Upper Austria is one of the 9 regional states in Austria, located in the northern part of the country, between Munich and Vienna, Prague and Salzburg. The region offers a highly-developed cultural life and urban infrastructure as well as a long history and breathtaking natural scenery. Characterized by its diversity, Upper Austria contains the best which Austria has to offer: crystal-clear lakes, the rugged mountains of the Alps, thermal springs and untouched forests.

Historical highlights such as the oldest salt mine in the world in the UNESCO world heritage region of Hallstatt stand alongside ultra-modern attractions such as the Ars Electronica Center, the world-renowned museum of the future in Linz. The Lentos Museum of Modern Art, also located on the Danube, is another key destination for visitors to Linz, cultural capital of Europe in 2009. The imperial spa resort of Bad Ischl, once the summertime retreat of the Habsburg emperors and the picture-perfect backdrop of Gmunden on the Traunsee lake with its lakeside castle of Orth are world-famous treasures of the Salzkammergut region. With the romantic city of Steyr, which is over a thousand years old, and the city of Wels, which has Celtic origins and today is an internationally-known location for trade fairs, the region is a stage for modern culture and exciting events. Hagenberg is an idyllic town in the hilly landscape of the Mühlviertel. The picturesque setting of the Hagenberg Castle combined with the most modern technology of the Softwarepark gives the town its unique flair.

Upper Austria also has a great variety of food and drink to offer: the speciality dishes and independently brewed beer make Upper Austria truly a tasty place to live and study!