Austria is a landlocked country in Central Europe known for its alpine scenery, imperial architecture, and extraordinary musical heritage. For centuries it was the centre of the Habsburg Empire, one of Europe's most powerful dynasties, which shaped the culture of the entire continent. Vienna, the capital, was home to Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and Mahler, and remains one of the world's preeminent cultural cities.
Population and area are rounded.
Legend says Duke Leopold V's white tunic was soaked in blood at the Siege of Acre in 1191 except under his belt, leaving a red-white-red pattern. In fact the colours are the arms of the Babenberg dukes, recorded from the 13th century, which makes this one of the oldest national flag designs still in use. The state flag adds the federal eagle holding a sickle and hammer, with the broken chains added in 1945 to mark liberation.
Simple horizontal red-white-red stripes — one of the oldest national flags still in use.
Austria is the birthplace of Mozart, Beethoven lived there, and it gave the world the croissant.
Austria's flag is often mixed up with these. Learn to tell them apart:
Every flag that has flown over Austria, from today back through time.
With independence restored in 1945, Austria reinstated the red-white-red triband. Legend ties it to a medieval Babenberg duke whose white tunic was left red but for the band under his belt — one of the oldest flag designs still in use.
Following the Anschluss of March 1938, Austria ceased to exist as an independent state and the Nazi German flag flew over its territory until liberation in 1945.
The authoritarian Austrofascist Federal State kept the red-white-red bands but added a state emblem with a double-headed eagle and the crutch-cross. It ended with the Nazi annexation.
After the empire collapsed, the new republic adopted the red-white-red triband that is essentially the modern Austrian flag.
The Dual Monarchy used a combined civil ensign joining the Austrian red-white-red with the Hungarian colors, while the black-gold Habsburg flag remained in dynastic use until 1918.
Habsburg dynastic flag:
The black-gold horizontal bicolour was the dynastic flag of the House of Habsburg, derived from their long reign as Holy Roman Emperors.
Empires, kingdoms and republics that once covered part of Austria.
The white-over-green Landesfarben of the Habsburg duchy; its arms bear a white fire-breathing panther. Styria is now split between Austria and Slovenia.
The yellow-red-white crown-land flag of one of the oldest duchies of the Holy Roman Empire, whose arms show three black lions on gold.
The 9 states, provinces and regions of Austria with their own flags.
Burgenland
Carinthia
Lower Austria
Upper Austria
Salzburg
Styria
Tyrol
Vorarlberg
ViennaAustria shares a land border with 8 countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
17 other national flags use the same main colours as Austria's.
Bahrain
Canada
Denmark
Georgia
Indonesia
Japan
Latvia
Malta
Monaco
Peru
Poland
Qatar
Singapore
Switzerland
Tonga
Tunisia
Turkey
Lithuania
Czech Republic
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Liechtenstein
Slovakia
Slovenia