Austria (Joan of What?)

Austria (German: Österreich), officially the Archduchy of Austria (German: Erzherzogtum Österreich), is a federal monarchy and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the and  to the north,  to the east,  and  to the south, and  and  to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2 (32,386 sq mi). The terrain is highly mountainous, lying within the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 m (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 m (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speaks local dialects of  as their native language, and  in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are, , and.

The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the, when the vast majority of the country was a part of the. From the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. The Thirty Years War, the influence of the and, the rise of the , and the Napoleonic invasions all weakened the power of the Emperor in the north of Germany, but in the south, and in non-German areas of the Empire, the Emperor and Catholicism maintained control. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria retained its position as one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of as, the  was officially proclaimed in 1804. Following Napoleon's defeat, Prussia emerged as Austria's chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany. Austria's defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. When war broke out between France and Prussia, Austria joined on the side of France in a last, desperate attempt to gain control over Germany. This resulted in, and the was defeated by Prussia and her allies. This second war stimulated ethnic nationalism, and fractured and eventually destroyed the Empire, which was formally dissolved mere weeks after the signing of the. However, the Habsburgs were permitted to retain their throne, and the Constitution adopted on 8 December 1871 reorganised the shattered remains of the Empire into a second Archduchy of Austria.

In response to the threat posed by in, Austria went to war alongside Germany and the  in 1938. As one of the victors of the war, Austria went on to become a founding member of the.

Today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy under a constitutional monarchy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capital GDP of 47,856. The country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked very highly in the Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1946, joined the European Union in 1995, and is a founder of the OECD. Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the Euro currency in 1999.