Welcome to Austria – Willkommen in Österreich
Did you know that …..- Austrians are known for their Gemuetlichkeit and their characteristic way of taking things easy?
- Austrians speak pure, correct German and that some experts claim that the finest, most melodious German is spoken in Austria?
- There are more than 460 skiing lifts and more than 1700km of skiing slopes in the Austrian Alps and that it is even possible to ski in summer?
- Quality of life in Vienna was rated third in a worldwide ranking, topped only by the cities Zurich and Vancouver?
- Austria has more organic crops than any other European country?
- between the New Year and Ash Wednesday, Austria´s capital, Vienna, hosts more than 700 balls?
- Johann Strauss´s Blue Danube Waltz is one of the best-known melodies on the planet?
- The world-famous Christmas song Silent Night (original title: “Stille Nacht”) was written in the small Austrian village of Oberndorf, near Salzburg?
- The work and experiments of Gregor Johann Mendel, the Austrian biologist and botanist, laid the foundation of modern genetics?
- Sigmund Freud, the famous psychologist and the founder of psychoanalysis became professor at the University of Vienna in 1902?
- Austria was the home of the famous art-nouveau artists Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele?
- Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, a village near the Austrian city of Graz?
- The English King Richard “Lionheart” was imprisoned and held for ransom by the Austrian ruler Leopold V in 1192?
- Once a centre of political power in the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to its present size after World War I?
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the world-famous Austrian composer, wrote the melody of the Austrian national anthem?
- Marie-Antoinette, the wife of France’s King Louis XVI, was one of sixteen children of Maria Theresia, a Habsburg ruler of Austria?
- AFS Austria has been hosting AFS students from all over the world for more than 50 years?
A Word on Austrian Culture
AFS defines culture as a complex mixture of elements like shared values, traditions, symbols and ways of communicating. We can`t seriously claim to explain something as complex as Austrian culture and its many sub-cultures. After all, that`s what you will get to know and experience during your AFS stay!
However, we can tell you something about visible manifestations of our culture, like the arts or sports and factors that influence our culture like climate. This should give you an idea of what your life in Austria might be like.