Austria – History, Geography & Sport

Will have to try and take in the Waldviertel next time I head to this country. Ticking off all its Bundesländer is on my to do list.

Questions

Though it surrounds Vienna, Lower Austria has its capital at which other city? It can be found in the Mostviertel, one of the region’s four quarters that is known for its pear ciders.

ST. PÖLTEN

The Weinviertel makes up one of the four quarters of Lower Austria with the Mostviertel, Waldviertel and which other area that covers the region’s south-east? The city of Wiener Neustadt can be found here.

INDUSTRIEVIERTEL

Virunum was a city founded by Emperor Claudius that was situated in modern day Carinthia. It served as the capital of which Roman province that had Pannonia to its east, a region that contained the famous city of Vindobona?

NORICUM

Until his total of seven was matched by German Eric Frenzel in 2022, Austrian Felix Gottwald had the highest number of medals of any athlete in which Winter Olympics event? Though both have three golds, Frenzel edges ahead on the all-time table with two silvers to Gottwald’s one.

NORDIC COMBINED

Racking up their eighth consecutive title in 2023, the ÖFB Frauen team St. Pölten have taken over the mantle of dominating Austrian women’s football from which side who represent a small municipality in the same area? They won 12 titles in a row from 2003 to 2014.

(SV) NEULENGBACH

Becoming the first post-World War II Chancellor of Austria, Leopold Figl spent time imprisoned at Dachau and which other concentration camp that was situated around 20km east of Linz? A musical cycle by “Zorba the Greek” composer Mikis Theodorakis based on the poems of survivor Iakovos Kambanellis is named for it.

MAUTHAUSEN

Found on the Danube between Vienna and Bratislava, which Roman ‘castrum’ became the capital of the province Pannonia Superior when Pannonia was divided in 103 AD? Guido von List, an Austrian who took an interest in the stranger things and promoted Wotanism, wrote a novel by this name in the late 19th century.

CARNUNTUM

Issued so that his daughter Maria Theresa could take over after his death, the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 was issued by which Habsburg ruler of the Holy Roman Empire who had no male heirs at the time?

CHARLES VI / KARL VI

Easy to confuse with an ethnic group based elsewhere, what name was given to a Khaganate that was established in 567 focused on the Pannonian Basin that was the target of a campaign by Charlemagne’s son Pepin of Italy in 796? At its westernmost extent in incorporated territory that included the area around Vienna.

AVAR KHAGANATE

The Margraviate of Austria was given to Leopold I in 976, a member of which house whose shield had a horizontal tricolour of red, white and red, the origin of the colours for the Austrian flag?

BABENBERG

Austria

While list learning Austrian Chancellors seemed a good idea at the time, devoid of any flavour and context it was a tragic and dull waste of time. Maybe it will be better now, after all you don’t find many examples of heads of state kissing the ground at airports.

Questions

A heavily populated area considered to be hip and having lots of shopping opportunities, which 7th district of Vienna contains the Museumsquartier?

NEUBAU

In which 19th district of Vienna did Joseph Lanner die, a contemporary composer of Johann Strauss I, father of the ‘Waltz King’? It also contains the most famous of the Gemeindebauden, Karl-Marx-Hof and borders the Vienna Woods.

DÖBLING

Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl is associated with developing which technique? One of its three main techniques is paradoxical intention, trying to get clients to speak about what they most fear by focusing on Kierkegaard’s ‘will to meaning’, i.e. trying to find purpose in a meaningless world.

LOGOTHERAPY

What is the four-word title of Viktor Frankl’s most famous book? This 1946 work chronicles his experience as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps and how he tried to find positive outcomes despite that.

MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING

Which song that is one of two unofficial hymns to South Tyrol includes the Ortler mountain in its lyrics? “Wo König Ortler seine Stern hoch in die Lüfte reckt…”

BOZNER BERGSTEIGERLIED / BOZEN MOUNTAINEER SONG

The most decorated of Austria’s many alpine skiing Olympians, which male won Downhill gold in 2014 and Super G gold in both 2018 and 2022? Retiring less than a year later, he is the son of a 1988 Super G silver medallist.

MATTHIAS MAYER (His father is Helmut)

Which male Austrian luger won a surprise 2018 gold when German Felix Loch made a mistake on the last bend to drop out of the medals? Prior to this he had not managed a single World Cup podium.

DAVID GLEIRSCHER

Which female became the first person to win a snowboarding gold for Austria in the 2014 parallel slalom? She was present at the Kaprun Funicular Disaster of 2000, when they decided to take the chairlift because the train had a long queue.

JULIA DUJMOVITS

Later marrying an Austrian snowboarder, which female won 2014 gold in the Super G? She also won the World Cup in 2014 and 2015 and was beaten into silver by Czech Ester Ledecká when she defended her title in 2018.

ANNA FENNINGER / ANNA VEITH

A specialist in the slalom, which alliterative Austrian male won Olympic gold in that event in 2014 to add to two individual World Championship victories, the first going as far back as 2001?

