Salzburg (state)

Salzburg (Austro-Bavarian: Såizburg; literally: "Salt Castle") is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg. With 529,085 inhabitants it is one of the country's smaller states in terms of population.

Location
The Salzburger Land (the Austrian state of Salzburg) — with its primary river, the Salzach — lies between Upper Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol, South Tyrol (Italy) and Bavaria (Germany).

Running through the south are the main ranges of the Central Alps (incl. the Hohe Tauern mountains) with numerous 3,000m peaks. The Dachstein Massif and the Berchtesgaden Alps border the Salzburger Land to the east and north.

Major cities and towns

 * Wappen at salzburg stadt.png Salzburg (150,269 inh.)
 * Wappen Hallein.jpg Hallein (19,473 inh.)
 * Wappen at saalfelden.png Saalfelden (15,661 inh.)
 * Wappen at wals.png Wals-Siezenheim (11,100 inh.)


 * Wappen at st johann.png Sankt Johann im Pongau (10,259 inh.)
 * Wappen at bischofshofen.jpg Bischofshofen (10,061 inh.)
 * Wappen at zell am see.png Zell am See (9,991 inh.)
 * Wappen at seekirchen.png Seekirchen (9,513 inh.)

History
Salt has played an important role in the region's development; Salzburg means "salt castle".

Salzburg as an independent country
Independence from Bavaria was secured in the late 14th century. The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an independent prince-bishopric within the Holy Roman Empire until German Mediatisation in 1813.

Electorate of Salzburg
The territory was secularized and, as the Electorate of Salzburg, given as compensation to Ferdinand III, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, the brother of Emperor Francis II.

The end of the independence
Following the Austrian defeat at Austerlitz in 1805, Salzburg was annexed by Austria as compensation for the loss of Tyrol to the Kingdom of Bavaria, and Ferdinand was transferred to the Grand Duchy of Würzburg.

Bavarian Salzburg
After Austria's defeat in 1809, the province 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 'Rupertigau' 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 crownland 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.

Post-WWI Austrian Republics
In 1918 after World War I, the Duchy of Salzburg was dissolved and replaced with the State of Salzburg, as a component part initially of German Austria and subsequently of the First Republic of Austria, the separate state which was mandated by the Allied powers. (However, in the November Plebiscite 99% of Salzburgers voted in favor of union with Germany.)

Salzburg in Germany
After the plebiscite of 1938, Salzburg and all the territory of Austria decided to belong to the German Reich.

American control
After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, the Allies occupied the territory of Austria, being recognised as an independent territory under their rule. Salzburgerland was occupied by the United States.

Salzburg as an Austrian State
In 1955 Austria was declared independent of the Allies and Salzburg was once again one of the reconstituted federal-states of the second Republik Österreich.

Politics
Salzburgerland has its own constitution since 1999, and the government is formed through a Majority system. The election are every five years.

The last results, in March 2009 (compared to 2004) were:


 * Social Democrats (SPÖ): 15 seats (-2)
 * People's Party (ÖVP): 14 seats
 * Freedom Party (FPÖ): 5 seats (+2)
 * The Greens (Grüne): 2 seats

Simon Illner (ÖVP) is the President of the Salzburger Parliament and Gabi Burgstaller (SPÖ) is the president of the Salzburgerland.

Areas of the State President

 * Markets policy matters
 * the directorate of regional offices (Landesamtsdirektion)
 * the cabinet – including powers for dealing with catastrophes
 * the fire brigades
 * science
 * innovation and research
 * education and schools
 * subjects specifically related to women
 * European affairs.

Deputy-President Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP)

 * Economy and tourism
 * management research
 * transport
 * building industry
 * municipality administration
 * museums
 * special cultural projects.

Deputy-President David Brenner (SPÖ)

 * Administration of finance and capital
 * the arts
 * sport

Other members of the government

 * Sepp Eisl (ÖVP): a management and river regulation, energy, staff management and administrative reform.
 * Walter Blachfellner (SPÖ): housing, water protection, consumer protection, trade, environment protection, regional development planning.
 * Doraja Erbele (ÖVP): young people, family, children, senior citizens, national parks, municipal development, cultural heritage, integration, popular culture.
 * Erika Schare (SPÖ): social affairs, homes and institutions run by Land Salzburg as well as health including the hospitals and clinics under the jurisdiction of Land Salzburg.

European results
In the most recent elections for the European Parliament, in June 2009, these were the results from the state of Salzburg:

Districts
Salzburg comprises five districts, known as Bezirke or vernacularly Gaue:


 * Pinzgau (district capital in Zell am See)
 * Pongau (Sankt Johann im Pongau)
 * Lungau (Tamsweg)
 * Tennengau (Hallein)
 * Flachgau/Bezirk Salzburg und Umgebung (Salzburg and environs)

The city of Salzburg is its own administrative district.

