:: wikimiki.org ::

District

District

Districts are a form of local government in several countries.

Austria

Main article: Districts of Austria In Austria, a district is an administrative subdivision normally encompassing several municipalities, roughly equivalent to the Landkreis in Germany. The administrative office of a district, the Bezirkshauptmannschaft is headed by the Bezirkshauptmann. It is in charge of the administration of all matters of federal and state administrative law and subject to orders from the higher instances, usually the Landeshauptmann (governor) in matters of federal law and the Landesregierung (state government) in state law. While there are matters of administrative law of which the municipalities themselves are in charge or where there are special bodies, the district is the basic unit of general administration in Austria. Officials on the district level are not elected, but appointed by the state government. There are also independent cities in Austria. They are called Statutarstadt in Austrian administrative law. These urban districts do have the same tasks as a normal district.

Vienna

Main article: Districts of Vienna The State of Vienna, which is at the same time a municipality, is also subdivided in 23 districts, which, however, have a somewhat different function than in the rest of the country. Legally, the Magistratisches Bezirksamt (district office) is a local offices of the municipality's administration. However, representatives (Bezirksräte) on the district level are elected, and they in turn elect the head of the district, the Bezirksvorsteher. Those representative bodies are supposed to serve as immediate contacts for the locals on the political and administrative level. In practice, they have some power, e.g. concerning matters of traffic.

Belgium

The Belgian city of Antwerp is sub-divided into 9 districts (Dutch: districten).

Canada

In Ontario, a district is a statutory subdivision of the province, but, unlike a county, a district is not incorporated. Most districts are comprised of unincorporated lands, mostly Crown land. The first districts (Algoma, Nipissing were created by the Province of Canada in 1858 prior to Confederation for the delivery of judicial and provincial government services to sparsely populated areas from the district seat (e.g. Sault Ste. Marie). Some districts may have District Social Service Administration Boards, which are designed to provide certain social services. The boundaries of a federal census division may correspond to those of a district. In western and northern Canada, the federal government created districts as subdivisions of the Northwest Territories 1870-1905, partly on the model of the districts created in the Province of Canada. The first district created was the District of Keewatin in 1876 followed by four more districts in 1882. Gradually, these districts became separate territories (such as Yukon Territory, separate provinces (such as Alberta and Saskatchewan) or were absorbed into other provinces.

China

In China, the district or qū (市辖区, pinyin: shì xiá qū) is a subdivision of any of various city administrative units, including municipalities, sub-provincial cities and prefecture-level cities. Districts have county level status. Modern districts are a recent innovation. In the context of pre-modern China, the English translation "district" is typically associated with xian, another Chinese administrative division. The xian is translated as "county" in the context of modern China.

England

Main article: Districts of England Districts are the most recognisable form of local government in large parts of England. For those areas which retain two-tier local government, districts usually form the lower tier of that arrangement, with counties forming the upper tier. Districts tend to have responsibility for a number of areas including:
- tax collection (Council Tax & Non-Domestic Rates)
- Leisure Services
- Refuse collection
- Housing
- Planning
- Arts & Entertainment
- Environmental Health Each district raises taxes from residents on behalf of itself, and the upper tier authority through the Council Tax. It also raises income from business through the Non-Domestic Rates system, which is co-ordinated nationally.

Germany

- In Germany, a district ("Kreis") is an administrative unit between the "Länder" (German federal states) and the local / municipal levels (Gemeinden). Most of the 439 German districts are "Landkreise", rural districts. 116 larger cities (usually with more than 100,000 inhabitants) do not belong to a district are considered as urban districts ("Kreisfreie Städte" or "Stadtkreise") themselves. See also: Districts of Germany.
- In some states, there is additional level of administration between the Länder and the Landkreise called Regierungsbezirk ('government district').
- District was also the name of administrative subdivisions of the German Democratic Republic since 1952. See Subdivisions of East Germany.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is divided into 18 districts, each with a district council. See also Districts of Hong Kong

Pakistan

Pakistan's districts are local administrative units inherited from the British Raj. Districts were generally grouped into administrative Divisions, which in turn formed Provinces. Pakistan has 130 districts (including 7 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir). They comprise of villages, towns and cities. A District is headed by a District Nazim (Mayor), who is an elected official and the local controller of the district level officers of all the departments under provincial government. The District Nazim heads an elected District Council which is comprised to councilors, who represent various district level constituencies. The councils have a constitutional requirement to be comprised of a minimum of 33% women, there is no upper limit to that; so women can comprise 100% of these councils but men cannot.

India

India's districts are local administrative units inherited from the British Raj. They generally form the tier of local government immediately below that of India's subnational States and Territories. Where warranted, Districts may further be grouped into administrative Divisions, which form an intermediate level between the District and the subnational State (or union territory). A District is headed by a Deputy Commissioner in most cases, responsible for the overall administration and the maintenance of law and order. The office of District Collector is also defined, who is the local controller of the district-level administrative staff officers (i.e., the "Public Service") of all the local departments under state government. The district collector is a person who belongs to IAS (Indian Administrative Services). Other key responsibilities include the collection of revenue, and for the Judiciary of the district and sessional courts. The roles of Deputy Commissioner and District Collector may be combined. Districts are most frequently further sub-divided into smaller administrative units, called either tehsils or talukas, depending on the region. These units have specific local responsibilities, including in particular coordinating revenue collection. An intermediate level (the Sub-Division) between District and tehsil/taluka may be formed by grouping these units under the oversight of Assistant Commissioners. As of October 2005, a total of 602 Districts are defined in India.

Japan

A district (gun in Japanese) is a local administrative unit comprising towns and villages but not cities. See districts of Japan for more complete discription. In 1923, its administrative role was abolished although it is still in use for addressing purposes. District is also a translation for chiku defined by Japan's planning law.

Kenya

In Kenya, a district (Wilaya) is a subdivision of a Province and is headed by a District Officer (DO).

Malaysia

In Malaysia, a district is a division of a state.

Nauru

The districts of Nauru are the only subdivisions of the whole state.

New Zealand

Main article: Territorial Authorities of New Zealand In New Zealand a district is a territorial authority (second-tier local government unit) that has not gained the distinction of being proclaimed a city. Districts tend to be less urbanised, tend to cover more than one population centre and a larger amount of rural area, and tend to have a smaller population than cities. While cities and districts are generally considered to be two different types of territorial authority, the area covered by a city is often known as its district—for example the term district plan is used equally in districts and cities. The Chatham Islands Territory is neither a district nor a city. A district is not always a simple division of a region, some districts straddle regional boundaries.

