UPDATE: The giveaway has ended and the winners have been announced here:
http://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_great_nations_gog_giveaway_4_austrian_edition/post66


The Great Nations GOG Giveaway #4 - Austrian Edition.

Welcome to the fourth Great Nations Giveaway! Each Great Nations Giveaway will give you an option of 3 games that originated from the featured country (when possible). A winner will be selected randomly and gifted their chosen game when the giveaway ends. I may also feature counties that do not have games here on GOG. In these cases the giveaway will either use games that support that country's language or with a $5.99/$9.99 prize in place of the three native games. The featured country for this fortnight's giveaway is Austria.

As well as offering a giveaway, I also wanted to highlight some wonderful and interesting facts about the chosen country, both past and present. Everyone who wishes to enter the giveaway is required to post an interesting fact about the chosen country (in this case Austria). It can be a place, a landmark, a person, an author, an historical even, anything at all that is interesting or entertaining. You cannot just include a picture as your fact, you would have to accompany the picture with a description for it to count as a valid entry, so no posting just an image by itself.

The only condition to this is that it must not be something derogatory or that puts the country in a bad light. Every country has it's unsavoury elements and history, but that's not what I want to highlight here. I want to highlight that country's high points, its culture, heritage, and history. Even if you are not entering the giveaway for the prizes, you are more than welcome to add an interesting fact.

Unfortunately there seems to be only 1 game on GOG that originated from Austria (I think), so this edition will feature the one Austrian game and two games that support German as a second language. Austria used to have more games on GOG, but it seems some were part of the games recently removed from GOG :-(.

The winner will get the choice of any 1 of these 4 options as their prize:
1. <span class="bold">Schein.</span> - The only Austrian made game on GOG (I think)!
2. <span class="bold">Moto Racer.</span> - Supports German language.
3. <span class="bold">Realms of Arkania 1+2.</span> - Supports German language.
4. Any $5.99 GOG game - I know that the games above may not be to everyone's liking, so I will include this option as well.

UPDATE: The wonderful Ragnarblackmane has kindly offered an additional prize for the giveaway. The prize is Truck Simulator 2 on Steam. If you would like to be in for this prize, then just say so in your post. Please be sure to give him a +1 here for his generosity.

The Rules:
1. Say if you are in or not and which prize you would like.
2. Open to anyone who joined before October 2014 and has a rep of at least 25.
3. You can enter for yourself or another person (maximum of 2 entries per person).
4. You must include an interesting fact about Austria.
5. Interesting and detailed posts may get an additional bonus entry.
6. The giveaway will end on Sunday 30th November at 12:00 GMT.
7. The winner will be chosen randomly by a paper raffle.
8. Those who choose the featured games will get an extra chance of winning. (see below)
9. Optional: Select a country from the list below to be featured on the next giveaway. (see below)

N.B.
Rule 7 explained: For supporting a game created by, or supporting, the featured country, you will get an extra chance of winning (2 entries for your chosen game instead of just 1).

Rule 8 explained: Select a country from the list of 10 random countries below. The country with the most votes will be featured in the next giveaway, along with games from that country (if applicable). This rule is completely optional.

Country to be featured in the next Great Nations Giveaway:
Australia, Canada, China, Finland, India, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovakia, Ukraine or USA

Previously featured nations: Poland, Italy and Switzerland.

Not in but +1! gl to all entrants!

My goodness, ddickinson, another giveaway? I'm going to have to be in for this one, as Schein is on my wishlist and is just crying out to be played XD

You asked for an interesting fact, but I found a bunch, and they really are interesting, so you get most of them. ;D

Courtesy of Eupedia.com:

- The world's largest emerald (2860 carat) is displayed in the Imperial Treasury of the Hofburg (Imperial Palace) in Vienna.

- Schönbrunn Palace, the summer palace of the Habsburgs, has no less than 1,440 rooms.

- The sewing machine was invented in 1818 by Josef Madersperger, an Austrian.

- The oldest zoological garden in the world is the Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna, founded in 1752.

- Vienna's Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof) has over 2.5 million tombs (more than the city's live population), including those of Beethoven, Brahms, Gluck, Schubert, Schoenberg and Strauss.

- Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Hollywood actor and current governor of California, grew up as an Austrian citizen.

- The father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, was Austrian.

- Many prominent members of the Rothschild family of bankers and investors were Austrian citizens.

- The founder of the German sports car company 'Porsche' was the Austrian Ferdinand Porsche. He also designed the Volkswagen (the "people's car").

- As of late 2012, 19 Austrians had been awarded a Nobel Prize, including seven in Physiology or Medicine, four in Chemistry and three in Physics. This is one of the highest number of Nobel laureates per capita, just after Luxembourg, Scandinavian countries and Switzerland. The Austrian novelist and radical pacifist Bertha von Suttner was the first woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, in 1905.

- The Austrian celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, who owns over 70 restaurants in the USA, is the second top-earning chef in the world, with revenues of $16 million a year according to Forbes magazine. Another Austrian, Eckart Witzigmann is one of only four chefs to be named chef of the century by the Gault Millau guide.

EDIT: Since ZFR is so kindly in for me (thank you!) I'll be in for his (or her) choice of Ireland for the next GN GA! :D

In for genkicolleen.

Interesting fact? I'll add one more famous person to the above list

https://31.media.tumblr.com/bb98b3c87805d71bca258bb04a6be42c/tumblr_inline_mudpscrtkS1rkwzpw.jpg

EDIT:
Oh I see Ireland is in the list for the next one. Why not, I'll give it my vote.

Oh, one of ddickinson's Great Nations GAs, sweet!! Cheers ddickinson, +1.

I personally have almost zero experience regarding Austria, except for that delicious Schnitzel with a slice of orange I had as a child when we went on a one-afternoon family trip there.

But here are some interesting facts I know about Austria:

- Physicist Christian Doppler is most famous for his discovery of the “Doppler effect”, and Doppler radar that most meteorologists use today worldwide relies on it.

- Actor Christoph Waltz who has won two Academy Awards for Best-Supporting Actor Award for his roles as the sadistic SS Standartenfürher Hans Landa, in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds (2010), and as the German dentist and bounty hunter King Schultz in Tarantino’s Django Unchained (2013) is Austrian (and a damn good actor).

- Austria regained sovereignty after WWII only in 1955.

- Austria is the only EU nation that's not a NATO member.


And obligatory not in, but might change it to a support entry later. (◕‿◕✿)

Since Schein is on my wishlist, I am in and I thank you for the chance.

My favourite associations with Austria are Mozart and coffee. Mozart is still THE best composer ever - and it was very nice of the Austrians to relieve the invading Osmanian troops of their coffee before chasing them away (with help) and to make coffee popular in Europe afterwards. I don't know where science would be today without coffee. So a big thank you to Austria for promoting this stimulating drink!

As a next country to be featured I would suggest Ukraine. That country deserves all the attention it can get at the moment. (Or Mexico, which is not in the list, but is still way under-represented in the news for all what is going on there)

Can I please be entered for a chance to win a $5.99 GOG-game? Thanks. I hope this qualifies as an interesting fact about Austria: There is a town in Austria called "Egg." There is also a town on the opposite side of Austria called "Rottenegg."

Wikipedia links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg%2C_Austria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rottenegg,_Upper_Austria

Both towns have beautiful, hilly countryside.

Oh, I forgot to suggest what the next country should be. I agree with Lifthrasil and suggest Ukraine. Sorry I forgot before.

I'm In for mrkgnao please :)

Thanks for another awesome giveaway, you are a wonderful and freshening presence to these forums. Thank you for the laughter you bring and the joy, GOG would not be the same without you!

1. In 1788, the Austrian army accidentally attacked itself and lost 10,000 men.

2. Austria is ranked 19th in the world for its Human Development Index and the capital city, Vienna, frequently tops various rankings for its quality of life.

3. Arnold Schwarzenegger is from Austria

As for the next country, USA baby!!!

Thank you for all the wonderful and interesting facts so far. I love hosting these giveaways as I get to learn some awesome facts about the featured country, many of which I have never heard about before. Such as the Austrian army attacking itself, of two towns called Egg and Rottenegg. That sure is a beautiful abbey. I love your wife's photo, it shows the lovely colour and decor of the abbey wonderfully. The images on the wiki look so impressive, especially the staircase and the wonderful paintings on the ceiling. These incredible old building sure put our modern architecture to shame, even more impressive when you consider it was built without any modern machinery.

