Austrian Geography: Landscapes, Regions and the Alpine Setting
Austria is landlocked in Central Europe, bordered by eight states: Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Its area is about 83,900 km² and its population roughly nine million. The Alps cover about two-thirds of the country; the Eastern Alps dominate the west and centre, while the Pannonian basin and Vienna basin lie in the east. The Danube flows through Austria from west to east for roughly 350 km, passing Linz and Vienna, and is the country's main waterway.
Key physical facts: the highest peak is Grossglockner (3,798 m) in the Hohe Tauern; the longest river within Austria is the Danube; the largest lake is Lake Neusiedl (Neusiedler See) in Burgenland, shared with Hungary, while Lake Constance (Bodensee) borders Germany and Switzerland. Major cities: Vienna (capital), Graz (Styria), Linz (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Innsbruck (Tyrol), Klagenfurt (Carinthia), Bregenz (Vorarlberg), Eisenstadt (Burgenland) and Sankt Pölten (Lower Austria).
Traps: confusing the highest mountain (Grossglockner) with the highest mountain outside the Alps or with the Wildspitze; mixing up which lakes are shared; and forgetting that Austria has no coastline. Another frequent error is placing Salzburg in Upper Austria - it is its own state.
Rule of thumb: west = high Alps and small states; east = lowlands, the Danube and Vienna. Pair each capital with its state to avoid mix-ups.
Worked example: "Which Austrian state capital lies on the Danube?" Linz and Vienna both do; Sankt Pölten lies near it but not on it - so the safest answer names Linz and Vienna.