Peru

Third level subdivisions of Peru. See: Districts of Peru

Portugal

Districts (Portuguese: distritos) are administrative divisions of Portugal. They do not have an elected government; they are governed by a "civil governor" appointed by the central government. See Districts of Portugal.

Serbia and Montenegro

In Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia is divided into 29 districts (okrug) and the city of Belgrade, each of which is further divided into municipalities (opština) while Montenegro is directly divided into 21 municipalities. See Districts of Serbia.

Switzerland

In Switzerland some cantons organise themselves into districts, while others dispense with districts and govern themselves at the Wahlkreise (Constituency or electoral district) level. See Districts of Switzerland.

Thailand

A district ("amphoe") is a subdivision of a Province ("changwat") in Thailand. Some provinces also contain sub-districts ("king amphoe"), which are smaller than the average district. Districts are a form of local government in several countries.

United States

local government There are several types of districts in the United States. A constituency with a representative in Congress is a congressional district. Each state is organized into one or more such districts; the exact number within each state is based on the most recent census. Only voters within each district are allowed to vote in the election for the member of the House from that district. Overall, there are 435 congressional districts in the United States; each has roughly 630,000 people, with some variance. A constituency with a representative in a state legislature is a legislative district; the territory over which a federal court has jurisdiction is a federal judicial district. The District of Columbia is the only part of the United States, excluding territories, that is not a located within any of the fifty states. Districts in Alaska are the equivalent of a county or parish in the Lower 48 states. The United States also has many types of Special-purpose districts with limited powers of local government. School districts are the most common, but other types of districts include college districts, hospital districts, utility districts, irrigation districts, port districts, and public transit districts. Many cities in the late 20th century adopted names for non-governmental districts as a way of increasing recognition and identity of these distinct areas. In New York City, for example, there is the theatre district, the garment district, and districts with names like SoHo and TriBeCa.

Local government

Local governments are administrative offices of an area smaller than a state. The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or (where appropriate) federal government. In modern nations, local governments usually have less powers than national governments do. They usually have some power to raise taxes, though these may be limited by central legislation. In some countries local government is partly or wholly funded by subventions from central government taxation. The question of Municipal Autonomy - which powers the local government has, or should have, and why - is a key question of public administration and governance. The institutions of local government vary greatly between countries, and even where similar arrangements exist, the terminology often varies. Common names for local government entities include state, province, region, department, county, district, city, township, town, borough, parish, municipality, shire and village. However all these names are often used informally in countries where they do not describe a legal local government entity. Main articles on each country will usually contain some information about local government, or links to an article with fuller information. The rest of this article gives information or links for countries where a relatively full description is available.

Australia

As a federal country, Australia has a number of States and Territories with wide ranging powers, and a lower tier of Local Governments. These arrangements are described in the articles Australian States and Territories and Local Government in Australia

India

France

According to its constitution, France has 3 levels of local government : 22 Régions and 4 Régions d'outre-mer (Réunion, Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana). 96 départements and 4 départements d'outre-mer (Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana). There are 36 679 municipalities(in French: Communes). However, intercommunalities are now a level of government between municipalities and departements. Corsica and Paris (both a commune and a département) are local government sui generis.

Germany

As a federal country, Germany is divided into a number of states (Länder in German), which used to have wide powers, but whose main remaining power today (2004) is their ability to veto federal laws through their Bundesrat representation. The system of local government is described in the article on States of Germany.

Japan

Since the Meiji restoration, Japan has had a simple and clear local government system. First, Japan is divided into 47 prefectures. Each prefecture comprises cities, villages and towns. In Hokkaido, Nagasaki and Okinawa, there are branches of the prefectural government sometimes referred to as "Subprefectures".

New Zealand

New Zealand has two tiers of authorities. The top tier comprises the regional councils. The second tier is the territorial authorities consisting of city councils, district councils and one island council. Five territorial authorities are unitary authorities, that is they also perform the functions of a regional council.

Philippines

For a description of the arrangements in force, see the section on Regions and Provinces in the article on the Philippines. [Institute of Development Management and Governance] [http://www.geocities.com/idmguplb]

United Kingdom

Main article: Local government in the United Kingdom The system of local government is different in the four countries of the United Kingdom.

England

The most complex system is in England, the result of numerous attempts at reform and reorganisation over the centuries. Above the level considered here is the European Union, the United Kingdom and whatever government offices may exist for England as a whole. England currently has no elected officials responsible solely for the entire country. The top level of local government within England is now the region. There are nine regions including Greater London, which in some ways is a unique case. Each region has a government office and assorted other institutions. Regions appear to have been introduced in their present form around 1994 and the policy of the current administration is to increase their power, including the introduction of elected assemblies where desired. The layers of government below the regions are mixed. Traditional counties still exist, although in the 1990s some of the districts within the counties became separate unitary authorities and a few counties have been disbanded completely. There are also metropolitan districts in some areas which are similar to unitary authorities. In Greater London there are London boroughs which are a similar concept. Counties are further divided into districts (also known as boroughs in some areas). Districts are divided into wards for electoral purposes. Districts may also contain parishes and town council areas with a small administration of their own. Other area classifications are also in use, such as health service and Lord-Lieutenant areas. See also: Ceremonial counties of England, Districts of England, Administrative counties of England, Subdivisions of England, UK topics

Wales

Wales has a uniform system of unitary authorities, referred to as counties or county boroughs. There are also communities, equivalent to parishes.

Scotland

Local government in Scotland is arranged on the lines of unitary authorities, with the nation divided into 32 council areas.

United States

Local government of the United States refers to the governments at the city, town, village, or civil township level in the United States of America. In the more general sense, local government also refers to state government, regional government, and county government.

Austria

The Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich) is a landlocked country in central Europe. It borders 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. Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy consisting of nine federal states and is one of two European countries that have declared their everlasting neutrality, the other being Switzerland. Austria is a member of United Nations and the European Union.

Origin and history of the name

The German name Österreich can be translated into English as the "eastern realm", which is derived from the Old German Ostarrîchi. Reich can also mean "empire," and this connotation is the one that is understood in the context of the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire, German Empire, "Third Reich," or Holy Roman Empire, although not in the context of the modern Republic of Österreich. The term probably originates in a vernacular translation of the Medieval Latin name for the region: Marchia orientalis, which translates as "eastern border," as it was situated at the eastern edge of the Holy Roman Empire, that was also mirrored in the name Ostmark applied after Anschluss to the Third Reich.

