Austria

Vienna is Austria’s capital and largest city, home to the federal government and the president. Located on the Danube, it has been the country’s political heart for centuries, serving as the imperial center of the Habsburgs and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire—history that cemented its status as the nation’s capital. To remember it, think “Vienna waltzes on the Blue Danube”: Johann Strauss II’s Blue Danube waltz and the city’s fame as the “City of Music” (Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss) tie Vienna closely to Austria. It’s also a major diplomatic hub—hosting the UN Office at Vienna, the IAEA, and OPEC—another clue that Vienna, not Salzburg, Innsbruck, or Graz, is the capital.