Salzburg (area 7154 sq. km, population 520,000) is a federal state or Bundesland of Austria, located adjacent to the German border. It is one of the country's smallest states in terms of population. The capital city is Salzburg.

Salzburg is comprised of five districts, known as Bezirke or vernacularly Gaue : Pinzgau (district capital in Zell am See ), Pongau (Sankt Johann im Pongau), Lungau (Tamsweg ), Tennengau (Hallein), Flachgau /Bezirk Salzburg und Umgebung (Salzburg and environs). The City of Salzburg is its own administrative district.

Liechtensteinklamm

Salzburg is home to one of the longest and deepest gorges of the Alps, Liechtensteinklamm . It is located near Sankt Johann im Pongau or St.Johann/Pg., a small town in the middle of the state.

History

Salzburg was an independent Archbishopric within the Holy Roman Empire (see Archbishopric of Salzburg) until the Imperial reorganization of 1801, when it was given as compensation to Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany, the brother of Emperor Francis II. Following the Austrian defeat at Austerlitz in 1805, Salzburg was annexed by Austria as compensation for the loss of Tyrol to Bavaria, and Ferdinand was transferred to Würzburg. After Austria's defeat in 1809, the province was handed over to Bavaria in 1810. In 1816, following the defeat of Napoleon and the provision of adequate compensation to Bavaria at the Congress of Vienna, it was returned to Austria, and has been an Austrian state ever since.

Ski resorts

Flachau , Wagrain , St Johann , Zell am See , Obertauern, Bad Gastein

External link

• Salzburg Travel Guide
• Official website for Land Salzburg
• Hotels and tourist information for Salzburg, Vienna, Austria