About Austria

     Austria (German: Österreich) (Österreich (help·info)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich) (Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The capital city is Vienna.

    The German name Österreich can be translated into English as the "eastern realm", which is derived from the Old German Ostarrîchi. The name was Latinized as "Austria", although it has no etymological connection with the name of Australia (which derives from Latin Australis meaning The South). Reich can also mean "empire," and this connotation is the one that is understood in the context of the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire, Holy Roman Empire, although not in the context of the modern Republic of Österreich. The term probably originates in a vernacular translation of the Medieval Latin name for the region: Marchia orientalis, which translates as "eastern marches" or "eastern borderland", as it was situated at the eastern edge of the Holy Roman Empire, that was also mirrored in the name Ostmark, for a short period applied after Anschluss to Germany.

    The current official designation is the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich). It was originally known after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1918 as the Republic of German Austria (Republik Deutschösterreich), but the state was forced to change its name to "Republic of Austria" in 1919 by the peace Treaty of Saint-Germain. The name was changed again during the Austro-fascist regime (1934–1938), into Federal State of Austria (Bundesstaat Österreich), but restored after regaining independence and the birth of the Second Austrian Republic (1955–present).

About Mödling

     Mödling is the capital of the Austrian district of the same name located approximately 14 km south of Vienna.

     The settlement dates back to the Neolithic. In medieval times, the town was the residence of a branch of the Babenberger family, as a result of which it received the nickname Babenbergerstadt - i.e., 'Town of the Babenbergers'. Through the centuries, the name of the town evolved from Medilihha to Medelikch, Medling and, finally, Mödling. Today there is a quaint old town with a pedestrian area.

     Mödling lies in Niederösterreich's industrial zone. The Mödlingbach, a brook which rises in the Wienerwald, flows through the town. Near Achau it joins with the Schwechat. Woodland occupies a large part of the municipality, part of the Föhrenberge ('Pine Mountains').

     Located immediately south of Vienna, and within the boundaries of the district of Mödling, is one of the largest shopping centres in Europe: Shopping City Süd (SCS). It opened in 1976, and occupies an area of approximately 270,000 m². There are more than 330 shops, employing some 4500 staff.

     The SCS offers 10,000 parking spaces, and attracts customers not only from Austria, but also from various Eastern European countries, such as Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In 2004, the SCS had about 25 million customers.

     Grapes are grown on the slopes of the Wienerwald; the area is called 'Thermenregion', where one can find much 'Heurige' (new wine).

     Wiener Neudorf to the east, and Maria Enzersdorf to the west, merge directly into Mödling. South of Mödling is Gumpoldskirchen, separated by the 'Eichkogel', with a very special flora. In the west a narrow street runs through Vorderbrühl, formally a village in its own rights, and leads to Hinterbrühl. This narrow valley is called Klausen, above it the remains of the Mödling castle, once belonging to the Babenberger, the then ruling family. On the other side of the Klausen is the Kalenderberg, with the castle of Liechtenstein on its far side. The beginning of the Klausen is marked by the large red-brick aqueduct of the 'Erste Wiener Hochquellenwasserleitung'. The steep, rocky valley sides grow the typical 'Wienerwald Schwarzföhren'.

Museums :

• Museum Mödling
• Volkskundemuseum
• Stadtverkehrsmuseum
• Essinger-Haus (where a famous painter used to live)
• Beethoven-Gedenkstätte
• Schönberghaua