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Quick answer
Article 2 of Austria's Federal Constitutional Law says the federal state is formed of nine autonomous Länder: Burgenland, Kärnten, Niederösterreich, Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg and Wien. The English translation published on the federal legal information system calls them provinces and names them Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Upper Austria, Vienna and Vorarlberg. Vienna is the federal capital and also a Land in its own right, with its city council doubling as the state parliament and its mayor as the state governor. Salzburg is two different things: the state (Land Salzburg) and the city within it (Stadt Salzburg), its capital. All nine state names are also protected EU wine names.
The nine Länder
Austria is a federal state made up of nine Länder. Article 2 of the Federal Constitutional Law (Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz) names them, in German alphabetical order: Burgenland, Kärnten, Niederösterreich, Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien. It also says that any change to the Länder ("the number of provinces", in the official English translation) needs constitutional provisions of the Länder too.[4][1]
The English translation of the constitution published on the federal legal information system (RIS) calls them "autonomous provinces" and lists them in English alphabetical order, which moves some of them around.[4] English usage outside that translation often says "federal states" or "states"; XTOUR uses "state" and gives the German name beside it.
| German (B-VG Art. 2) | English (RIS translation) |
|---|---|
| Burgenland | Burgenland |
| Kärnten | Carinthia |
| Niederösterreich | Lower Austria |
| Oberösterreich | Upper Austria |
| Salzburg | Salzburg |
| Steiermark | Styria |
| Tirol | Tyrol |
| Vorarlberg | Vorarlberg |
| Wien | Vienna |
The table pairs the two lists cited above.[4][1] Three names stay the same in English; six change, and "Lower" and "Upper" Austria translate the German "Nieder-" and "Ober-".
Vienna: a city that is also a state
Vienna is the federal capital: Article 5 makes it the seat of the highest federal bodies.[2] It is also one of the nine Länder, and Article 108 explains how one body runs both. For Vienna "as a Land", the municipal council also acts as the state parliament (Landtag), the city senate as the state government, and the mayor as the Landeshauptmann, the state governor.[4][3]
So "Wien" on an Austrian document can mean the city, the state or both. The EU register's wine name "Wien", for instance, covers the whole Bundesland of Wien.[14] XTOUR's Vienna destination is the city.
Salzburg: a state and its capital
Salzburg is different: the name belongs to a state and to a city inside it. Each runs its own portal and names itself accordingly, "Land Salzburg" for the state and "Stadt Salzburg" for the city.[5][6] The English translation of the constitution lists a Salzburg law on the civil servants of the "Provincial Capital Salzburg", Landeshauptstadt Salzburg, which is the city's title as the state's capital.[4]
XTOUR's Salzburg destination is the city. Places elsewhere in the state of Salzburg are not in the city, and XTOUR does not describe them as "in Salzburg" unless it means the state and says so.
Other state capitals use the same title. Graz's city portal calls it the "Landeshauptstadt Graz", a state capital, and another city page calls it the "steirische Landeshauptstadt", the capital of Steiermark (Styria).[8][7] XTOUR has not read the equivalent pages for the other state capitals and does not list them here.
Abbreviations on official pages
Austrian official pages often abbreviate the states. The Austrian Commission for UNESCO writes that the Semmering railway runs between Gloggnitz (NÖ, for Niederösterreich) and Mürzzuschlag (Stmk, for Steiermark).[9] Its pile-dwellings entry places sites in the Attersee and Mondsee (OÖ, Oberösterreich) and the Keutschacher See, written once as "Ktn" and once as "K" for Kärnten.[10]
Regions that are not states
Many names travellers meet are regions, not Länder. Neither the Wachau nor the Salzkammergut appears in Article 2.[1] The Commission's Wachau World Heritage zone is 15 municipalities from Melk to Krems, and its Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut zone runs from Hallstatt over the lake to the Dachstein, with Gosau and Obertraun.[12][11] XTOUR does not treat either as a destination.
State names on labels
The nine state names come back on wine labels. The EU register lists all nine as protected wine names (PDOs), and three wider wine PGIs group them: Weinland, Bergland and Steirerland.[13] Food names do the same: Tiroler Graukäse is a cheese of "the Austrian Bundesland of Tyrol (North Tyrol/East Tyrol)", in the words of its English register summary.[15] See Austrian wine regions explained and the Austrian food guide.
What XTOUR does not tell you
XTOUR gives no population, area or capital list for the states; it has not read official figures for them. It does not cover South Tyrol, which is not one of Austria's nine Länder. Its Austrian destinations, among them Vienna, Salzburg, Graz and Innsbruck, are on the Austria country page.
