Styria
Styria (German: Steiermark) is a state or Stadt, located in the southeast of Austria. In area, it is the second largest of the nine Austrian states, covering 16,388 km². It borders Slovenia as well as the other Austrian states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland, and Carinthia. The population (as of 2006) was 1,203,986. The capital city is Graz.
Geography
The term "Upper Styria" (German: Obersteiermark) used by an Austrian
refers to the northern and northwestern parts of the federal state (districts
Liezen, Murau, Judenburg, Knittelfeld, Leoben, Bruck an der Mur and Mürzzuschlag).
The term "West Styria" (Weststeiermark) is used for the districts
to the west of Graz (Voitsberg, Deutschlandsberg, western part of the district
Leibnitz), the districts east of Graz (Weiz, Hartberg, Feldbach, Fürstenfeld
and Radkersburg) are referred to as "East Styria" (Oststeiermark).
The western and eastern parts of the district Graz-Umgebung may or may not be
considered parts of West and East Styria, respectively. The southern parts of
the Duchy of Styria, which have formed part of Slovenia since 1918, were (and
sometimes colloquially still are) referred to as "Lower Styria" (Untersteiermark).
Economy
Like everywhere in the developed world there has been a shift away from the
manufacturing sector towards the service sector in Styria. This has had negative
consequences for the industrial regions of upper Styria which have suffered
a steady decline in population in recent years. In 2004 Styria had the strongest
economic growth rate in Austria at 3.8% - mainly due to the Graz area which
saw strong economic growth that year and has continued to grow in economic and
population terms since then.
Administrative divisions
The state is divided into 16 districts (Bezirke), and a statutory city.
Statutory City
Graz
Districts
Bruck an der Mur
Deutschlandsberg
Feldbach
Fürstenfeld
Graz-Umgebung
Hartberg
Judenburg
Knittelfeld
Leibnitz
Leoben
Liezen with the subdistricts
Gröbming and Bad Aussee
Mürzzuschlag
Murau
Radkersburg
Voitsberg
Weiz
Notable persons
Frank Stronach (born 1932), founder of Magna International, billionaire
Jochen Rindt (1942–1970), Formula 1 World Champion
Dr. Helmut Marko (born 1943), former racing driver
Dietrich Mateschitz (born 1944), founder and CEO of Red Bull, billionaire
Klaus Maria Brandauer (born 1944), Austrian actor and director
Elfriede Jelinek (born 1946), Nobel Prize in Literature winner
Arnold Schwarzenegger (born 1947), Hollywood actor and Governor of California
Thomas Muster (born 1967), former World No. 1 tennis player
Ulla Weigerstorfer (born 1967), Miss Austria and Miss World 1987
Chrissi Klug (born 1989), Austrian singer
Michèle Luttenberger (born 1990), Austrian singer
