GEOGRAPHY CONNECTIONS This year-long series is presented in collaboration

with the Connecticut Geographic Alliance.

NIE ACTIVITY

Welcome To
Austria!
COUNTRY VIEW
Melinda J. McKenzie, William J. Johnston Middle School
Take LOCATION: Austria is located in
5
Want to know more about the fascinating country of Austria? Austria is located in Europe, and it is bordered by central Europe. Its latitude and longitude
coordinates are 47.5162° N, 14.5501° E.
the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Liechtenstein. Vienna is the
capital city of Austria. Austria is home to some unique Bavarian cuisines like schnitzel. Schnitzel is a popular dish
of thinly breaded and fried chicken. When you
PLACE: Most Austrians speak a dialect of
German.
visit Austria, you should definitely try it, and you
will find it is delicious! The main religion practiced HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION:
in Austria is Christian, but there are also Muslims, Austrians depend on the environment because they
Atheists, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians. rely on the fresh water and crops. They adapt to the
There are still more religious groups in Austria, environment by using the fresh water as drinking water.
but those are the main ones. Most people in
And Austrians modified the environment by growing
crops.
Austria speak German. Austria is also the leading
producer of magnesite, a mineral used exclusively
MOVEMENT: Many Austrians use the public
in the chemical industry. transportation system, which consists of trolleys,
The Alps, Austria
subways, and buses.
Austria has many wonderful tourist attractions and
some might say that Austria is the leader of some inspiring accomplishments in many fields, such as music, REGION: This region is defined by the Austrian Alps,
theater, literature, architecture, medicine and science. Mozart, Beethoven, and Sigmund Freud all lived in Vienna. lakes, woods, Danube River and other smaller tributaries.
Austria also has beautiful scenery. Home to some parts of the Alps, and the Danube River, some say Austria is one
of the most beautiful countries in the world. Most notable are regions
like the northern Bohemian Forest, Traunsee Lake and eastern hillside
GLOBAL GOALS
vineyards. Winter sports are popular like, skiing and snowboarding
Austria is working towards the global goal
because of the close proximity to the mountainous Alpine region. Austria
of preventing climate change. They have a
has many beautiful lakes, created by glacial erosion. About two-thirds
group called the R20 Austrian World Summit,
of the country’s total area is founded by celebrity and former Californian
woods and meadows. governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. This
group discusses methods they can attempt
Did you know that the famous Streets of Vienna, Austria to solve the problem of climate change. It
America movie the Sound of is estimated that Austria could be one of
Music was filmed in Austria? If you haven’t seen that movie yet, you should the European countries most affected by
watch it sometime because it is very interesting. You may also catch that climate change. For this reason, Austria
there are some geographical errors in the film version of the story! wants to end climate change.

MAPPING DID YOU KNOW?

Map of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/map-austro-hungarian-empire-1914
ACTIVITY • Austria has a huge amusement park called the Prater?
Austria for many years was part of the Austrian- • The first snow globe was invented here?
Hungarian empire. When the Empire broke • Schools many Austrian students study English?
apart, new country borders were established. • Austrian Josef Madersperger invented the sewing machine in 1818
Using the map to the left, compare it to a modern
map of Europe to see how many countries are SCHONBRUNN PALACE
Did you know that
in the region. How many languages are in that
Viennese royalty built a
area? Some of the countries have even changed
“summer palace” with
since the late 1980s. What causes countries to
1,441 rooms?
change borders or names over time?
https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/

RESOURCES
Karl A. Roider. “Austria | Facts, People, and Points of Interest.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2 Apr. 2018. Web. 4 Apr. 2018.
<https://www.britannica.com/place/Austria> Common Core Curricular Connections
Mrs.K Vindobona - Vienna International News. “Arnold Schwarzenegger in Vienna: The Prodigal Son’s Interim Visit.” Vindobona - CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI4.4 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI4.9 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH6—8.
Vienna International News. 4 Apr. 2018. Web. 11 Apr. 2018. CCSS.ELA-Literacy. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.
<https://www.vindobona.org/article/arnold-schwarzenegger-in-vienna-the-prodigal-sons-interim-visit> CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI5.7
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI4.7 RH6—8.4 RH6—8.10
N.a. “Austrian coordinates - Google Search.” Google.com. n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2018. <https://www.google.com/search?q=Austrian+
oordinates&oq=Austrian+coordinates&aqs=chrome..69i57.8155j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on> CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI5.9 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI5.4
N.a. “Austria - Five Themes of Geography.” Sites.google.com. 3 Apr. 2018. Web. 5 Apr. 2018.
<https://sites.google.com/site/5themesgeographyworld/austria> For students who are blind, learning disabled or print challenged,
N.a. “translate - Google Search.” Google.com. n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2018. visit CRIS Radio at http://www.chrisradio.org
<https://www.google.com/search?q=translate&rlz=1CAHPZS_enUS791&oq=translate&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.3055j0j7&sourceid and click Kids On-Demand for a free audio version of Geography Connections.
chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on>