Thank you so much, you just made my day :-). I think the exact same could be said about you, you help make this little corner of the internet such a pleasant, friendly and awesome place.

As the region where I live was once part of Austria, I'll take this opportunity to mention a very important history Battle of Slankamen, that took place on 19th of August 1691. Many historians consider this battle to be a turnover for the Ottoman advances in Europe and sort of beginning of an end for their conquering marches on the west.

Nowadays the region where the battle took place is known as Slankamenski Vinogradi and is a favorite destination for majority of youth (I have the luxury of still including myself in this group :D) from my town during the crazy 1st of May (Labour day) holidays. :)
The attached picture was taken 7 years ago near the monument that was built to commemorate the Austrian victory.

Thanks for the giveaway, I'm in for $5.99 GOG game.
And my vote goes to Austria's neighbour, Slovakia.

Thank you for this giveaway. +1

I'm in for a $5.99 game.

Since I live in Vienna I can probably provide you with knowledge that not everybody knows. I mean, everybody knows about Mozart, Schwarzenegger, Schnitzel and Sachertorte and most of these have already been mentioned. So I'll provide you with some interesting information that not everybody knows.

*) First some gaming related information: Jowood Entertainment (probably best know for the Gothic series) was an Austrian company before it went bankrupt.

*) Some more gaming related info: The publisher Nordic Games who bought Jowood's IP as well as several other companies and is (at least around here) best known for pulling all their old games because GOG didn't allow the regional ripoff for back catalog games is also an Austrian company.

*) The Vienna General Hospital (Allgemeines Krankenhaus, or in short AKH) is not only the biggest hospital in Austria but also counts among the biggest hospitals in the world. Depending on how you measure a hospital's size (area in m², number of rooms, number of patient beds, hired staff, ...) the exact placing can vary but with over 2100 patient beds on more than 20 floors and a staff of over 9300 people (of which more than 1500 are doctors) the Vienna General Hospital is bigger than any hospital in the USA. Considering that Austria is a fairly small country with only around 8.500.000 inhabitants this shows how much public healthcare means here.

*) The water in Vienna is so clean that you can drink straight from the tap. It is even better than what you can buy in bottles. The only reason to buy water in bottles here is if you prefer carbonated water.

*) Fun fact: In Upper Austria there is a small village by the name of Fucking. Because of what its name means in English the village often had its village signs stolen by tourists until the village signs were secured against theft in 2005. Fucking often shows up in lists of places with unusual names and is often visited by tourists who want to take a photograph of themselves standing beside the village sign.

Thank you for the interesting facts. It's always very nice to learn some lesser know facts, especially from someone who lives there. Usually non-natives know only the better known facts, but those who live or have visited the nation often know lots of small and interesting facts.

It was a shame Nordic removed so many games, now we are sadly left with only one game from Austria. But I'm glad GOG stuck to it's principles on not letting them regionally price back catalogue games. The wiki page for the small village made me smile, the page title is "Fucking, Austria", but then again I'm sure some English speaking nation will have area names that are equally as amusing in another language.

I will include a link to the Vienna General Hospital's Wikipedia page. The page says it's the largest hospital in Europe and one of the tallest hospital buildings in the world. It's also a very old hospital, with the original hospital established during the seventeenth century. If I remember correctly, Vienna was one of the hotspots for medical research during and after the Medical Renaissance period, so this is possibly one of the reason for such a large hospital.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_General_Hospital

What am I going to do with you. * sighs *

If you keep opting out of giveaways for games I know are on your wishlist (Schein!), then I may have to just start ninja gifting! I know what you're thinking, you are thinking that you just won't accept the ninja gifts, well you just go and ask Enebias how that worked out for him ;-). Mwahahahaahhaha!

Also, don't think I didn't notice you opting out of BMF's giveaway, I guess you never read my nominations post and what will happen to anyone who I nominate being humble and opting out? But I guess since I have such a busy workload, that I will have to let you off without punishment. It cost too much hunting people down :-).