Richard Rickett Bücher

Few countries can look back on such a rich, varied and colorful history as Austria. Situated at the very heart of Europe, Austria has been from time immemorial the meeting-place of East and West. Her sphere of interest extended from Spain to Russia and from Italy to the Netherlands. Vienna was not only the residence of the Holy Roman Emperors, and later the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but it was also a European metropolis. Out of the ashes of 1945 Austria has again risen to be the meeting-place between East and West, politically as well as culturally. Austria's cultural contribution is second to none, notably Baroque architecture and in music the great classical tradition represented by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and Bruckner. - Back cover.