| | The Austrian Republic is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. Austria’s 32,377 square miles is home to 8 million people, including, but not limited to; Slovaks, Slovanians, Czechoslovackians, Croatians, and Romans. Austria’s terrain has a lot of mountains, namely the Alps. The country's official language is German, though other local official languages are Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene. Austria is part of the United Nations. 74% of Austria’s population is Roman Catholic, while 5% is of protestant faiths. [1] Austria’s nine states include Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Upper Austria, Vienna, & Vorarlberg. The federal capital of Austria is Vienna. The Austrian Federal Constitution was passed by the Constituent National Assembly on October 1, 1920. Said constitution states that all citizens of Austria are equal before the law. There are no distinctions of birth, gender, status, class or religion. Austria goes all the way back to the Roman Empire when a Celtic kingdom was taken over by the Romans in approximately 15 BC and became Noricum in the 1st century. In 788, King Charlemagne took over the area. In 1867, the Austrian Empire became Austria-Hungary, which collapsed at the end of WWI (1918). In 1919, the first Austrian empire was established, which was taken over by the Nazi soldiers in 1938. Nazi occupation in Austria lasted until the end of WWII (1945); When Austria’s former glory was restored. Austria was re-established as a sovereign-state in 1955. The Declaration of Neutrality was also signed that year.[2] Hitler, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marie Antoinette, Mozart, and Beethoven are from Austria. Hitler was the Dictator of Germany during WWII, and head of the Nazi party. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor of California, and today he is an actor in multiple Hollywood films. Marie Antoinette was the Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France in 1774. Mozart and Beethoven are both composers.[3] Austria’s government is a parliamentary representative democracy. In the federal states the State Governor exercises federal executive power, but is subject to directives from the Federal Government and individual Federal Ministers. The Cabinet is composed of the Federal Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, and the other Federal Ministers, and their most important job is to pass bills. The Federal Chancellery is responsible for coordinating general government policy, the public information activities of the Federal Government and the Federal constitution. The Federal Chancellery represents the Republic of Austria in the Constitutional Court, the Administrative Court, and international law courts. Moreover, it has responsibility for special matters such as women and equality, European policy, security policy, the civil service, bioethics, data protection, media affairs – excluding criminal media law – and matters pertaining to ethnic groups.The Federal President of Austria is Heinz Fischer. The Federal President of Austria is the Head of State elected by the Austrian people for a term of six years. He is the only representative of the entire country who is elected directly by the population. The Chancellor countersigns the federal acts executed by the President. If the President is unavailable, all his duties are assigned to the Chancellor for a period of up to 20 days. Werner Faymann is the Federal Chancellor, or the head of government. However, he does not have the authority to direct the other members of the Cabinet. The Chancellor and the other members of the Austrian Cabinet chosen upon the Chancellor's advice are appointed or removed from office by the Federal President of Austria. The Chancellor and the