Austria, officially the Republic
of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders
both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and
Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland
and Liechtenstein to the west. The capital is the city of Vienna
on the Danube River. The origins of modern Austria date back
to the ninth century, when the territory of Upper and Lower
Austria became increasingly populated. The name "Ostarrichi"
is first documented in an official document from 996. Since
then this word has developed into the Österreich. Austria
is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine
federal states and is one of six European countries that have
declared permanent neutrality and one of the few countries that
includes the concept of everlasting neutrality in its constitution.
Austria
has been a member of the United Nations since 1955 and joined
the European Union in 1995.