Municipalities
The state is divided into 119 municipalities, including Salzburg. 11 of them have city status (Städte), 24 are market towns (Marktgemeinden) and the other 84 are simple municipalities (Gemeinden). Below it is shown a list of all the municipalities divided per district:


 * Hallein District (Tennengau) (13 municipalities): Abtenau, Adnet, Annaberg-Lungötz, Bad Vigaun, Golling an der Salzach, Hallein, Krispl, Kuchl, Oberalm, Puch bei Hallein, Rußbach am Paß Gschütt, Sankt Koloman, Scheffau am Tennengebirge.


 * Salzburg-Umgebung District (Flachgau) (37 municipalities): Anif, Anthering, Bergheim, Berndorf, Bürmoos, Dorfbeuern, Ebenau, Elixhausen, Elsbethen, Eugendorf, Faistenau, Fuschl am See, Großgmain, Göming, Grödig, Hallwang, Henndorf, Hintersee, Hof bei Salzburg, Koppl, Köstendorf, Lamprechtshausen, Mattsee, Neumarkt am Wallersee, Nußdorf am Haunsberg, Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Obertrum, Plainfeld, Sankt Georgen, Sankt Gilgen, Schleedorf, Seeham, Seekirchen, Straßwalchen, Strobl, Thalgau, Wals-Siezenheim.


 * St. Johann im Pongau District (Pongau) (25 municipalities): Altenmarkt im Pongau, Bad Gastein, Bad Hofgastein, Bischofshofen, Dorfgastein, Eben im Pongau, Filzmoos, Flachau, Forstau, Goldegg, Grossarl, Hüttau, Hüttschlag, Kleinarl, Mühlbach am Hochkönig, Pfarrwerfen, Radstadt, Sankt Johann im Pongau, Sankt Martin am Tennengebirge, Sankt Veit im Pongau, Schwarzach im Pongau, Untertauern, Wagrain, Werfen, Werfenweng.


 * Tamsweg District (Lungau) (15 municipalities): Göriach, Lessach, Mariapfarr, Mauterndorf, Muhr, Ramingstein, Sankt Andrä im Lungau, Sankt Margarethen im Lungau, Sankt Michael im Lungau, Tamsweg, Thomatal, Tweng, Unternberg, Weißpriach, Zederhaus.


 * Zell am See District (Pinzgau) (28 municipalities): Bramberg am Wildkogel, Bruck an der Großglocknerstraße, Dienten am Hochkönig, Fusch an der Großglocknerstraße, Hollersbach im Pinzgau, Kaprun, Krimml, Lend, Leogang, Lofer, Maishofen, Maria Alm, Mittersill, Neukirchen am Großvenediger, Niedernsill, Piesendorf, Rauris, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Saalfelden, Sankt Martin bei Lofer, Stuhlfelden, Taxenbach, Unken, Uttendorf, Viehhofen, Wald im Pinzgau, Weißbach bei Lofer, Zell am See.

Architecture
The Salzburg Cathedral was the first Baroque building in the German-speaking artistic world. Two other important buildings initiated by the Salzburg archbishops were Hohenwerfen Castle and Hohensalzburg Fortress. The first Archbishop of Salzburg was Arno of Salzburg (785-821), in whose honor the world-famous hiking circuit — the Arnoweg — is named.

The predominant stylistic elements of Salzburg architecture have their origins in the Baroque and the Rococo periods.

Salzburg's historic "Old Town" was named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Language
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 the Land Salzburg.

Visitors' attractions

 * Großglockner Hochalpenstraße: a panoramic road, called Grossglockner High Alpine Road
 * Salzkammergut: a lake district belonging to Salzburg, Upper Austria and Styria
 * 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 middle of the state.

Sports

 * Salzburgring, a permanent racing circuit, north east of the city of Salzburg
 * Ski Amadé
 * Kitzsteinhorn, skiing the year round on a glacier
 * Icespeedway in St. Johann im Pongau

Ski resorts
Altenmarkt im Pongau, Flachau, Wagrain, St. Johann, Zell am See (Saalbach-Hinterglemm), Obertauern, Bad Gastein, Rauris, Lofer

Assorted Statistics

 * Tourist Regions: 21
 * Resort Towns: 115
 * Guest Beds: 192,000
 * Lakes: 185
 * Biggest lake: Wolfgangsee
 * Longest river: Salzach
 * Highest mountain: Großvenediger — elevation 3666 m
 * Hiking paths: 7200 km
 * Hill farms: 1,800 — 550 of them serving refreshments


 * National parks: 1
 * Marked cycle paths: 2000 km
 * Mountainbike trails (including cross-border routes): 3000 km
 * Golf courses: 13
 * Ski slopes: 1700 km
 * Cross-country ski trails: 2220 km
 * Night slopes: 14
 * Winter hiking paths: 2500 km

Accommodation

 * Hotel Europäischer Hof