Upper Austria

Upper Austria (German: Oberösterreich) is one of the nine states of Austria. Its capital city is Linz. Upper Austria shares borders with Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as with other Austrian states such as Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg.

Covering an area of 11,982 km² (4,626 sq mi), Upper Austria is the fourth-largest state in Austria by land size. It is also the third-most populated state, home to about 1.49 million people. This makes it an important part of Austria, both in size and in the number of people who live there.

History

During ancient Roman times, the land that is now Upper Austria south of the Danube River was part of a region called Noricum. Later, during a time of big changes called the Migration Period, different groups of people called Germanic peoples moved into the area.

In the early Middle Ages, groups like the Avars and Slavs reached up to the Enns River. West of there, the area was part of the old home of the old Bavarians. By the year 788, the old Duchy of Bavaria came under new leaders called the Carolingians. During wars called the Avar Wars, their control grew further east, creating a place called the Avar March. After a big agreement called the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the land that is now Upper Austria became part of a place called the East Frankish Realm. But raids by people from Hungary caused trouble until a big battle called the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. After that, the area became part of the Stem Duchy of Bavaria inside a big group of lands called the Holy Roman Empire.

By the mid-1300s, the area above the Enns River became known as the Principality above the Enns River. Eventually, the name “Upper Austria” started being used. In 1453, the area became part of a bigger region called the Archduchy of Austria.

In 1490, the area above the Enns River, with Linz as its center, gained some self-rule. By the mid-1500s, most people in the area followed a new way of thinking called the Protestant faith. Later, new leaders brought back old traditions in a time called the Counter-Reformation.

In 1779, a part called the Innviertel joined Upper Austria after an agreement called the Treaty of Teschen. During a big conflict called the Napoleonic Wars, Upper Austria was taken over by soldiers from France more than once.

After a large empire called Austria-Hungary ended in 1918, the name Upper Austria was officially used for the new state in the Republic of Austria. Later, during a difficult time when Nazi Germany took over, Upper Austria was grouped into a region called Reichsgau Oberdonau. After World War II in 1945, Upper Austria was divided between zones controlled by American and Soviet forces.

Industry

Upper Austria is a very important place for industry in Austria. As of 2009, about a quarter of all the things Austria sells to other countries come from this region.

Lakes

• Ausee
• Gosauseen
• Höllerersee
• Nussensee
• Oedter See
• Pichlinger See
• Puckinger See
• Rosenhofer Teiche

Demographics

As of January 1, 2021, 1,495,608 people lived in Upper Austria. Some of them were citizens from places like the European Union, European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK. Others were from countries outside these groups.

Most people in Upper Austria are Christian. Many belong to the Roman Catholic church, but some are Evangelical Lutheran Church members, Muslims, or have no specific religious beliefs. Over time, the number of Catholics has gone down, while the number of people with no religion has gone up.

Population development

After World War II, Upper Austria became a place where many people found safety. The Soviet and American armies were present as many moved through the area.

Economy

The Gross domestic product of Upper Austria was 65.9 billion € in 2018. This made up 17.1% of all of Austria's economic output. For each person, the amount of money created by the economy was 39,500 €, which is 131% of the average for all of Europe in that year.

Transport

Linz Airport is the only airport in the state that offers flights to some places in Europe. But people from the area also use other airports like Munich Airport, Salzburg Airport, and Vienna Airport for their trips.

Politics

Upper Austria sees itself as an important part of Europe, supporting democratic values and regional independence. It plays a key role in elections across Austria, often showing changing voter preferences.

The Austrian People's Party is strong in rural areas, while the Social Democratic Party of Austria does well in cities like Linz, Wels, and Steyr. The Freedom Party of Austria also has support, especially in places like the Innviertel.

Administrative divisions

Upper Austria is split into 15 areas called districts, three special cities, and 438 smaller towns or villages.

The three special cities are Linz, Steyr, and Wels.

The districts include Braunau, Eferding, Freistadt, Gmunden, Grieskirchen, Kirchdorf, Linz-Land, Perg, Ried, Rohrbach, Schärding, Steyr-Land, Urfahr-Umgebung, Vöcklabruck, and Wels-Land.

Historically, Upper Austria had four traditional areas: Hausruckviertel, Innviertel, Mühlviertel, and Traunviertel.