Upper Austria became the Reichsgau of Oberdonau, although this also included the southern part of the Sudetenland, annexed from Czechoslovakia, and a small part of Styria. In 1945, Upper Austria was partitioned between the American zone to the south and the Soviet zone to the north.

Demographics

Like the rest of Austria, Upper Austria is predominantly Roman Catholic. Approximately 7.2% of the population is of foreign origin, 53% of which is from former Yugoslavia. Other minority groups include those of Greek and Turkish origin. As of the last census, which took place in 2006, the population of Upper Austria is 1,405,986. To the right are historical population figures of the state.

Administrative divisions

Upper Austria is traditionally divided into four regions: Hausruckviertel, Innviertel, Mühlviertel, and Traunviertel.

Administratively, the state is divided into 15 districts (Bezirke), and three Statutarstädte.

Statutarstädte

1. Linz
2. Steyr
3. Wels

Districts

4. Braunau am Inn
5. Eferding
6. Freistadt
7. Gmunden
8. Grieskirchen
9. Kirchdorf an der Krems
10. Linz-Land
11. Perg
12. Ried im Innkreis
13. Rohrbach
14. Schärding
15. Steyr-Land
16. Urfahr-Umgebung
17. Vöcklabruck
18. Wels-Land

See also

• Linz
• Austro-Bavarian language

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Upper Austria

• (German) Upper Austria official website