History

Austria and the Holy Roman Empire

The territory of Austria originally known as the Celtic kingdom of Noricum, was a long time ally of Rome. It was rather occupied than conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus and made the province Noricum in 16 BC. Later it was conquered by Huns, Rugii, Lombards, Ostrogoths, Bavarii, Avars (until c. 800), and Franks (in that order). Finally, after 48 years of Hungarian rule (907 to 955), the core territory of Austria was awarded to Leopold of Babenberg in 976. Being part of the Holy Roman Empire the Babenbergs ruled and expanded Austria from the 10th century to the 13th century. 13th century After Duke Frederick II died in 1246 and left no successor, the German King Rudolf I of Habsburg gave the lands to his sons marking the beginning of the line of the Habsburgs, who continued to govern Austria until the 20th century. With the short exception of Charles VII Albert of Bavaria, Austrian Habsburgs held the position of German Emperor beginning in 1438 with Albert II of Habsburg until the end of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 14th and 15th century Austria continued to expand its territory until it reached the position of a European superpower at the end of the 15th century until the end of the Habsburg monarchy in 1918.

Modern history

After the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Empire of Austria was founded, which was transformed in 1867 into the double-monarchy Austria-Hungary. The empire was split into several independent states in 1918, after the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, with most of the German-speaking parts becoming a republic. (See Treaty of Saint-Germain.) Between 1918 and 1919 it was officially known as the Republic of German Austria (Republik Deutschösterreich). After the Entente powers forbade German Austria to unite with Germany, they also forbade the name, and then it was changed to simply Republic of Austria. The democratic republic lasted until 1933 when the chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß established an autocratic regime oriented towards Italian fascism (Austrofascism). Austria became part of the Third Reich in 1938 through the Anschluß and remained under Nazi hegemony until the end of World War II. After the defeat of the Axis Powers, the Allies occupied Austria until 1955, when the country became a fully independent republic under the condition that it would remain neutral. (see: Austrian State Treaty). Austria also became a member of the UN in the same year. After the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, Austria became increasingly involved in European affairs, and in 1995, Austria joined the European Union, and the Euro monetary system in 1999.

Politics

1999 Austria became a federal, parliamentary democracy republic through the Federal Constitution of 1920. It was reintroduced in 1945 to the nine states of the Federal Republic. The head of state is the Federal President, who is directly elected. The chairman of the Federal Government is the Federal Chancellor, who is appointed by the president and voted into office by the majority of the lower chamber of parliament, the Nationalrat, the National Council of Austria. The government can be recalled by a vote of no confidence in the National Council. The Austrian parliament consists of two chambers. The composition of the Nationalrat is determined every four years by a free general election in which every citizen is allowed to vote to fill its 183 seats. A "Four Percent Hurdle" prevents a large splintering of the political landscape in the Nationalrat by awarding seats only to political parties that have received at least four percent of the general vote, or alternatively, have won a direct seat, or Direktmandat, in one of the 43 regional election districts. The Nationalrat is the dominant chamber in the formation of legislation in Austria. However, the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat has a limited right of veto (the Nationalrat can pass the respective bill a second time bypassing the Bundesrat altogether). A convention, called the Österreich Konvent [http://www.konvent.gv.at/] was convened in June 30, 2003 to decide upon suggestions to reform the constitution, but has failed to produce a proposal that would receive the two thirds of votes in the Nationalrat necessary for constitutional amendments and/or reform.

Subdivisions

A federal republic, Austria is divided into nine states, (German: Bundesländer). These states are divided into districts (Bezirke) and cities (Statutarstädte). Districts are subdivided into municipalities (Gemeinden). Cities have the competencies otherwise granted to both districts and municipalities. The states are not mere administrative divisions, but have some distinct legislative authority separate from the federal government. Statutarstädte

Geography

Statutarstädte Statutarstädte Austria is a largely mountainous country due to its location in the Alps. The Central Eastern Alps, Northern Limestone Alps and Southern Limestone Alps are all partly in Austria. Of the total area of Austria (84,000 km²), only about a quarter can be considered low lying, and only 32% of the country is below 500 metres. The high mountainous Alps in the west of Austria flatten somewhat into low lands and plains in the east of the country. Austria may be divided into 5 different areas. The biggest area are the Austrian Alps, which constitute 62% of Austria's total area. The Austrian foothills at the base of the Alps and the Carpathians account for around 12% of its area. The foothills in the east and areas surrounding the periphery of the Pannoni low country amount to about 12% of the total landmass. The second greater mountain area (much lower than the Alps) is situated in the north. Known as the Austrian granite plateau, it is located in the central area of the Bohemian Mass, and accounts for 10% of Austria. The Austrian portion of the Viennese basin comprises the remaining 4%.

Climate

The greater part of Austria lies in the cool/temperate climate zone in which humid westerly winds predominate. With over half of the country dominated by the Alps the alpine climate is the predominate one. In the East the climate shows continental features with less rain than the Western alpine areas with high rainfall averages. The six highest mountains in Austria are:

Economy

alpine climate ]] Austria has a well-developed social market economy and a high standard of living. Until the 1980s many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised, however in recent years privatisation has reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies. Labour movements are particularly strong in Austria and have large influence on labour politics. Germany has historically been the main trading partner of Austria, making it vulnerable to rapid changes in the German economy. Slow growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world affected Austria, slowing its growth to 1.2% in 2001. But since Austria became a member state of the European Union it has gained closer ties to other European Union economies, reducing its economic dependence on Germany. In addition, membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to EU aspiring economies. Therefore estimates of growth in 2005 (up to 2%) are much more favourable than in the crippling German economy. Agriculture: Austrian farms, like those of other west European mountainous countries, are small and fragmented, and production is relatively expensive. Industry: Although some industries, such as several iron and steel works and chemical plants, are large industrial enterprises employing thousands of people, most industrial and commercial enterprises in Austria are relatively small on an international scale. Services: Like in other western countries, the biggest contributor to Austria's GDP is its service sector. Most notably is tourism, especially winter tourism. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue to deregulate the service sector, and lower its tax burden. See also: List of Austrian companies