Sources & references
- [1]Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (ris.bka.gv.at), Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz Article 2, in German (translated by XTOUR): (1) Austria is a federal state; (2) the federal state is formed of the autonomous Länder Burgenland, Kärnten, Niederösterreich, Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien; (3) changes to the number of Länder also need constitutional laws of the Länder; last updated 15.09.2016. Read 2026-10-09
- [2]Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes, Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz Article 5, in German (translated by XTOUR): the federal capital and seat of the highest federal bodies is Wien. Read 2026-10-09
- [3]Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes, Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz Article 108, in German (translated by XTOUR): for the federal capital Wien as a Land, the municipal council also has the function of the Landtag, the city senate of the Land government, the mayor of the Landeshauptmann, the Magistrat of the office of the Land government and the Magistratsdirektor of the Landesamtsdirektor. Read 2026-10-09
- [4]Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes, bilingual English translation of the Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz ('Federal Constitutional Act'), PDF, translation updated to BGBl. I Nr. 89/2024: Article 2 'The federal state consists of the autonomous provinces of Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Upper Austria, Vienna and Vorarlberg'; Article 5 'The federal capital ... is Vienna'; Article 108 'For the federal capital Vienna, in its capacity as a province, the municipal council also serves as the provincial parliament ... the mayor also serves as the provincial governor'; a Salzburg law listed as concerning civil servants of the 'Provincial Capital Salzburg' (Landeshauptstadt Salzburg). Read 2026-10-09
- [5]Stadt Salzburg (stadt-salzburg.at), the city's own portal, in German: names itself 'Stadt Salzburg' throughout (e.g. 'Wohnservice der Stadt Salzburg', 'Der Podcast der Stadt Salzburg'). Read 2026-10-09
- [6]Land Salzburg (salzburg.gv.at), the state's own portal, in German: page title 'Land Salzburg Startseite - Land Salzburg'; uses 'Bundesland Salzburg' and refers to the state's districts and municipalities. Read 2026-10-09
- [7]Stadt Graz (graz.at), home page title 'Stadt Graz - Willkommen in Graz - Stadtportal der Landeshauptstadt Graz'. Read 2026-10-09
- [8]Stadt Graz (graz.at), walking-route page 'Unesco-Weltkulturerbe Schloss Eggenberg', in German: refers to 'der steirischen Landeshauptstadt Graz', the Styrian state capital Graz. Read 2026-10-09
- [9]Austrian Commission for UNESCO, 'Semmeringeisenbahn' World Heritage entry, in German: the section 'between Gloggnitz (NÖ) and Mürzzuschlag (Stmk)'. Read 2026-10-09
- [10]Austrian Commission for UNESCO, 'Prähistorische Pfahlbauten um die Alpen', in German: Austrian sites in the 'Keutschacher See (Ktn)' and 'Mondee (OÖ)', three in the 'Attersee (OÖ)'; facts box 'Keutschacher See (K)'. Read 2026-10-09
- [11]Austrian Commission for UNESCO, 'Kulturlandschaft Wachau', in German (translated by XTOUR): the World Heritage zone comprises 15 municipalities from Melk in the west to Krems in the east. Read 2026-10-09
- [12]Austrian Commission for UNESCO, 'Kulturlandschaft Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut', in German (translated by XTOUR): the core region, starting from Hallstatt, consists of Lake Hallstatt and the surrounding area up to the Dachstein massif, and the municipalities of Gosau and Obertraun. Read 2026-10-09
- [13]European Commission, eAmbrosia EU geographical-indications register, public API listing: registered Austrian wine PDOs include Burgenland, Kärnten, Niederösterreich, Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg and Wien; wine PGIs Weinland, Bergland and Steirerland. Read 2026-10-09
- [14]eAmbrosia register, technical file for the 'Wien' wine PDO (attachment 11499, Ares(2011)1305992), in German (translated by XTOUR): the designation covers the whole Bundesland of Wien. Read 2026-10-09
- [15]eAmbrosia register, English application summary for 'Tiroler Graukäse' PDO (attachment 62322): made only in 'the Austrian Bundesland of Tyrol (North Tyrol/East Tyrol)'. Read 2026-10-09
Frequently asked questions
Good to know
Is it Tirol or Tyrol?
Both refer to the same Austrian state. The German text of Article 2 of the Federal Constitutional Law names 'Tirol'; the English translation on the federal legal information system names it 'Tyrol'. Official English texts sometimes mix the two languages: the EU register's English summary for Tiroler Graukäse speaks of 'the Austrian Bundesland of Tyrol (North Tyrol/East Tyrol)', with the English spelling but the German word for a state.
Is the Wachau or the Salzkammergut a federal state?
No. Neither is among the nine Länder in Article 2 of the Federal Constitutional Law. The Austrian Commission for UNESCO describes the Wachau World Heritage zone as 15 municipalities from Melk to Krems, and its Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut zone as Hallstatt, Lake Hallstatt and the Dachstein with the municipalities of Gosau and Obertraun.