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| Interesting Facts about : |
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History & Heritage
Modern Austria is the German-speaking part of the Austrian (later Austro-Hungarian) Empire ruled by the Habsburg family from 1526 to 1918.
The Austrian flag is one of the oldest national flag in the world. It dates from 1191, when Duke Leopold V fought in the Battle of Acre during the Third Crusade.
The world's largest emerald (2860 carat) is displayed in the Imperial Treasury of the Hofburg (Imperial Palace) in Vienna.
Schönbrunn Palace, the summer palace of the Habsburgs, has no less than 1,440 rooms.
The sewing machine was invented in 1818 by Josef Madersperger, an Austrian.
The oldest zoological garden in the world is the Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna, founded in 1752.
Founded in 803 as Stiftskeller St. Peter, Haslauer is the world's oldest inn/restaurant still in operation, and the oldest company in Europe.
Vienna's Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof) has over 2.5 million tombs (more than the city's live population), including those of Beethoven, Brahms, Gluck, Schubert, Schoenberg and Strauss.
Culture & People
About half of Austrian men are overweight (50.8%, the highest rate in the EU), but only 8.6% of them are obese (4th lowest in the EU-27). In contrast only 20.3% of Austrian women are overweight (lowest rate in the 27 member states), including 8.6% who are obese (also the lowest rate EU wide).
Austria is the only continental EU country that is not a member of NATO.
Austria has given the world many famous classical music composers, including Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt, J. Strauss, Mahler, and Bruckner.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Hollywood actor and current governor of California, grew up as an Austrian citizen.
The father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, was Austrian.
Many prominent members of the Rothschild family of bankers and investors were Austrian citizens.
The founder of the German sports car company 'Porsche' was the Austrian Ferdinand Porsche. He also designed the Volkswagen (the "people's car").
Land & Nature
62% of Austria's total land area is covered by the Austrian Alps.
About one fourth of the population of Austria lives in the capital, Vienna.
Europe's second highest peak in order of prominence, Großglockner (3,798m, with a prominence of 2,423m) is located in Austria.
Austria has 13 peaks above 3,000 metres, and 34 above 2,000 metres.
The Krimml Falls (Krimmler Wasserfalle), in the state of Salzburg, are Europe's tallest waterfalls, reaching a height of 380 meters.
Business & Economy
Austria's average unemployment rate from 1960 to 2013 is 4.59%, the second lowest in the European Union after Luxembourg.
Among Europeans, Austrian people work the longest, with an average of 45 hours per week.
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