Demographics

List of Austrian companies]] Austria's capital Vienna is one of Europe's major cities with a population exceeding 1.6 million (2 million with suburbs) and constitutes a melting pot of citizens from all over Central and Eastern Europe. In contrast to this Metropolis, other cities do not exceed 1 million inhabitants, in fact the second largest city Graz is home of 305,000 people (followed by Linz with 180,000, Salzburg with 145,000 and Innsbruck with 120,000). All other cities have fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. Austrians of German mother tongue, by far the country's largest ethnic group, form 91.1% of Austria's population. The remaining number of Austria's people are of non-Austrian descent, many from surrounding countries, especially from the former East Bloc nations. The Austrian federal states of Carinthia and Styria are home to a significant (indigenous) Slovenian minority with around 14,000 members (Austrian census; unofficial numbers of Slovene groups speak of about 40,000). So-called guest workers (Gastarbeiter) and their descendants also form an important minority group in Austria. Around 20,000 Hungarians and 30.000 Croatians live in the east-most Bundesland, Burgenland (formerly part of Hungary). The official language, German, is spoken by almost all residents of the country. Austria's mountainous terrain led to the development of many distinct German dialects. All of the dialects in the country, however, belong to Austro-Bavarian groups of German dialects, with the exception of the dialect spoken in its west-most Bundesland, Vorarlberg, which belongs to the group of Alemannic dialects. There is also a distinct grammatical standard for Austrian German with a few differences to the German spoken in Germany.

Politics concerning ethnic groups (Volksgruppenpolitik) in Austria

An estimated 25,000-40,000 Slovenians in the Austrian state of Carinthia as well as Croatians and Hungarians in Burgenland were recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the Austrian State Treaty (Staatsvertrag) of 1955. The Slovenians in the Austrian state of Styria (estimated at a number between 1,600 and 5,000) are not recognized as a minority and do not enjoy special rights, although the State Treaty of July 27, 1955 states otherwise. The right for bilingual topographic signs for the regions where Slovene and Croatian speaking Austrians live alongside with the German speaking population (as required by the 1955 State Treaty) is still to be fully implemented. There is also an undercurrent of thinking amongst parts of the Carenthian population that the Slovenian involvement in the partisan war against the Nazi occupation force was a bad thing, and indeed "Tito partisan" is a not an infrequent insult hurled against members of the minority. Many Carinthians are afraid of Slovenian territorial claims, pointing to the fact that Yugoslav troops entered the state after each of the two World Wars. The current governor, Jörg Haider, regularly plays the Slovenian card when his popularity starts to dwindle, and indeed relies on the strong anti-Slovenian attitudes in many parts of the province for his power base. However, a recent poll suggests that a 2/3 majority of Carinthians are in favour of an increase of bilingual topographic signs in order to fulfil the requirements set by the State Treaty. Another interesting phenomenon is the so called "Windischen-Theorie" [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windischen-Theorie] stating that the Slovenians can be split in two groups: actual Slovenians and Windische, based on differences in language between Austrian Slovenians, who were taught Slovenian standard language in school and those Slovenians, who spoke their local Slovenian dialect but went to German schools. To the latter group the term "Windische" (originally the German word for Slovenians) was applied, claiming that they were a different ethnic group. This theory was never generally accepted and has been ultimately rejected several decades ago.
- List of cities in Austria

Religion

List of cities in Austria] While northern and central Germany was the origin of the Reformation, Austria (and Bavaria) were the heart of the Counter-Reformation in the 16th and 17th century, when the absolute monarchy of Habsburg imposed a strict regime to maintain Catholicism's power and influence among Austrians. Despite this establishment of Catholicism as the predominant Christian religion (Protestants have throughout Austria's history remained a relatively small group), Austria's history as a multinational state has made it necessary for Habsburg rulers to deal with a heterogeneous religious population. Religious freedom was declared a constitutional right as early as 1867 and Austria-Hungary was home of numerous religions beside Roman Catholicism such as Greek, Serbian, Romanian, Russian, and Bulgarian Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims (Austria neighboured the Turkish empire for centuries), Mormons and both Calvinists and Lutheran Protestants. Still Austria remained largely influenced by Catholicism. After 1918 First Republic Catholic leaders such as Theodor Innitzer and Ignaz Seipel took leading positions within or close to the Austrian Government and increased their influence during the time of the Austrofascism – Catholicism was treated much like a state religion by dictators Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt Schuschnigg. Although Catholic leaders welcomed the Germans in 1938 during the Anschluss of Austria into Hitlerite Germany, Austrian Catholicism stopped its support of Nazism later on and many former Religious public figures became involved with the resistance during the Third Reich. After 1945 a stricter secularism was imposed in Austria and religious influence on politics has nearly vanished. As of the end of the 20th century about 73% of Austria's population are registered as Roman Catholic, while about 5% consider themselves Protestants. Both these numbers have been on the decline for decades, especially Roman Catholicm has suffered an increasing number of seceders of the church. This is due partly to child sexual abuse scandals by priests as well as the alleged unwillingness of the Roman Catholic Church to implement reforms. In addition Austrians Catholics are obliged to pay a mandatory tax (calculated by income – ca 1%) to the Austrian Roman Catholic Church, which acts as another incentive to leave the church. About 12% of the population declare that they do not belong to any church or religious community. Of the remaining people, about 180,000 are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church and about 7,300 are Jewish. It has to be noted that the Austrian Jewish Community of 1938 – Vienna alone counted more than 200,000, of which solely 4,000 to 5,000 remained after the Second World War. The influx of Eastern Europeans, especially from the former Yugoslav nations, Albania and particularly from Turkey largely contributed to a substantial Muslim minority in Austria – around 300,000 are registered as members of various Muslim communities. The numbers of people adhering to the Islam has increased largely during the last years and is expected to grow in the future. Buddhism, which was legally recognized as a religion in Austria in 1983, enjoys widespread acceptance and has a following of 20,000 (10,402 at the 2001 census). A 2005 survey among 8,000 people in various European countries showed that Austrians are still among the countries with the strongest belief in God. 84% of all Austrians do state they believe in God, with only Poland (97%), Portugal (90%) and Russia (87%) in front of the countries surveyed. This is a much larger figure than the European average of 71% or Germany with 67%. [http://www.readers-digest.de/service_fuer_journalisten/index.php?id=mrd&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=251&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=15]

