Styria

This article is about a state in southeast Austria. For the region in Slovenia, see Styria (Slovenia). For other uses, see Styria (disambiguation).
Styria
Steiermark
State of Austria

Flag
Coat of arms
Country  Austria
Capital Graz
Government
 • Landeshauptmann Hermann Schützenhöfer (ÖVP)
Area
 • Total 16,401.04 km2 (6,332.48 sq mi)
Population (2016-01-01)
 • Total 1,231,865
 • Density 75/km2 (190/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code AT-6
NUTS Region AT2
Votes in Bundesrat 9 (of 62)
Website www.verwaltung.steiermark.at

Styria (German: Steiermark, German pronunciation: [ˈʃtaɪ.ɐmaʁk], Slovene/Croatian: Štajerska, Hungarian: Stájerország) is a state or Bundesland, located in the southeast of Austria. In area it is the second largest of the nine Austrian federated states, covering 16,401 km2 (6,332 sq mi). It borders Slovenia and the Austrian states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland, and Carinthia. The population (as of 2016-01-01) was 1,231,865. The capital city is Graz which had 276,526 inhabitants at the beginning of 2015.

Etymology

The March of Styria derived its name from the original seat of its ruling Otakar dynasty: Steyr, in today's Upper Austria. In German, the area is still called "Steiermark" while in English the Latin name "Styria" is used. The ancient link between Steyr and Styria is also apparent in their nearly identical coats of arms, a white Panther on a green background.

Geography

Grüner See

The term "Upper Styria" (German: Obersteiermark) used by an Austrian refers to the northern and northwestern parts of the federal-state (districts Liezen, Murau, Judenburg, Knittelfeld, Leoben, Bruck an der Mur, and Mürzzuschlag). The term "West Styria" (Weststeiermark) is used for the districts to the west of Graz (Voitsberg, Deutschlandsberg, western part of the district Leibnitz); the districts east of Graz (Weiz, Hartberg, Feldbach, Fürstenfeld, and Radkersburg) are referred to as "East Styria" (Oststeiermark). The western and eastern parts of the district Graz-Umgebung may or may not be considered parts of West and East Styria, respectively. The southern parts of the Duchy of Styria, which have formed part of Yugoslavia or Slovenia since 1918 (with the exception of World War II), were (and sometimes colloquially still are) referred to as "Lower Styria" (Untersteiermark; Slovene: Štajerska).

History

Graz, capital city of Styria
Historical view of the border between Styria and Carinthia, 1830
Main article: History of Styria

During early Roman times, Styria was inhabited by Celtic tribes. After its conquest by the Romans, the eastern part of what is now Styria was part of Pannonia, while the western one was included in Noricum. During the Barbarian invasions, it was conquered or crossed by the Visigoths, the Huns, the Ostrogoths, the Rugii, the Lombards, the Franks and the Avars. In 595 the latter were defeated by the Slavs, who thenceforth ruled it.

In 1180 Styria separated from the Duchy of Carinthia and became a Grand Duchy of its own; in 1192 it became part of Austria. After the hereditary subdivision of the latter, Styria formed the central part of Inner Austria. Styria developed culturally and economically under John, Archduke of Inner Austria between 1809 and 1859. In 1918, after World War I, it was divided into a northern section (forming what is the current Austrian state), and a southern one, called Lower Styria, inhabited mostly by ethnic Slovenians, and which was annexed to Yugoslavia, and later in Slovenia.

Economy

View over the vineyards of South-Styria

As elsewhere in the developed world, there has been a shift away from the manufacturing sector towards the service sector in Styria. This has had negative consequences for the industrial regions of upper Styria which have suffered a steady decline in population in recent years.

In 2004 Styria had the strongest economic growth rate in Austria at 3.8%—mainly due to the Graz area which saw strong economic growth that year and has continued to grow in economic and population terms since then.

Styria is home to more than 150 clean technology companies, of which one dozen are world technology leaders in their field. The revenue of Styrian cleantech companies totals €2.7 billion. This equals to 8 percent of the Gross Regional Product (GRP), and is one of the highest concentrations of leading clean technology companies in Europe. The companies have an average (real) growth rate of 22 percent per year—well above the worldwide cleantech market growth of 18 percent per year. The region created roughly 2,000 additional green jobs in 2008 alone.[1]

Administrative divisions

The state is divided into 13 districts (Bezirke), one of them a statutory city.

Statutory city

Other districts

Politics

An enshrined crucifix amidst cornfields near Mureck in rural Styria, attesting to enduring Catholic faith.

The state had been a stronghold of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) since 1945. Graz however is a stronghold of the left-wing Communist Party (KPÖ). The governor (Austrian political term: Landeshauptmann) has usually been an ÖVP member.

2005 elections

In the 2005 elections for state parliament the Social Democrats (SPÖ) under their regional chairman Franz Voves won the majority after the ÖVP had damaged its credibility through scandals and the secession of a high-ranking party member who took part in the 2005 elections after setting up his own party. In these elections, the KPÖ also received many votes after it had gained much popularity through its role in local politics in Graz during the preceding few years. The two right-wing populist parties, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ), failed to win seats.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lesser, Shawn. "Top 10 cleantech cluster organizations for 2010". Clean Tech Group. Retrieved 14 April 2011.

Coordinates: 47°15′N 15°10′E / 47.250°N 15.167°E / 47.250; 15.167

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