Niederösterreich - Facts und Figures

Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) is often described as the 'province around Vienna' because, from a geographical point of view, Vienna, which is Austria's capital and at the same time a separate federal province, is located in the centre of Niederösterreich - similar to the situation of Berlin and Brandenburg in Germany. Vienna had also been for a long time the seat of the provincial government of Niederösterreich and it was not until 1986 that St Pölten was chosen as its provincial capital. In 1997, the provincial government, provincial administration and provincial parliament, followed by other important institutions were transferred to St Pölten.

Niederösterreich has the largest area and the second largest population (after Vienna) of the nine federal provinces in Austria. Niederösterreich is bordered to the north by the Czech Republic and to the east by Slovakia, where the river system of Thaya and March marks the frontier line. In the south, the foothills of the Eastern Alps form a natural boundary with Steiermark. In the south-east, Niederösterreich borders the Burgenland and this is where the province also has a share in the Pannonian Plateau, which then stretches into Hungary which is a scant 4 km away.

The Danube plays a very prominent role in both topographical and historical terms. This river, which was once the northern boundary of the Roman Empire, is the lifeline of the region and divides Niederösterreich into a northern part with the Wald- and Weinviertel and a southern part with the Most- and Industrieviertel.The Danube has been of great importance since historical times as a transport artery, and today it forms part of the Rhine-Main-Danube canal, linking the Atlantic to the Black Sea.

Niederösterreich is of crucial importance in the history of Austria, for it is in connection with the Niederösterreich town of Neuhofen/Ybbs that we found the first recorded mention of the name Austria as 'Ostarrichi' (Österreich), over one thousand years ago.

However, Niederösterreich is not only the historical heart of Austria with countless cultural points of interest, it is also important from the economic point of view, for this province is generating the bulk of Austria's agricultural products as well as featuring a highly developed industrial sector. In addition, the region has major sources of raw materials as well as extensive leisure facilities which offer good tourist connections.

The name 'Niederösterreich = Lower Austria requires an explanation, for it sometimes gives rise to incorrect associations. The prefix 'Nieder = Lower' has nothing to do with being flat or low, in fact it refers to the position of this province with regard to the river Enns, whose lower course forms the boundary between the provinces of Oberösterreich and Niederösterreich. Viewed from Bavaria to the east, this German province was very important to the development of modern-day Austria in the early Middle Ages, Niederösterreich lies 'below' the Enns. So the name Niederösterreich derives etymologically from this fact: it refers to the land "below" the Enns - as opposed to the region "above" the Enns, which accordingly is known today as "Oberösterreich = Upper Austria".