European Culture

One of the aspects that most demonstrate people's culture, are its traditional festivals, which even those that take place worldwide, are different in each region. In this way, you will get to know about carnival, the world's biggest party, and the main European cities where it is celebrated. However, first, let's watch a video about the origins of this celebration. Now that you've understood about the history of this party, I will show you the most successful European carnival cities:  VENICE - ITALY: I'll begin with  Venezia's carnival, one of the oldest of the world: it happened for the first time in 1094, and is characterized by the use of masks, a custom originated in the 21st century by noble people to make possible to mix themselves with the rest of the population, leading to the parades and masks competitions of nowadays, that happen in February. BINCHE - BELGIUM:  Considered an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity...

Well, since we have already acquired a nice knowledge about the geography and some beauties of Austria, let's get to know a bit about the main way of communication and expression used by this country and others around it: the German language. Bur first, for a better comprehension of the theme , I uploaded a short video explaining you how languages change and envolve. Now, that you understood all this context, I'll thell you more about the German language, originated around the 8th century. It started with the Indo-European language and people on the Northeast  Europe, spreading, throughout the ages, in the extension of European and Asian territory. Then, these people divided themselves into  Franks, Bavarians, Alemanni  and  Old-Saxon  groups, building the historical basis of the German language, until it became how it is nowadays.  Today, German is spoken not only by 7.5 million people in Austria, but by a total of 118 mill...

First of all, I'd like to introduce you some main informations about Austria. It is a beautiful European country full of fascinating views, good food and nice people! It is approximately 580 km large from west to east and 300 km from north to south, made up of 9 federal provinces. Its neighboring countries are: Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia. Austrian population is 8.8 million inhabitants and their official language is German.

Here through this video, it is possible to have a general notion about Austria, its geography, history and culture!

Now let's get to know some of the most beautiful cities in Austria! I will start with the city of the famous Mozart: Salzburg, the fourth largest city in the country, with aproximately 148,521 inhabitants. The city takes this name because of the salt (Salz in German) and the castle (Burg), on whose trade the city built its fortune. Salzburg, located next to the border with Germany, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the set in the film "The Sound of Music" due to its perfect combination of alpine scenery and interesting architecture .

Zell am See, originally known as Zelle im Pinzgau, is a small town located in Salzburger Land, approximately 100 km east of Innsbruck and 30 km north of Mt. Grossglockner. It has around 9900 inhabitants and is one of the oldest Bavarian settlements in the Pinzgau region. 

Graz, situated in the south-east of the country, 145 km south-west of the city centre of Vienna, is the second most densely populated city in Austria, with 439.236 inhabitants. The city, famous for its cultural content and gastronomic delights, is the capital of Styria and Austria's second-largest city after Vienna.  Its historic centre is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe and in 1999, it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Klagenfurt is the capital of the federal state of Carinthia in Austria. With a population of 101.403, it is the sixth largest city in the country. The city is the bishop's seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt and home to the University of Klagenfurt, the Carinthian University of Applied Sciences and the Gustav Mahler University of Music .

Innsbruck, that means "Bridge over the River Inn" is the capital city of Tyrol and the fifth largest city in Austria. Located in the broad valley between high mountains, the so-called North Chain in the Karwendel Alps to the north, and the Patscherkofel and Serles to the south. Innsbruck is an internationally renowned winter sports centre; it hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics, the 1984 and 1988 Winter Paralympics, and the first Winter Youth Olympics in 2012. 

Vienna is the national capital and the largest city of Austria, d ivided into 23 districts.  It is Austria's most populous city, with about 1.9 million inhabitants, being the 6th largest city by population within city limits in the European Union.  Vienna,  considered  the main politic, economic and cultural centre of Austria, is  the second-largest German-speaking city of the world, located in the eastern part of the country and close to the borders of Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. 

Linz is the third largest city of the country, in the north centre of Austria, approximately 30 kilometres south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The city has aproximately 204.846 inhabitants, and is very famous because of the Linzer torte, which is the oldest cake in the world, with its first recipe dating from 1653. 

Hallstatt is a small town in the district of Gmunden, about in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in Salzkammergut region, on the national road linking Salzburg and Graz. Hallstatt is known for its production of salt, dating back to prehistoric times, and gave its name to the Hallstatt culture, linked to Proto-Celtic and early Celtic people of the Early Iron Age in Europe.