Quote:
Originally Posted by nei
Also, I wonder if Austria being a separate country has led it having noticeable cultural differences with southern Germany? Since southern Germany has been in the same country as the rest of Germany for almost 140 years (excluding the East German split) perhaps it led to some changes and more similarities with the rest of Germany. Also, South Tyrol looks like it's on the south side of the Alps but German speaking.
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Phew. Hard question to answer. Especially since Austria isn't really what I'd call homogenous. Each of the nine states/provinces (= former crown lands of Austria-Hungary) is quite distinctive. Something a tourist that's not speaking German and who's unaware of our history probably wouldn't notice, though.
In terms of dialect and overall culture the states of Upper Austria and Salzburg are probably most similar to the southern parts of Bavaria (southern Ober- and Niederbayern). Traditional food and dresses are pretty much the same, although northern Upper Austria is a bit influenced by Czech culture especially when it comes to cuisine.
The dialects of Salzburg and Upper Austria are still so distinctive, though, that I can clearly differentiate them from a dialect from Bavaria proper.
(Northern) Tyrol has a strong sense of regional identity, which is expressed in many distinct features: their accent (which is hard to understand), cuisine and life-style. Many ancient traditions were preserved in the mountain valleys, for example
"Perchtenläufe". An ancient pagan tradition. It's pretty similar to (if not the same as) South Tyrol, which broke away from Austria just after WW1. Classic mountain culture. A traditional dish of both North and South Tyrol is "Schlutzkrapfen". Basically ravioli with an Austrian twist
Vorarlberg, a tiny province in the very West of Austria is the only region in the country with an Alemannic population. This makes their accent barely understandable to the rest of the country. They don't really share any similarities with Bavaria, but are comparable to the south of Baden-Württhemberg, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
The eastern states of Austria (Lower Austria, Vienna and Burgenland) are influenced by our other neighbors, most importantly the Czech regions of Bohemia/Moravia and Hungary.
The Burgenland is Austria's most Eastern province and joined the Republic only in 1921. Before that, the Burgenland was under Hungarian administration and called "Western Hungary". "Lederhosen" are not traditionally worn there, it resembles the Hungarian plains rather than anything else you might find in Austria and they tend to drink wine instead of beer. Well... They drink both, but wine is somewhat more popular in the east than in the west.
The Burgenland still has a sizable and influential Hungarian and Croatian minority living there. Two out of 12 ministers of the 2008-2013 government had a Burgenland Croatian background, street signs are usually bilingual. Traditional eastern Austrian cuisine includes several Hungarian classics like "Gulasch" (hung. Pörkölt), "Paprikahendl" (hung. Paprikás Csirke) or "Debreziner" (hung. debreceni kolbász).
The southern states of Styria and Carinthia both have sizable Slovenian speaking communities and are naturally influenced by Slovenia. Carinthia is also south of the Alps, so the weather tends to be a bit better there. Popular destination for an Austrian family vacation.
Italian cuisine had some impact on Carinthian dishes. Noodles are pretty much a common staple there (e.g.
Kärtner Kasnudln.
Austrias most beloved sausage, the
Käsekrainer, is originally from the former Carinthian region of Krain (slow. Kranjska), which is now part of Slowenia.
Yeah... hope I could shed light on some differences and similarities.
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