For a long period of the Middle Ages, much of what would become Upper Austria constitutedTraungau, a region of theDuchy of Bavaria. In the mid-13th century, it became known as the Principality above theEnns River (Fürstentum ob der Enns), this name being first recorded in 1264. (At the time, the term "Upper Austria" also includedTyrol and various scatteredHabsburg possessions in southern Germany.)
At the start of the 17th century, theCounter-Reformation was instituted under EmperorRudolf II and his successorMatthias. After a military campaign, the area was under the control ofBavaria for some years in the early 17th century.
In 1918 after the collapse ofAustria-Hungary, the nameOberösterreich was used to describe the province of the new Austria. After Austria was annexed byAdolf Hitler, theNazi dictator, who had been born in the Upper Austrian town ofBraunau am Inn and raised in Upper Austria, Upper Austria becameReichsgau Oberdonau, although this also included the southern part of the Sudetenland, annexed from Czechoslovakia, and a small part of Styria. In 1945, Upper Austria waspartitioned between the American zone to the south and the Soviet zone to the north.
As of January 1, 2021, 1,495,608 people resided in the state, of which 107,318 (7.17 percent) wereEuropean Union/European Economic Area/Switzerland/UK citizens and 96,623 (6.46 percent) were third-country nationals.[4]
The majority of Upper Austrians areChristian. In 2001, 79.4 percent of the people still belonged to theRoman Catholic church, about 4.4% were members of theEvangelicalLutheran Church, 4.0 percent wereMuslims, and 8.8 percent were of no confession.[5] By the end of 2020, the proportion of Catholics had fallen to 62 percent, while the corresponding proportion of Protestants was about 3.1 percent of the Upper Austrian population.[6]
In the last census in 2021, 73.4% of people were Christians, overwhelmingly Catholic, around 7.4% practiced Islam and 17.3% practiced no faith. By the end of 2022, the proportion of Catholics has decreased to 58.9%, and around 3% of the population were members of Austria’s nationalLutheran church. At the end of 2023, a good 800,000 of the 1.53 million inhabitants were Catholic and 43,847 or almost 3% were Protestant.
AfterWorld War II, Upper Austria received a millionrefugees. TheSoviet andAmerican armies occupied Upper Austria as hundreds of thousands of people fled from both sides of the land front.[7]
TheGross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 65.9 billion € in 2018, accounting for 17.1% of the Austria's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 39,500 € or 131% of the EU27 average in the same year.[9]
Linz Airport is only passenger airport in the state which provide direct routes to some European destinations. However, other airports such asMunich Airport,Salzburg Airport andVienna Airport are also used by air travellers from the state.
The Upper Austrian state constitution defines Upper Austria as an independent state of the democratic Republic of Austria. In its constitution, Upper Austria also declares its support for aunited Europe that is committed to democratic, constitutional, social and federal principles as well as the principle of subsidiarity, preserves the autonomy of the regions and ensures their participation in European decision-making. In its regional constitution, Upper Austria defines its position in Europe as an independent, future-oriented and self-confident region that participates in the further development of a united Europe.[10]
^Ronald W. Zweig; Thomas Albrich, eds. (2002).Escape Through Austria: Jewish Refugees and the Austrian Route to Palestine. Frank Cass. p. 15.ISBN9780714652139.
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