Austrian Proverbs

Sayings of Austrian origin

A lazy man is the devils handyman. ~ Austrian Proverb

A light is still a light -- even though the blind man cannot see it.

A marriage is a procession in which the cross goes first.

An educated woman finds few suitors.

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

Do not allow the Gypsies to lure you out behind the furnace.

First bake the strudel then sit down and ponder.

God gives the wheat, He doesn’t bake the bread.

History is constantly teaching, but it does not find many pupils.

If you owe 10,000 dollars, you are a customer of the bank. If you owe 100 million dollars, the bank is a customer of yours.

If you shoot your arrows at stones, you will damage them.

Imitate the sundial's ways, count only the pleasant days.

It is Austria's destiny to rule the world.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Old men and poodles are good for nothing.

Success has more than one father.

The cripple is always the one to open the dancing.

The earth does not shake when the flea coughs.

The hunt is like a dance for men, for women the dance is the hunt.

The most dangerous food is wedding cake.

The situation is hopeless, but not serious.

There are more chains than mad dogs.

There’s only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.

To be drunk every day is also a regular life.

What I do not know will not keep me warm.

When the Dogs dance in the forest Gypsies afoot.

The Republic of Austria

Austria is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2 (32,386 sq mi). The terrain is highly mountainous, lying within the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 m (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 m (12,461 ft). (Source)

Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million[1] (2.6 million within the metropolitan area, nearly one third of Austria's population), and its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union.

The majority of the population of Austria speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language.] Other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene.

"Land der Berge, Land am Strome" (Land of mountains, land by the river) is the title of the national anthem of Austria.

Lyrics

Land of mountains, land by the river,
Land of fields, land of cathedrals,
Land of hammers, with a promising future!
Home to great daughters and sons,
A nation highly blessed with beauty,
Much-praised Austria.



Strongly feuded for, fiercely hard-fought for,
You lie in the middle of the continent
Like a strong heart,
Since the early days of the ancestors thou hast
Borne the burden of a high mission,
Much-tried Austria.

Bravely towards the new ages
See us striding, free, and faithful,
Assiduous and full of hope,
Unified, let us in jolly choirs
Pledge allegiance to thee, Homeland
Much-beloved Austria.