Salzburg (Austrian German:[ˈsaltsbʊʁk], German:[ˈzaltsbʊʁk]ⓘ;[note 1]Austro-Bavarian: Soizbuag, also known as Salzburgerland; Italian: Salisburghese) is an Austrianfederal state. In German it is called a Bundesland, a German-to-English dictionary translates that to federal state and the European Commission calls it a province. In German, its official name is Land Salzburg, to distinguish it from its eponymous capital Salzburg. For centuries, it was an independent Prince-Bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire. It borders Germany & Italy.
Geography
Location
Salzburg State covers an area of 7,156 km2 (2,763 sq mi). It stretches along its main river — the Salzach – which rises in the Central Eastern Alps in the south to the Alpine foothills in the north. It is located in the north-west of Austria, close to the border with the German state of Bavaria; to the northeast lies the federal state Upper Austria; to the east the federal state Styria; to the south the federal states Carinthia and Tyrol. With 561,714 inhabitants, it is one of the country's smaller federal states in terms of population.
The federal state is traditionally subdivided in five major regions (Gaue), congruent with its political districts (Bezirke, see administrative divisions).
Tennengau (district capital Hallein), named after the Tennen Mountains, including the broad Salzach Valley south of Salzburg and the surrounding ranges of the Limestone Alps.
The southern, mountainous (colloquially Innergebirg) part is divided into:
After Austria's defeat in 1809, the federal state was handed over to Bavaria in 1810.
The country divided between Bavaria and Austria
In 1816, following the defeat of Napoleon and the provision of adequate compensation to Bavaria at the Congress of Vienna, it was returned to Austria with the exception of the north-western Rupertiwinkel which remained Bavarian. The Salzburger Land was administered as the department of Salzach from Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. In 1849 the Duchy of Salzburg was established as a crown land of the Austrian Empire and, after 1866, Austria-Hungary.
World War I
Salzburg participated in World War I, as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 49,000 Salzburgers were called to arms, of whom 6,000 were killed.[7]
After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, the Allies occupied the territory of Austria, being recognized as an independent territory under their rule. Salzburg State was occupied by the United States.
Salzburg as an Austrian federal state
In 1955, Austria was again declared an independent state and Salzburg was once again one of the reconstituted federal states of the Second Republic of Austria.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Politics
Salzburg adopted its current provincial constitution in 1999. The provincial government (Landesregierung) is headed by a governor (Landeshauptmann), who is elected by a majority in the provincial parliament Landtag. Provincial elections are held every five years.
The current governor of Salzburg, Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP), entered into coalition discussions with the FPÖ, after his proposition of a ÖVP-FPÖ-SPÖ coalition was rejected by the Social Democrats. Haslauer said "I regret that we could not implement the Alliance for Salzburg". After successful coalition negotiations, the ÖVP and the FPÖ entered into a governing coalition with Haslauer as the Governor and Marlene Svazek as the First Deputy Governor.[1] Salzburg State has joined Lower Austria and Upper Austria as the third black-blue coalition provincial government. The ÖVP has four seats in the government, while the FPÖ has three.[9] The current president (speaker) of the Salzburg federal state parliament is Brigitta Pallauf.
The federal state is divided into 119 municipalities, including Salzburg City. 11 of them have city status (Städte), 25 are market towns (Marktgemeinden) and the other 83 are simple municipalities (Gemeinden). Below is a list of all the municipalities divided by district:
The federal state's gross domestic product (GDP) was 29 billion € in 2018, accounting for 7.5% of the Austria's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 46,500 € or 154% of the EU27 average in the same year. Salzburg is the federal state with the highest GDP per capita in Austria before Vienna.[10]
Austrian German is the local written language, and it can be heard especially in the cities. Austro-Bavarian is also spoken, especially in the rural areas and the common language of Salzburgerland.
Liechtensteinklamm: Salzburg is home to one of the longest and deepest gorges of the Alps, the Liechtensteinklamm. It is located near Sankt Johann im Pongau or St.Johann/Pg., a small town in the centre of the federal state.