UPPERAUSTRIA Industry ¦Culture ¦ Nature ¦ Science UPPERAUSTRIA THE STATE UPPERAUSTRIA AT AGLANCE Population: 1.44 million inhabitants(third-largeststate in termsofinhabitants) Area:1 1,982km2(14.3% of theAustrianterritory,fourth-largest state in termsofsurface area) State capital: Linz (201,595 inhabitants) State governor:Mag.ThomasStelzer,ÖVP (since2017) UpperAustrianState Parliament:56members Most important industries:Steel,plastic,environmentaltechnology,mechatronics,tourism Biggest cities: Wels (60,382inhabitants),Steyr (38,344inhabitants) Main rivers:Danube, Inn, Enns, Traun, Steyr Biggest lakes: Attersee,Traunsee, Mondsee, Wolfgangsee Highestmountain:Dachstein (2,995 m) CzechRepublic ROHRBACH FREISTADT SCHÄRDING Bavaria URFAHR-UMGEBUNG EFERDING PERG LINZ-STADT GRIESKIRCHEN RIED WELS-STADT LINZ-LAND BRAUNAUAMINN WELS-LAND LowerAustria STEYR-STADT VÖCKLABRUCK STEYR-LAND GMUNDEN SALZBURG KIRCHDORF Styria LandesdienstleistungszentrumamLinzerHauptbahnhof 2 UPPERAUSTRIA FOREWORD LIFE IN THE HEARTOF EUROPE Ourstate,which is situatedonthe banksofthe Danube betweenthe Bohemian Forest andthe Dachstein Mountains, hasbeendemonstrably inhabitedsincethe StoneAge.The diversityofthe landscape, thefertile ground andthe waterbodies, alongwiththe abundanceoffloraand fauna, offeredideal conditions. To this day, fertilityaswellasnaturalbeautyand diversityare keycharacteristics of Upper Austria. In addition,Upper Austria’sstrongstanding as adynamic andhighly successful economic area in theEuropeanUnion,aswellasits socialnetwork,makea significantcontributiontothe attractiveness of ourstate,and thehigh qualityoflife of itsinhabitants. Acomprehensive rangeofculturalattractions andleisure activities makesUpper Austriaanattractiveplace to live andtourist destination. Tradition, innovation andopennessare crucialcornerstonesofthe state. Mag.ThomasStelzer State governor Danube riverloopinSchlögen 3 UPPERAUSTRIA ASTATEWITHAHISTORY ASTATE WITH AN ILLUSTRIOUSPAST UpperAustria washome to an ancient civilisation. Thefirst traces of humansettlements date back to theStone Age. At the endofthe Neolithic Age(around 2000 BC), the“lake dwelling” civilisationdeveloped on theshoresofthe Attersee and Mondsee. Oneofthe first notable civilisations wasthe “Hallstattculture”(800–400 BC). Archaeologicalfinds from this period areofinternational importance. Around theyear15 BC,the state wasunder theruleofthe RomanEmpire. Afterthe collapseofthe empire andthe centries-longturmoilof migration, anew culture developed in the8th century–the first monasterieswerefounded by BavarianDukes in Mondsee (748)and Kremsmünster (777). TheGothicperiod(14th –early 16th century) is characterised by theconstructionofnumerouscastles,beautiful townhouses, andreligiousartefacts (e.g.the Pacher AltarinSt. Wolfgang, andthe Winged AltarinKefermarkt).Conversely,key scientific knowledgewas broughtabout in theRenaissance, including TheGothicPacherAlter in St.Wolfgang thecalculations of theastronomer andmathematician Johannes Kepler,who also worked in theschooloflandscaping in Linz. During theBaroque period,the Turkisharmyposed themain Magnificent castlesand theLandhaus (regionalparliament) in threat,but wasdefeatedinViennain1683. Severalreligious Linz were also built in this period.However, thePeasant Wars and secularbuildings were constructedorrenovated in the brokeout during this period,which ledtoatemporary newBaroque style. In UpperAustria, theearly 19th century economic andculturaldecline. wascharacterised by theNapoleonic Wars,and thesubsequent Biedermeierperiod. In 1832,the horse-drawnrailway line (Linz –Budweis)was opened,and thespa andrecreationalareas in theSalzkammergutregionexperienced an upswing. At that time,music andliterature were characterised by artistssuchas AdalbertStifterand AntonBruckner. With theend of theFirst WorldWar andthe abolitionofthe Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Austriabecamearepublic, and theArchduchy above theEnnsbecameUpper Austria, ourstate. In 1938, Austriawas annexedtoHitler’sGermany.The Second WorldWar caused unspeakable suffering. With thesigningof the1955treaty, UpperAustria regained itsfullfreedom. Thepatronsaints of UpperAustria areSt. Florianand St.Leopold,who arecelebratedon4May and15November. „Hoamatgsang” hasbeenthe state anthem since29November 1952.Itwas writtenasapoemin1841byFranz Stelzhamer, and themusic wascomposedbyHansSchnopfhagen. Skull andcrossbonesart in Hallstatt 4 UPPERAUSTRIA ASTATEWITHAFUTURE ASTATE WITH AFUTURE Throughout history,the Danube region,which also includes research andinnovation.Withits positionasa“Genussland” UpperAustria, hasbeenalink betweenEastand West as well (lit.aparadise forconnoisseurs), UpperAustria places great as Northand South.Upper Austriatherefore is still seen as a emphasis on local, naturallyproduced food of