Culture

Germany Although Austria is a small country, its history as a world power and its unique cultural environment in the heart of Europe have generated contributions to mankind in every possible field. One might argue that Austria is internationally best known for its musicians. It has been the birthplace of many famous composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss, Sr., Johann Strauss, Jr. or Gustav Mahler as well as members of the Second Viennese School such as Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern or Alban Berg. Complementing its status as a land of artists, Austria has always been a country of great poets, writers and novelists. It was the home of novelists Arthur Schnitzler, Stefan Zweig, Thomas Bernhard or Robert Musil, of poets Georg Trakl, Franz Werfel, Franz Grillparzer, Rainer Maria Rilke or Adalbert Stifter. Famous contemporary playwrights and novelists are Elfriede Jelinek and Peter Handke. Among Austrian artists and architects one can find painters Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele or Friedensreich Hundertwasser, photographer Inge Morath or architect Otto Wagner. Austria was the cradle of numerous scientists including physicists Ludwig Boltzmann, Lise Meitner, Erwin Schrödinger, Ernst Mach, Wolfgang Pauli, Richard von Mises and Christian Doppler, philosophers Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper, biologists Gregor Mendel and Konrad Lorenz as well as mathematician Kurt Gödel. It was home to psychologists Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Paul Watzlawick and Hans Asperger, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, economists Joseph Schumpeter, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Ludwig von Mises, and Friedrich Hayek (Austrian School) and Peter Drucker, and engineers such as Ferdinand Porsche and Siegfried Marcus. In addition, Austria is the birthplace of the current governor of California, Arnold Schwartzenegger. Although Austrians can look back with pride on their cultural past, current Austria does not stand back in art and science. Austria hosts a tremendous amount of culture, with its classical music festivals in Vienna, Salzburg and Bregenz, its modern artists and writers, its theatres and opera houses.
- List of Austrians
- Music of Austria

Miscellaneous topics

- Austrian folk dancing
- Austrian German
- Communications in Austria
- Cuisine of Austria
- Education in Austria
- Foreign relations of Austria
- Media in Austria
- Military of Austria
- Public holidays in Austria
- Spanish Riding School
- Stamps and postal history of Austria
- Tourism in Austria
- Transportation in Austria

References

- References and bibliography can be found in the more detailed articles linked to in this article

External links

- The aeiou Encyclopedia ([http://www.aeiou.at/;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en Homepage] | [http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.a Table of Contents] | [http://www.aeiou.at/;internal&action=search.action Search])
- [http://www.aboutaustria.org About Austria] Austrian Tourist, Travel and Culture Guide
- [http://www.oevsv.at Amateur Radio in Austria]
- [http://www.answers.com/austria Answers.com] Article on Austria
- [http://austria.europe-countries.com Austria in Pictures]
- [http://www.austria.info/ Austria.info] Official homepage of the Austrian National Tourist Office (German, English and other languages)
- [http://www.acfny.org Austrian Cultural Forum New York] Cultural meeting place in Manhattan
- [http://www.cookbookwiki.com/Category:Austrian Austrian Recipes on CookBookWiki.com]
- [http://www.austrosearch.at/ Austrosearch] Bilingual Austrian Search engine and Directory (German, English)
- [http://www.bundeskanzleramt.at/ Bundeskanzleramt Österreich/Federal Chancellor of Austria] Website of the Federal Chancellery of Austria (German, English)
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/au.html Cia.gov] CIA's Factbook on Austria
- [http://www.dwellan.com/documents/links_at_en.html Dwellan.com] Tourism in Austria
- [http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/european/austria/au.html Library of Congress] Portals on the World - Austria
- [http://peter-diem.at/default_e.htm Peter Diem] The Symbols of Austria
- [http://www.photoglobe.info/ebooks/austria/ Photoglobe.info] Country Studies - Austria Info
- [http://radio.orf.at/ Radio-ORF] Austrian Radio stations - both classical and modern music (live feed)
- [http://www.tiscover.at/ Tiscover.at] Austria travel guide
- [http://www.anytravels.com/europe/austria/ Travel Information from Any Travels] Travel Information about Austria
- [http://www.austria-hotels-travel.com/ Austria-Hotels-Travel] Austria Travel Destination
- [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3165.htm US Department of State] Facts and Information (updated February 2005)
- [http://www.willgoto.com/categories.aspx?Destination=217&Langue=1 Willgoto Austria] Travel guide and directory
- [http://uk.aua.com/ Austrian Airlines]
- [http://www.parks.it/world/AT/Eindex.html Parks in Austria] National parks, nature parks, reserves and other protected areas Category:European Union member states Austria, People of Category:Landlocked countries fiu-vro:Austria zh-min-nan:Tang-kok als:Österreich ko:오스트리아 ms:Austria ja:オーストリア simple:Austria th:ประเทศออสเตรีย

Municipality

A municipality or "general-purpose district" (compare with: "special-purpose district") is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. Municipalities are not necessarily the same as townships. In most countries, this is the smallest administrative subdivision that has its own democratically elected representative leadership. In several European countries, municipalities as second level entities are referred to as communes.

