Embassy/Consulate Addresses | Foreign Relations | Travel Advisories | Travel Tips | Customs/Duties



EMBASSY/CONSULATE ADDRESSES

Diplomatic Representation in the US:
Ambassador: Christian Prosl
Chancery: 3524 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
Tel: 202-895-6700
Fax: 202-895-6750
Consulates General are in:

Los Angeles
11859 Wilshire Bl., Suite 501,
Los Angeles, CA 90025.
(310) 444-9310 , FAX (310) 477-9897

Chicago
400 N. Michigan Av., Suite 707,
Chicago, IL 60611.
(312) 222-1515 , FAX (312) 222-4113

New York
31 E. 69th St.,
New York, NY 10021.
(212) 737-6400 , FAX (212) 772-8926

US Diplomatic Representation:
Ambassador--William C. Eacho, III
Embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090 Vienna
Telephone: 43-1-31339

The U.S. Consulate General in Salzburg is located at
51 Giselakai, 5020 Salzburg
Telephone: (43) (662) 28-6-01

Embassy and Consulate Web Sites for Austria
Embassy of the United States in Vienna Austria
Austrian Press and Information Service in Washington,United States of America


FOREIGN RELATIONS

U.S.-AUSTRIA RELATIONS

Austria is a free and stable democracy with a social market economy. As the inheritor of the Habsburg monarchy's historic links to eastern and southeastern Europe, Austria sees a role for itself in helping countries in these regions integrate successfully into an enlarged European Union. The United States and Austria share many common values and common perspectives, including a commitment to reducing the threats posed by climate change and nuclear proliferation, a support for human rights and the rule of law, and a shared vision of peace and freedom for all. The two countries are bound together through myriad people-to-people contacts in business, the arts, scholarship, recreation, and a host of other exchanges.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire recognized the United States in 1797, when we established consular relations with a Consul in Trieste, then part of the Austrian empire. Diplomatic relations were established with the naming of Henry A. Muhlenberg as first American Minister to Vienna in 1838. Relations were generally good until World War I (1914-18) and the United States’ declaration of war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1917. Friendly diplomatic relations with the new Republic of Austria were established in 1921 and lasted until Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938. After World War II (1939-45), the four allied powers (the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union) divided Austria and Vienna into four occupation zones, with an Allied Council for Austria assuming authority over matters affecting the whole country. In 1955, these four powers and the Republic of Austria signed the Austrian State Treaty, which ended the occupation and declared Austria to be a free, independent, and neutral state. The U.S. played an essential role in the country's reconstruction and in the Austrian State Treaty. Since the post-World War II period, the United States and Austria have enjoyed strong relations.

Austria and the United States are partners in promoting global security and prosperity. During the immediate postwar period, Austrian authorities introduced certain restitution and compensation measures for Nazi victims, but many of these initial measures were later seen as inadequate and/or unjust. Since 1994, Austria has committed to providing victims and heirs some $1 billion in restitution.

U.S. Assistance to Austria

The United States provides no foreign assistance to Austria.

Bilateral Economic Relations

Austria is a member country of the European Union and World Trade Organization, offering export opportunities for U.S. companies of all sizes, with no significant trade barriers. The country represents a desirable, affluent market for U.S.-made products in Europe. Recent Austrian governments have sought to encourage Austria's reputation as an attractive regional headquarters location through economic reforms and by highlighting Austria's historical and economic ties to the surrounding region.

Austria's Membership in International Organizations

Austrian leaders emphasize the country's role as both an East-West hub and a moderator between industrialized and developing countries. Austria hosts the International Atomic Energy Agency and several other UN bodies, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Austria and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, OSCE, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization. Austria also is an observer to the Organization of American States. Austria currently serves in the UN Human Rights Council and is on the Executive Board of UNESCO.

Bilateral Representation

The U.S. Ambassador to Austria is William C. Eacho III; other principal embassy officials are listed in the Department's Key Officers List.

Austria maintains an embassy in the United States at 3524 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-895-6700). It also maintains Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York and additional trade promotion offices in Atlanta and Chicago.

More information about Austria is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:

Department of State Austria Country Page
Department of State Key Officers List
CIA World Factbook Austria Page
U.S. Embassy: Austria
History of U.S. Relations With Austria
Human Rights Reports
International Religious Freedom Reports
Trafficking in Persons Reports
Narcotics Control Reports
Investment Climate Statements
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics
Export.gov International Offices Page
Library of Congress Country Studies
Travel and Business Information




TRAVEL ADVISORIES

To obtain the latest Travel Advisory Information for Austria check the U.S. State Department Consular Information Sheet


TRAVEL TIPS

Driving U.S Driving Permit and International Driving Permit required
Currency (EUR) Euro
Electrical 230 Volts
Telephones Country Code 43, City Code, Wien 1+3/12D, Graz 316+3/10D, Innsbruck 512+3/10D



Climate and clothing:
Vienna's climate is similar to that of the northeastern US; clothing needs and tastes are about the same. Wear sweaters and light woolens during possible cool spells in summer.

Health:
Local pharmacies are well stocked, and hospitals are adequate. The US embassy can provide a list of English-speaking physicians and dentists in Vienna. Community health and sanitation are similar to that in the United States; the Viennese are proud of their city's water, piped in from mountain springs.

Telecommunications:
Telegraph and telephone services are efficient. Vienna is 6 hours ahead of eastern standard time.

Transportation:
Public transportation in Vienna and other cities via bus, streetcar, and subway is good. Taxis are available 24 hours a day at stands throughout Vienna. Roads are good, though occasionally steep on alpine passes. Highways connect Vienna with Graz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, and the German border. The Austrian State Railway provides service throughout the country and connections to Eastern and Western Europe.

Tourist attractions:
Austria has a number of widely differing tourist areas: Vienna and Salzburg; the lake and mountain district of the Salzkammergut; the Danube Valley, known for its vineyards, castles, and monasteries; Burgenland, the easternmost province, centering on the Lake Neusiedler Lake; Carinthia and the Alpine Provinces, for hunting, fishing, and skiing.


CUSTOMS/DUTIES

Gifts/souvenirs...no duty free allowance

Cameras.....1 video or 1 still plus reasonable film

Agriculture items.....refer to consulate

Currency....no restrictions

Travelers over 17 years of age arriving with duty-free goods:

Tobacco....200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco

Liquer....2 litres of wine or 2 litres of champagne or fortified wine or spirits up to 22%; 1 litre of spirits

Perfume....1 bottle of eau de cologne (up to 250ml); 60ml of perfume

Other goods....up to asch300 (asch 1000 for austrian residents)

Tavelers arriving from eu countries with duty-paid goods

Tobacco.....800 cigarettes or 400 cigarillos or 200 cigars or 1000 grams of tobacco

Liquor......90 litres of wine (including 60 litres of sparkling wine); 10 litres of spirits; 20 litres of intermediate products (such as fortified wine); 110 litres of beer



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