AUSTRIA, UPPER, or "Austria above the river Enns," formerly a province of Austria and now the Oberdonau Gau of Greater Germany, is situated in the north-west of the country, and divided by the Danube into two unequal parts. The smaller north ern part is a portion of the S. flank of the Bohemian massif, a granite plateau sloping gently south-east from a height varying between 4,500ft. and 3,5ooft. to a steep scarp overlooking the Danube. As its soil is thin and the climate raw and wet, forests and rough pasture prevail, though in the sheltered valleys and depressions hardy cereals, potatoes and flax are successfully grown. Communication is poor and only one important railway crosses the plateau, that from Linz through the Kerschbaum Gate to Budejovice. The southern part belongs to the Eastern Alps and falls naturally into two divisions, the Alpine Foreland and the limestone and Flysch zones forming the Outer Alps (see AUSTRIA). The former is a richly-cultivated region of arable slopes and pastoral valley floors to which Upper Austria owes much of its high agricultural reputation ; of the productive sur face, i.e., 95% of the total area, 46.5% is arable, garden and vineyard, 35.2% is forest, 14.5% meadowland and 3.8% rough pasture. It is a land of long tradition in which prehistoric and Roman remains are scattered amongst large and imposing prosperous towns and stately monasteries, and it contributes heavily to Austrian resources through its large cereal production, extensive orchards and advanced cattle-breeding. Between the fertile valleys of the Inn and Traun lies the Hausruck range with rich beds of lignite, which are associated with the small iron and textile manufactures of Linz and Steyr (q.v.). milling, distilling (Linz) and leather factories (Wels), are impor tant and handle all the local produce. The Outer Alps offer few opportunities to agriculture and settlement, but the magnificent scenery of the western lakeland of Salzkammergut (q.v.) and the numerous thermal springs, e.g., at Ischl, attract a large tourist population. Further, their wealth of salt, timber and water has originated chemical, paper and small iron industries in the Traun and Enns valleys.
Population is most dense upon the Foreland where evenly-distributed market towns along the streams are the rule. These local centres, however, are dwarfed by Linz, Steyr and Wels, each largely the product of its situation. Linz, which with its industrial suburb of Kleinmiinchen has a population of 108,854, is the third largest town of Austria and capital of the province. Situated where the old Bohemian "Salt" road crossed the Danube, it has developed extensive trading interests and im portant river activities. Wels (16,40o), another nodal point, is the recognized market for the cattle and cereals of the Foreland, while Steyr (22,111), situated at the junction of Foreland and Alps, is the natural centre of gravitation for the trade of the whole of the south-eastern highlands. A secondary group of small towns, e.g., Gmunden (7,800), Ischl (10,200) and Ebensee (8,500), thrives upon the exploitation of salt, water-power and scenery in the lakeland district, but the true heart of Upper Austria is that great thoroughfare of peoples and ideas—the Foreland and its waterway the Danube, towards which the life and interests of the province converge, and by which a large pro portion of its heavy exports of salt, stone, timber, iron and paper finds outlet.