Municipalities as second level entities

- In Australia, a municipality is a city, or shire and is a subdivision of a state
- In Austria, a municipality (Gemeinde) is part of a district (Bezirk), which is in turn part of a state (Bundesland).
- In Belgium, a municipality (gemeente/commune) is part of a province (provincie/province)
- In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a municipality (općina or opština) is
- part of a canton (kanton)
- a subdivision (grouped in regions)
- In Brazil, a municipality (município) is part of a state (estado)
- In Canada, a municipality is a city, town, township, county, or regional municipality which has been incorporated by statute by the legislatures of the Provinces and territories of Canada. It is also a specific designation for certain municipalities in Quebec and Ontario.
- In Chile, a municipality (comuna) is part of a province (provincia)
- In Croatia, a municipality (općina) is part of a county (županija)
- In Denmark, a municipality (kommune) is part of a county (amt)
- In Finland, a municipality (kunta/kommun) is part of a province (lääni/län)
- In France, a municipality (commune) is part of a department (département)
- In Germany, a municipality (Gemeinde) is part of a district (Kreis). Larger entities of the same level are named town (Stadt).
- In Greece, a municipality is either an urban demoi or rural koinotetes which is then part of a prefecture (nomos) and then a larger region known as a periphery.
- In Italy, a municipality (comune) is part of a province (provincia) which is part of a region (regione).
- In Japan, any government other than the Japanese national government is called a municipality.
- In Mexico, a municipality (municipio) is a subdivision of a state (estado) and a borogh (delegación) is a subdivision of the Federal District (see municipalities of Mexico and Boroughs of the Mexican Federal District).
- In the Netherlands, a municipality (gemeente) is part of a province (provincie).
- Every part of mainland New Zealand is part of either a "city" (mostly urban) or a "district" (mostly rural). The term "municipality" has become rare in New Zealand since about 1979 and has no legal status.
- In Norway, a municipality (kommune) is part of a county (fylke)
- In the Philippines, a municipality (bayan) is part of a province (lalawigan) and is composed of barangays.
- In Poland, a municipality (commune) (gmina) is a part of a county (powiat).
- In Portugal, a municipality (município) is subdivision of a district (distritos).
- In Puerto Rico, a municipality (municipio) is a city. Each municipality has an elected mayor.
- In Romania, a municipality (municipiu) is a town or a city ranked by law at this level. See Municipality in Romania for more information.
- In Serbia, a municipality (opština) is part of a county (okrug)
- In South Africa, municipalities are subdivisions of a province, and are ranked by size. In descending order: metropolitan, district, local.
- In Sweden, a municipality (kommun) is part of a county (län).
- In Switzerland, a municipality (commune/Gemeinde/comune) is part of a canton (canton/Kanton/cantone) and defined by cantonal law.
- In the United States, the entities that have status as a municipality vary from state to state. Cities, towns, boroughs, or villages are common terms for municipalities. Townships, counties, and parishes are not generally considered to be municipalities, although there are exceptions. In some states, towns have a non-municipal status similar to townships.

First level entities and other forms of municipalities

- In the People's Republic of China, a municipality (直辖市 in pinyin: zhíxiéshì) is a city with equal status to a province: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing (see Municipality of China)
- In the Republic of China on Taiwan, a municipality (直轄市 in Wade-Giles: chi-hsia-shih) is a city with equal status to a province: Taipei and Kaohsiung. (see Municipality of China)
- In Portugal, a municipality (município/concelho) is the primary local administrative unit. Although it is a part of a district (distrito) for certain national administrative purposes, the municipality is not subordinate to the district and decentralization is doing away with the districts. A municipality contains one or more freguesias.
- In Puerto Rico, there are no first order administrative divisions, and the municipalities (municipio) serves as second-order, but first level, administrative divisions.
- In Montenegro, a municipality (opština) is the topmost regional division
- Municipalities of Libya, some very large.
- In Slovenia, a municipality (občina) is the primary local administrative unit. There are 193 of them, 11 of which have a special "Urban" status with additional autonomy.
- In Spain, a municipality (município) is the primary local administrative unit. It is a part of a province (provincia) for all national administrative purposes. A municipality contains one or more parroquias. In the Galiza region, the municipalities are called concellos.

Administrative law

Administrative law is the body of law that arises from the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law. As a body of law, administrative law deals with the decision-making of administrative units of government (e.g., tribunals, boards or commissions) that are part of a state regulatory scheme in such areas as international trade, manufacturing, the environment, taxation, broadcasting, immigration and transport. Administrative law expanded greatly during the twentieth century, as legislative bodies world-wide created more government agencies to regulate the increasingly complex social, economic and political spheres of human interaction.

Administrative law in common law countries

Generally speaking, most countries that follow the principles of common law have developed procedures for judicial review that limit the reviewability of decisions made by administrative law bodies. Often these procedures are coupled with legislation or other common law doctrines that establish standards for proper rulemaking. Administrative law may also apply to review of decisions of so-called quasi-public bodies, such as non-profit corporations, disciplinary boards, and other decision-making bodies that effect the legal rights of members of a particular group or entity. While administrative decision-making bodies are often controlled by larger governmental units, their decisions could be reviewed by a court of general jurisdiction under some principle of judicial review based upon due process (United States) or fundamental justice (Canada). Judicial review of administrative decision, it must be noted, is different from an appeal. When sitting in review of a decision, the Court will only look at the method in which the decision was arrived at, whereas in appeal the correctness of the decision itself will be under question. This difference is vital in appreciating administrative law in common law countries. The scope of judicial review may be limited to certain questions of fairness, or whether the administrative action is ultra vires. In terms of ultra vires actions in the broad sense, a reviewing court may set aside an administrative decision if it is patently unreasonable (under Canadian law), Wednesbury unreasonable (under British law), or arbitrary and capricious under (U.S. Administrative Procedure Act and New York State law). Administrative law, as laid down by the Supreme Court in India, has also recognized two more grounds of judicial review which were recognized but not applied by English Courts viz. legitimate expectation and proportionality. The powers to review administrative decisions are usually established by statute, but were originally developed from the royal prerogative writs of English law, such as the writ of mandamus and the writ of certiorari. In certain Common Law jurisdictions, such as India or Pakistan, the power to pass such writs is a Constitutionally guaranteed power. This power is seen as fundamental to the power of judicial review and an aspect of the independent judiciary.

Administrative law in the United States

Main Article: American administrative law American administrative law In the United States legal system, many government agencies are organized under the executive branch of government, rather than the judicial or legislative branches. The departments under the control of the executive branch, and their sub-units, are often referred to as executive agencies. The so-called executive agencies can be distinguished from the many important and powerful independent agencies, that are created by statutes enacted by the U.S. Congress. Congress has also created Article I judicial tribunals to handle some areas of administrative law. The actions of executive agencies independent agencies are the main focus of American administrative law. In response to the rapid creation of new independent agencies in the early twentieth century (see discussion below), Congress enacted the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in 1946. Many of the independent agencies operate as miniature versions of the tripartite federal government, with the authority to "legislate" (through rulemaking), "adjudicate" (through administrative hearings), and to "execute" administrative goals (through agency enforcement personnel). Because the United States Constitution sets no limits on this tripartite authority of administrative agencies, Congress enacted the APA to establish fair administrative law procedures to comply with the requirements of Constitutional due process. The dominant U.S. Supreme Court case in the field of American administrative law is Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, .

Historical development

In his book, Administrative Law & Regulatory Policy (3d Ed., 1992) (Admin. Law & Reg. Policy ), U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer divides the history of administrative law in the United States into six discrete periods:
- English antecedents & the American experience to 1875
- 1875 - 1930: the rise of regulation & the traditional model of administrative law
- The New Deal
- 1945 - 1965: the Administrative Procedure Act & the maturation of the traditional model of administrative law
- 1965 - 1985: critique and transformation of the administrative process
- 1985 - ?: retreat or consolidation

Administrative law in civil law countries

France

In France, most claims against the national or local governments are handled by administrative courts, which use the Conseil d'État as a court of last resort.