thehighest dialogue partnerand bridge builder in theEuropeanUnion. quality. With itsrichculturalprogramme, as well as natural UpperAustria combinesseveral geographic advantageswith resources,and recreationand leisure facilities, UpperAustria future-orientedinvestments andastrongexporteconomy. offers ahigh qualityoflifeand makesthe state apopular Companies, competencecentres,universitiesand research touristdestination. institutesmakethe state akey region in termsofscientific RenaissanceportalamLandhausinLinz Photovoltaic plantinUpper Austria Astudent in thelab Windmills in UpperAustria 5 UPPERAUSTRIA STATEPARLIAMENT ANDGOVERNMENT THE UPPERAUSTRIAN STATEPARLIAMENTAND STATEGOVERNMENT 1.44 million people currentlyliveinUpper Austria. In UpperAustria, theState Government consists of nine mem- Every six years,theyvote in localelections to determinethe bers.The head of theState Government is theState Governor. membersofthe Oö.Landtag (Upper Austrian State He externally represents thestate of UpperAustria. Parliament), which consists of atotal of 56 representatives from allparts of thestate andsocialstrata. TheUpper Austrian State Parliament acts as alegislator, and provides therules forthe developmentofthe state. With the state budget, theState Parliament decidesonthe finances for STATE GOVERNMENT theactivities of theState Government andprovincial STATE PARLIAMENT administration, andsimultaneouslyensures thecompetent, independentmonitoring of theworkofthe State Government LEGISLATION ENFORCEMENT throughthe Regional CourtofAudit of UpperAustria. As a rule,representativesmeetonceamonth at theregional OFFICE OF THE UPPER AUSTRIAN parliament in Linz forapublicparliamentary meeting. STATEGOVERNMENT 14 DISTRICT AUTHORITIES TheState Parliament electsthe UpperAustrianState Government.State Government executesthe lawsenforcedby 3STATUTORYCITIES theParliamentand focuses on thefinances of thestate. State Parliament meetinginthe regional parliamentinLinz 6 UPPERAUSTRIA INDUSTRIAL HUB GLOBAL NETWORKS As amodernand innovative state,withaneconomy which is present on theworld market,universitiesand research institutions which are networkedwithothersaroundthe world, andwithaboundless culture,Upper Austriahas an intrinsicinterestinsuccessfulinternational contacts.Because of this, theState of UpperAustria hasbeenworking intensively with neighbouring countriesand partnerregions around the worldfor decades. Theserelationshipsenable thedomesticeconomy to maintain ahigh export rate of around 60 percent. UpperAustria also uses itsgeographicadvantages–e.g.interms of INNOVATIVE infrastructure, economy, innovations, research andeducation–inits ECONOMIC SECTORS internationalrelations,for example throughnetworkingwithpeople from UpperAustria around theworld,through thenetwork UpperAustria’s strengthsare in thefields “OÖInternational –Upper AustriansAbroad”. of technology,mechatronics,plasticsand Thestate is part of awell-functioningnetwork of partner tools, environmentaltechnology,renewable regionsand European umbrella organisations, andcan thereforestate energies, thecreativeindustries,tourism, itsinterests on both aEuropeanand an internationallevel.Active andculture.Morethan80per cent of developmentcooperation is also an aspectofUpper Austria‘sexternal foreign tradeiscurrently carried outwithin relations. Europe. 7 UPPERAUSTRIA INDUSTRIAL HUB COOPERATION BETWEEN SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY In thesecondhalfofthe twentiethcentury,Upper Austriabecameknown worldwide forits metallurgicaldevelopments (LDsteel processes, continuingcasting technology,COREXprocesses). UpperAustria is also thebirthplaceofimportant technological innovationsinthe production andprocessingofplastics, railwayconstructiontechnology,firefightingtechnology,engine construction,and in theautomotive supplyindustry. In thefield of R&D in UpperAustria, thebridge betweenbasic research andindustrial applicationisespeciallyimportant –this leads to intensive knowledgetransferbetween scienceand business,fromwhich both sidescan benefit. Themain institutions in thefieldsof researchand development: •JohannesKepler University •Kepler UniversityClinic •UniversityofArt andDesign •Anton Bruckner Private University •Catholic-Theological Private University, Linz •UniversityofAppliedSciences Upper Austria •Upper Austrian Innovation Network •SoftwareParkHagenberg •EducationHighway–Pedagogical, technicaland economic interfaces •Upper Austrian Research Johannes Kepler University–SciencePark Scientific studies Studentsinauniversitylab 8 UPPERAUSTRIA INDUSTRIAL HUB THEECONOMYONTHE WORLDMARKET Thebasic structureofthe domesticeconomy is basedonthe synergiesofseveral largecompanies with many smalland medium-sizedenterprises.Thankstoits very good infrastructure, thewell-trained work forceand astable state budget, which