Austria is well know for holding one of the most famous cities in the world - Vienna. Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria, and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.757 million (2.4 million within the metropolitan area, more than 20% of Austria's population), as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre.
Apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be "The City of Dreams" because it was home to the world's first psycho-analyst - Sigmund Freud.
In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver, Canada) for the world's most livable cities (in the 2012 survey of 140 cities Vienna was ranked number two, behind Melbourne).
Each year since 2005, Vienna has been the world's number one destination for international congresses and conventions. Vienna attracts about five million tourists a year.
Austria is a largely mountainous country due to its location in the Alps. The Central Eastern Alps, Northern Limestone Alps and Southern Limestone Alps are all partly in Austria. The high mountainous Alps in the west of Austria flatten somewhat into low lands and plains in the east of the country.
Austria can be divided into five areas.
© Written by E.J.Clarke.