Germany

In Germany, the highest administrative court for most matters is the federal administrative court Bundesverwaltungsgericht. There are federal courts with special judisdiction in the fields of social security law (Bundessozialgericht) and tax law (Bundesfinanzhof). Category:Administrative law ko:행정법 ja:行政法

Landeshauptmann

Landeshauptmann (literally "country captain" or "state captain") is the German language title of the governor of a state of Austria or of the Italian province of Südtirol. The female version of this title would be Landeshauptfrau. Whether female Landeshauptmänner are to be called Landeshauptfrau or Landeshauptmann, is still the subject of public debate. This question first arose with the assumption of office by Waltraud Klasnic (from the conservative ÖVP) in Styria on the 23 January 1996, who preferred to be addressed as Frau Klasnic (Mrs. Klasnic) or Frau Landeshauptmann. However, Gabi Burgstaller (from the social democratic SPÖ), the governor of Salzburg since 7 March 2004, prefers the title Frau Landeshauptfrau. Since 1 July 1988, the Constitution of Austria states the answer to this question is that office designations can be used in gender-specific form (Article 7 Paragraph 3 B-VG). The use of the designation Landeshauptfrau is therefore explicitly permitted by the constitution. For example, the same question also arises for the office designation Bezirkshauptmann (chief administrator of a non-municipal disctrict in Austria), military rank Hauptmann (captain) and Feuerwehrmann (firefighter). Sometimes, according to Austrian custom, the wife of a male incumbent is addressed as Frau Landeshauptmann. The reverse form - Herr Landeshauptfrau - is not common. Additionally the deputies of the Salzburg Landeshauptfrau have so far prefered the designation Landeshauptmannstellvertreter.

Statutarstadt

A Statutarstadt (a city with its own statute) is a city in Austria with its own municipal law or city statute. In Austria, a city can request this status if it has more than 20,000 inhabitants. After the state government and the Federal Government agree to grant the status, it is granted as long as it does not endanger any national interests. However, this is not always the case as there are smaller Statutarstädte which were granted this right previously for historical reasons. In particular, the cities of Eisenstadt and Rust, which previously belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary as free cities, retained their own city statutes in 1921. The Statutarstädte were called urban areas and were treated according to the German Gemeindeordnung during the period of German occupation, and as such were given no power over their own municipal constitution. Besides local administration, the responsibilities of a Statutarstadt are to manage the Bezirk (English: district), which places the Statutarstadt besides the municipal office as district administration authorities. The mayor is the head of the municipality as well as the head of the district administrative authority. Statutarstädte in Austria are:
- Eisenstadt (since 1921, Hungarian free city since 1648)
- Graz
- Innsbruck
- Klagenfurt (since 1850)
- Krems (since 1938)
- Linz (since 1866)
- Rust (since 1921, Hungarian free city since 1681)
- Salzburg (since 1869)
- St. Pölten (since 1922)
- Steyr (since 1867)
- Villach (since 1932)
- Waidhofen an der Ybbs (since 1868)
- Wels (since 1964)
- Vienna (since 1850)
- Wiener Neustadt (since 1866) A similar concept in Germany is called Stadtkreis or Kreisfreie Stadt, but these cities, such as Munich, do not have a municipal constitution - they use the Gemeindeordnung, a state law differing from Bundesland to Bundesland. In the English-speaking world, especially the U.S. state of Virginia, a similar concept is known as independent city. Category:Cities and towns in Austria Category:Austrian law Category:Government of Austria

Districts of Vienna

right Vienna is composed of 23 districts (Bezirke), which although they all have their own names are numbered for the sake of convenience.

Function

Legally, they are not districts in the sense of administrative bodies with explicit powers (such as the districts in the other Austrian states, but mere subdivisions of the city administration. However, there are elections on the district level, which gives the representatives of the districts some political clout (e.g. in matters of planning, traffic etc.). Also, as a practical matter, the separate administrative buildings for each district (except for the 13th and the 14th district which share one building) decentralize the municipal administration to some degree, meaning that citizens do not have to travel great distances e.g. to get a new passport.

List of districts

1. Innere Stadt (city centre) 2. Leopoldstadt 3. Landstraße 4. Wieden 5. Margareten 6. Mariahilf 7. Neubau 8. Josefstadt 9. Alsergrund 10. Favoriten 11. Simmering 12. Meidling 13. Hietzing 14. Penzing 15. Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus (see [http://www.fuenfzehn.at/ ]) 16. Ottakring 17. Hernals 18. Währing 19. Döbling 20. Brigittenau 21. Floridsdorf 22. Donaustadt 23. Liesing

Postal codes

By looking at the postal code it can be determined in which district a given address is located; 1XXA - 1 denotes Vienna, XX the district number (if it is a single digit then with a leading zero), A is the number of the post office (irrelevant in this case, usually zero). Example: 1070 for Neubau. Exceptions of that are 1300 for the Vienna International Airport located in Lower Austria near Schwechat, 1400 for the UN Complex, 1450 for the Austria Center, and 1500 for the Austrian UN-Forces.

History

The numbering of the districts reflects to some degree when they were incorporated into Vienna.
- The first district is Vienna's historic center and used to be the entire city until the mid-19th century.
- Districts 2-9 (and 20 which was later separated from the second district) are known as Innenbezirke (inner districts) and composed of the former Vorstädte, which were located inside the Linienwall, the second ring of fortifications around Vienna. Those districts are located within the Gürtel today.
- The other districts are known as Außenbezirke (outer districts) and are comprised of the former Vororte.

Vienna

:This article is about the city and federal state in Austria. For other places or things called Vienna, see Vienna (disambiguation). Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austria's nine states (Land Wien). With a population of about 1.6 million, Vienna is the largest city and the cultural and political centre of Austria. Situated on both sides of the river Danube, Vienna is 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the Austrian-Slovak border, i.e. also from the Slovak capital, Bratislava. Vienna is surrounded by the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is one of the best-known cities in Europe and has a prominent place in the history of Western civilization, world culture and history. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as other United Nations Offices and many international institutions and companies, are located in Vienna.

