Geography of Austria (German "Bodensee") on the Austrian-Swiss-German border in the west to the Neusiedler See on the Austrian-Hungarian border in the east. The contrast between these two lakes – one in the Alps and the other a typical steppe lake on the westernmost fringe of the Hungarian Plain – illustrates the diversity of Austria's landscape. Seven of Austria's nine provinces have long historical traditions predating the establishment of the Republic of Austria in 1918: Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Salzburg, Tyrol, and Vorarlberg. The provinces of Burgenland and Vienna were established after World War I. Most of Burgenland had been part
Burgenland Croats the Croatian language was introduced as an official in 6 out of 7 districts of Burgenland. Newspapers of the Burgenland Croats are: "Crikveni glasnik" (Church Gazett), 1946; "Naše selo" (Our village), 1947; "Naš tjednik" (Our weekly), 1947; "Naša domovina" (Our homeland), 1952; "Glas" (Voice), 1957; "Novi glas" (New Voice), 1969; "Put" (Way), 1981). The beginnings of literacy are linked to: Klimpuški misal (Klimpuški Missal) (1501), S. Consul Histrianus and Anton Dalmatin's Postila (Fasting) (1568), Duševne pesne (Spiritual songs) (1609), and Grgur Mekinić Pythiraeus's Druge knjige duševnih pesan (Other books of the Spiritual songs) (1611). By the mid-19th century, Burgenland Croatian