The House of Austria is one of the names under which the Habsburg royal line is known. The House of Habsburg is one of most powerful and influential royal houses in Europe. The family became among the elected rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire, Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, Portugal, Castile, Aragon, Croatia, and Dalmatia.

The royal house was established by Otto II, Count of Habsburg in the 12^th century. The family was originally from Switzerland. The family is name after the Habsburg Castle that is now situated in Habsburg, Switzerland. The family quickly grew thanks to prudent marriages, winning political privileges and taking high positions in the clergy.

In the 13^th century present day Austria was added to the territories ruled by the house which they managed to keep for the next 600 years. The Habsburgs managed to take the imperial throne of the Holy Roman Empire in 1440 when Frederick III ascended as Emperor. They managed to keep the title till 1806. A series of dynastic marriages and political moves allowed spreading over Hungary, Bohemia, Spain and Burgundy.

In 1521 the family split in to the superior Spanish Habsburg line and the inferior Austrian Habsburg line. The Austrian branch kept the title of Holy Roman Emperors, Austria, Bohemia, Hungary where the Spanish branch took the Spanish kingdoms, the Netherlands, the Italian possessions and Portugal.

The Habsburg’s successful policy of marriages was also the cause of their downfall and extinction. Frequent intermarriages were a common practice in the family where cousins, uncles and nieces. Research suggests that such inbreeding was the cause for the exhaustion of the gene pool.

The last representative of the Spanish side of the family was Charles II who was severely handicapped due to genetic disorders. The Austrian side lost their imperial title under Napoleon and their hold of Austria in 1918.

The Austrian Alps:

A major range of mountains in Europe are the Austrian Alps which is a part of the natural attractions with breathtaking views of the snow-capped mountains, sweeping valleys and glittering lakes. This mountain range is a prefect location for several exciting activities such as snowboarding, skiing, hiking, hang-gliding, and kayaking, and also one of the main reasons for attracting several tourists. The other best ways to enjoy the Alps in Austria is camping and exploring picturesque valleys.

Architecture:

Austria is famous for its rich architectural styles that even display the ancient history, while ranging from the baroque monuments to twentieth century innovations. When you visit to Austria, you can find many man made structures of which some of them are even designated by UNESCO as the World Heritage Sites. Some of them include the historic Center of the City of Salzburg – a wonderful vacation destination boasting various clerical and secular buildings from the middle Ages to the 19th century, the Palace and Gardens of Schonbrunn, the City of Graz – a historical town center known for blending architectural influences and Vienna city with a fascinating blend of Gothic and Baroque architectural styles.

Attractions:

Austria with a number of amazing attractions is luring millions of tourists to visit the place again and again. The top attraction spots in Austria include The Hohe Tauern National Park, the Eisriesenwelt Caves – the largest ice caves in the world, the Benedictine Abbey – a popular cultural and artistic centre, the Gurk Cathedral – an exceptional example of Romanesque architecture in Austria and many more.

Car hire in Austria are available from Enterprise, Hertz, Sixt, Europcar, Avis and Auto Europe.

The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Duchess Sophie were assassinated on the 28^th of June 1914, shot dead. The murder took place in Sarajevo ad the assassin was Gavrilo Princip, one of the 6 assassins of a group controlled by Danilo Ilic. The purpose of the assassination was the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian power in order to gain the south Slav provinces and attach them into a future Greater Serbia or Yugoslavia.

The consequences of this assassination were enormous and devastating as a series of events of the aftermath led to the World War I. Germany supported Austria-Hungary and they both advised Serbia to investigate the case. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied that the matter does not concern the Serbian Government. After that a letter that became known as the July Ultimatum was sent to Serbia warning the Government. The letter contained demands to be accepted by the Serbians.

Serbia did not accept everything . The next the first shots were fired right in front of the borders, when Serbian reservists crossed them.

Austro-Hungary declared war against Serbia after that.  Under the Secret Treaty Of 1892 Russia and France were obliged to mobilize the army if any of the 3 power of the Triple Alliance, between Italy, Germany and Austro- Hungary mobilized its army. Soon enough, many countries chose sides and the War began. Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire joined the Triple Alliance from which Italy has fled to join in 1915 the coalition between France, Russia, Great Britain, USA, Japan, Greece, Portugal, Belgium and of course Serbia that provoked the war. The 3 Great power coalltion of Russia, Britain and France was called (Triple) Entente.

If you ever go to Austria, the car hire companies are Autoeurope, Europcar, Traveljigsaw, Enterprise, Sixt, Herzt and many more.

Osterreich  in German language  located in central Europe,  has a population of 8.3 million. Its neighboring countries are Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Economy

Austria’s GDP per capita puts the country in the 12^th position in the richest country in the world, and standards of living there are very high. Industry and tourism cover a huge part of that GDP.  Historically, Germany is the main partner in Austria’s exports, and of course Austria also imports from Deutschland. This is bad only by the aspect that if the German economy has problems, then Austria has problems too.  But after Austria joined the European Union, it has increased the trading affairs with the rest of Europe too.

Because economy is going so well, GDP so high, you may expect and you wil be correct the prices to be really high. Well, they are high, a bit higher than USA; a 330 ml of coke for example costs 40 cents and a good meal 15 euro. Tourist places of course are a lot higher, like Vienna, Tyrol, and Salzburg.

Food

Food is really nice in Austria. The national dish is Wiener Schnitzel, veal dipped in egg and toasted bread and fried afterwards, Knodel, dumplings that can be filled with meat or something sweet and lastly there are the famous strudels and especially the Apfelstrudel.