History

Main article: History of Vienna Vienna was originally the Celtic settlement "Uindobona" 'Fair Bottomland' (Modern Irish
- Fionnbhun) founded around 500 BC. In 15 BC, it became a frontier city ("Vindobona") guarding the Roman Empire against the German tribes to the north. In the Middle Ages, it became the home of the Babenberg and, later, the Habsburg dynasties and through the latter the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Ottoman Turkish invasions of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries were stopped twice at Vienna. See the Siege of Vienna (1529) and the Battle of Vienna (1683). In 1815, Vienna was the site of the Congress of Vienna which redrew national boundaries in Europe after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo. During the Cold War, Vienna was a hotbed of international espionage because of its location in neutral Austria, between the Western and Eastern blocs. Other famous Viennese features include the Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School, the Vienna Boys' Choir (Wiener Sängerknaben), Wiener Schnitzel, Sachertorte, and various pastries. Viennese cafes claim to have invented the process of filtering coffee from the captured baggage after the second Turkish siege in 1683.

Historical population

The population of Vienna increased sharply during the Austro-Hungarian period (1867-1918), when there was a lot of immigration from other parts of the country. However, after World War I, many Czechs returned to their ancestral country, which resulted in a decline in the population. Following the immigration at that time, about one third of the population of Vienna had a Slavic or Hungarian family name. As can be seen, the population gradually declined up to the 1980s. 1800: 231,900 inhabitants
1830: 338,700
1850: 446,400
1880: 724,800
1900: 1,769,137
1910: 2,083,630
1923: 1,918,720
1934: 1,935,881
1939: 1,770,938
1951: 1,616,125
1961: 1,627,566
1971: 1,619,885
1981: 1,531,346
1991: 1,539,848
2001: 1,550,123
2005: 1,631,082

Districts

1980s and dozens more low-rise buildings on this site.]] 1980s Main article: Districts of Vienna The city itself is composed of 23 districts (Bezirke), which, although they all have their own names, are numbered for the sake of convenience. Legally, they are not districts in the sense of administrative bodies with explicit powers (such as the districts in the other Austrian states, but mere subdivisions of the city administration. However, there are elections on the district level, which gives the representatives of the districts some political clout (e.g. in matters of planning, traffic etc.). 1.Innere Stadt (city centre) 2.Leopoldstadt 3. Landstraße 4. Wieden 5. Margareten 6. Mariahilf 7. Neubau 8. Josefstadt 9. Alsergrund 10. Favoriten 11. Simmering 12. Meidling 13.Hietzing 14. Penzing 15. Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus 16. Ottakring 17. Hernals 18. Währing 19. Döbling 20. Brigittenau 21. Floridsdorf 22. Donaustadt 23. Liesing By looking at the postal code it can be determined in which district a given address is located; 1XXA - 1 denotes Vienna, XX the district number (if it is a single digit then with a leading zero), A is the number of the post office (irrelevant in this case, usually zero). Example: 1070 for Neubau. Exceptions of that are 1300 for the Vienna International Airport located in Lower Austria near Schwechat, 1400 for the UN Complex, 1450 for the Austria Center, and 1500 for the Austrian UN-Forces.

Religions

Vienna is the seat of the Viennese Roman Catholic archdiocese, and its acting Archbishop is Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. The religions of the Viennese resident population is divided according to the 2001 census as follows:

Culture

Music, theatre and opera

:Translated from [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wien#Theater_.26_Oper here] census census (1981-1991) by Alfred Hrdlicka at Albertinaplatz in the First District]] Art and culture have a long tradition in Vienna, in the areas of theatre, opera and the fine arts. Aside from the Burgtheater which, together with its branch, the Akademie theater is considered one of the best theatres in the German-speaking world, the Volkstheater and the Theater in der Josefstadt also offer high-quality theatre entertainment. Also, there is a multitude of smaller theatres, often equal in quality to their larger counterparts and in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of performing arts such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret. Vienna also offers a great many opportunities for fans of the opera: The Staatsoper and the Volksoper offer something for everyone, the latter being especially devoted to the typical Viennese operetta. Concerts of classical music are performed, among others, in the well - known Great Hall of the Wiener Musikverein and in the Wiener Konzerthaus. In addition, various concert venues offer concerts aimed at visitors, featuring the best known highlights of Viennese music (particularly the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss). In recent years, the Theater an der Wien has become widely known for hosting premieres of musicals. The most successful by far was "Elisabeth" which was afterwards translated into several foreign languages and performed all over the world. With the opening of the Haus der Musik in 2000, Vienna also has a "Museum of Sound" for all ages now. Finally, many Roman Catholic churches in central Vienna feature performances of religious or other music, including masses sung with classical music and organ. See also: Vienna State Opera Ballet

Museums

: To be translated from [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wien#Museen here] In the Hofburg, the Sisi Museum allows visitors to see the Imperial apartments as well as the silver cabinet. Directly opposite the Hofburg is the Kunsthistorisches Museum (along with Vienna's Natural History Museum) that houses multiple paintings by the old masters. Natural History Museum The group is completed by the Museumsquartier, the former Imperial Stalls which were converted into a complex of museums in the 1990s. This houses the Museum of Modern Art (Ludwig Foundation), the Leopold Museum (which primarily displays works of the Viennese Secession, Viennese Modernism, and Austrian Expressionism), and additional halls with changing exhibitions as well as the Tanzquartier. The Liechtenstein Palace presents one of the world's largest private art collections. Additionally there are a multitude of other museums, from the Military History Museum to the Technical Museum, from the Vienna Clock Museum to the Burial Museum. The museums of Vienna's districts are not to be missed as they offer a view into the history of their respective Bezirke.

Architecture

: To be translated from [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wien#Architektur here] There are buildings of all architectural styles in Vienna, from the Romanesque Ruprechtskirche to the Baroque Karlskirche, and classicist buildings all the way through to modern architecture. Likewise, Art Nouveau left many architectural traces in Vienna. The Secession, Karlsplatz Metropolitan Railway Station, and the Kirche am Steinhof by Otto Wagner rank among the best known examples of Art Nouveau in the world.

Other culture

Between Michaelerplatz and Josefsplatz is the Spanish Riding School. It is a famous equestrian school. In terms of folk dancing, the Viennese Kathreintanz is the best known.

Education

Viennese Kathreintanz Vienna is also Austria's main center of education and home to many universities, professional colleges and gymnasiums.

Universities

- Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
- Medical University of Vienna
- University of Applied Arts Vienna
-