Austria

The Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich) is a landlocked country in central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The capital is the city of Vienna.

Origin and history of the name

The German name Österreich can be translated into English as the "eastern realm", which is derived from the Old German Ostarrîchi. "Reich" can also mean "empire," and this connotation is the one that is understood in the context of the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire, German Empire, "Third Reich," or Holy Roman Empire, although not in the context of the modern Republic of "Österreich." The term probably originates in a vernacular translation of the Medieval Latin name for the region: Marchia orientalis, which translates as "eastern border," as it was situated at the eastern edge of the Holy Roman Empire, that was also mirrored in the name Ostmark applied after Anschluss to the Third Reich.

Related Topics:
German - English - Old German - Ostarrîchi - Vernacular - Medieval Latin - Holy Roman Empire - Ostmark - Anschluss - Third Reich

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~