MARIO MATT

I’m unsure whether they are a fan of cranberries, but which brothers won gold in the luge doubles in both 2006 and 2010, failing to win a third straight gold when they were beaten by two Germans with the first name Tobias?

LINGER (ANDREAS & WOLFGANG)

A second cousin of ‘Herminator’ Maier, who scored Austria’s only individual gold in the 2010 Winter Olympics, competing in the women’s Super G?

ANDREA FISCHBACHER

Formerly a judge and only Chancellor for six months in a Sebastian Kurz sandwich during 2019, who is to date the only female Austrian Chancellor?

BRIGITTE BIERLEIN

A short time after becoming Vice-Chancellor following the Ibiza Affair that implicated Heinz-Christian Strache, who was sworn in as acting Austrian Chancellor after Sebastian Kurz was removed in 2019 following Austria’s first successful vote of no confidence? He left the post less than a week later.

HARTWIG LÖGER

Previously a business journalist, who was Austrian Chancellor prior to Sebastian Kurz from 2016 to 2017?

CHRISTIAN KERN

A winner of the Rosa Handtaschl, a prize that is given out to public figures that show outstanding displays of sexism, who was Austrian Chancellor for 8 days in 2016?

REINHOLD MITTERLEHNER

Before the recent glut of short-term Austrian Chancellors, who managed to have a decent period in charge from 2008 to 2016? Following his resignation he was made UN Special Envoy for Youth Unemployment by Ban Ki-moon.

WERNER FAYMANN

Once kneeling on the tarmac of Domodedovo airport and kissing it in mockery of John Paul II, who was only briefly Austrian Chancellor from 2007 to 2008?

ALFRED GUSENBAUER

Controversially forming a coalition with Jörg Haider’s Freedom Party, who was Austrian Chancellor from 2000 to 2007?

WOLFGANG SCHÜSSEL

Later taking up a senior management position with Volkswagen in Argentina and also retiring to run a cattle farm in that country, who was Austrian Chancellor from 1997 to 2000?

VIKTOR KLIMA

Years after leaving office he donated one of his kidneys to his wife. Who was Austrian Chancellor from 1986 to 1997?

FRANZ VRANITZKY

Resigning from office after Kurt Waldheim was elected president, who was Austrian Chancellor from 1983 to 1986? After Waldheim said he was never a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA) but joined them for riding occasionally, this person pointed out that they might not have been, but their horse was!

FRED SINOWATZ

A socialist who was a contemporary of Willy Brandt and Olof Palme, who was the longest serving Austrian Chancellor from 1970 to 1983?

BRUNO KREISKY

Serving the Wehrmacht in World War II before being captured and held in a POW camp, which former State Governor of Salzburg was Austrian Chancellor from 1964 to 1970?

JOSEF KLAUS

Held as a political prisoner at Dachau, which Austrian Chancellor from 1961 to 1964 sounds like he’s a little bit short of a different famous politician?

ALFONS GORBACH

Sharing his surname with a UK politican, which member of Engelbert Dollfuss’ coalition was Austrian Chancellor from 1953 to 1961?

JULIUS RAAB

A case has been opened for the beatification of which Austrian Chancellor from 1945 to 1953, who spent time in both Dachau and Mauthausen concentration camps?

LEOPOLD FIGL

Known as the ‘father of the republic’ because he was Chancellor of German-Austria from 1918 to 1919, who was also the first post-World War II Austrian Chancellor, only in the role during 1945? He shares his surname with an American actor.

KARL RENNER

The first patent being taken out in 1912 though it would take another decade until it became commercially viable, with what invention is Viktor Kaplan most associated?

(KAPLAN) WATER TURBINE

Named for a banker and art patron, Gustav Peichl designed an extension to which art museum in Frankfurt, one of the most important German collections?

STÄDEL

Which river gives its name to a 1246 battle that was a Pyrrhic victory for Austria as Duke Frederick II died during it? This river remained the borderline between Austria and Hungary until 1918.

LEITHA

The 1246 Battle of the Leitha River marked the end of what ruling house in Austria, thanks to the death of Duke Frederick II?

BABENBERG

Which 1278 battle marked the ascendancy of the Habsburgs in Austria and Central Europe? The influence of the Premyslid kings of Bohemia was diminished and restricted to their inheritance of Bohemia and Moravia.

MARCHFELD

Born to Russian and Estonian parents who were refugees from Stalinism, which president of Austria since 2017 has seen six Chancellors during their period in the role, including Brigitte Bierlein and Sebastian Kurz twice?

ALEXANDER VAN DER BELLEN

Married to Katharina, daughter of Peter Nidetzky, the moderator of real-life crime solving TV show “Aktenzeichen XY … ungelöst”, who became the first Catholic Austrian Chancellor since 1970 when he was appointed in 2021?

KARL NEHAMMER