Work

Finding a job in Austria, if you can not speak fluently German, is very difficult. A good scenario is that you may find a job as a teacher in foreign languages. Also, there are many jobs of unskilled labor in the tourism industry. Seasonal work is the most optimal you may find, either in a hotel or a ski resort.

If you travel to Austria, the car rental companies are Sixt, Autoeurope, Sixt, Avis, Europcar.

Most of the car rental companies cover the famous tourist spots in Austria that include Vienna, Innsbruck and Salzburg. The rental car companies offer cars at a very cheap rate, as in comparison to the local taxi fare. The car rental companies situated in Austria which includes some famous names such as Hertz, Alamo, Avis and Budget etc. provide pick facilities from the airport itself. They also give you an opportunity to select the car you desire to ride. The class of cars available with these car rental companies ranges from the economic class cars to the luxury class. But even after all of these facilities, the car rental companies have failed to make a place in the hearts of the tourists and the locals. There are several reasons for it.

Most of the tourists who visit Austria for the first time do not want to take the risk of driving wit out any assistance or guidance a place which is full of streets that looks like a maze altogether. They do not take much time to analyze that renting a car and then driving on his own may result in confusion and give rise to problems of loosing the way. Hence they prefer other modes of transports such as buses, cabs, trains and etc.

Again tourists are often charged for illegal parking on roads. The parking rules are very confusing in this region and so most of the tourists do not go for rented cars. Also if you park a rented car in a garage in Austria, even then you have to pay a specific parking fee. This fee can range from 25 euro to 30 euro.

Also some times the tourists find this out that they have been unnecessarily and unduly charged by the car companies. On questioning, they reply back by telling the customer to check the rental agreement where all the charges are specified.

Also the car companies in this region have poor customer satisfaction rates for which tourists does not go for rented cars when they come to visit Austria on vacations.

Several tourists who have visited the country of Austria have often been attracted towards that country a second time too. A country, not being densely populated, Austria is the perfect place for you and your family to spend a quite weekend.

Major car rental companies have their base in this region like Avis, Thrifty and Hertz but none has influenced the local as well as the tourists who have frequently visited this place. Unlike most countries, people of Austria prefer cabs and buses to rented cars. They often do not go for rented cars because most of the car companies situated in this region do not have a proper reputation of providing the desired consumers satisfaction. Companies like Hertz and Budget do not even have a proper pick facility and are some times available only when you give them a call.

The tourists in this region, as said before also do not usually go for hiring a car on rent.

There are several pertinent facts associated with such a behavior.

First of all, most of the tourists who visit this place find it incredibly difficult to find the way out of the lean lanes and almost similar looking streets with unusual names. They often get confused and loose their way or end up coming to the same point from where they had started their journey.

Now, situations can turn worse if you tend to forget the route from where you have began your journey and the locals might not have any idea of the language you are speaking so forget about asking them and finding your way. Hence most tourists prefer tourist bus, taxis, which can cost you a lot and other modes of transport. They tend to avoid renting a car from the local car rental companies even in their most desperate needs.

Vienna is the largest and capital city of Austria and is situated on the banks of the River Danube.

The quality of life in Vienna is the 3^rd highest in the European Union.

Christianity is the major religion, German the major spoken language and 16 the voting age in Austria.

Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, Schubert, and Brahms are world famous composers who have lived and performed in Vienna making it the City of Music.

Founded in 1752 the Tiergarten Schönbrunn is the world’s oldest zoological garden in Vienna.

Kriml Falls in Vienna is the highest waterfall in Europe, a stunning 1250ft.

The Imperial Treasury in Vienna displays the staggering 2860 carat largest emerald of the world.

The Museumsquartier in Vienna is one of the largest cultural complexes in the world.

Zentralfriedhof cemetery houses over 2.5 million tombs, almost double the existing live population of Vienna.

One of the most familiar and oldest attractions is the Giant Wheel at the amusement park of Prater. A ride in one of its 15 gondolas offers spectacular views of Vienna.

Graham Greene’s novel ‘The Third Man’ was written with Vienna as its setting.

Over 200 balls take place in some with nine live orchestras in the many beautiful palaces in Vienna making it the last great capital of the nineteenth century ball.

Theatre, music, opera and arts are brought to life by Vienna in its many opera houses, theatres and galleries.

The Wiener schnitzel a cutlet of veal is a product of Vienna famous all over the world.

Car hire is offered by Europcar, Budget, Avis, SIXT, ATL and Hertz

Vienna International Airport is the first airport in Austria to launch the IATA’s e-freight (International Air Transport Association) in order to streamline its supply chain to air cargo.

IATA e-freight is an industry wide initiative began this year in April and is operational already in 27 countries. Lufthansa Cargo and Emirates Sky Cargo which leds this e-freight, involves freight forwarders, shippers, ground handlers, carriers and custom authorities.

IATA aims at implementing further e-freight operations in 44 countries which needs to have appropriate international treaties and customs framework, by the end of this year representing the global air freight volumes by more than 80%.

It is a paperless process which not only improves the speed and reliability but also reduces the cost of transportation.

Airport Info: Vienna International Airport, set 10 miles southeast of Central Vienna, is the biggest and busiest airport in Austria. Being a hub for the Austrian airlines, the airport is capable of handling millions of passengers every year. The airport is equipped with 2 terminal buildings and has many car parking options suitable for both long and short terms while offering price discounts. It provides with many facilities ranging from shopping and dining to medical and disabled services. Several car hire companies represented at the airport includes Europcar, Budget, Avis, SIXT, ATL and Hertz, offering cheap car hires.