Austria is an active member of the European Union, therefore , it became one of the first countries to switch from the national currency to the euro.
Short story
The currency of Austria was put into circulation on March 1, 1925 and was the official monetary unit of the country until the beginning of 2002. During the Second World War, the Austrian shilling temporarily ceased its circulation due to the fact that Austria was under the rule of Nazi Germany.
Since January 1, 2002, the euro, which remains the state currency, has been used in the country, as in most EU countries.
The national currency of Austria
Austrian shilling has been the currency of the state since 1925, before that, the Austrian krone was used in the country. It depreciated greatly after the First World War, and the government decided to change the state currency to another.
The currency of Austria had both paper banknotes and metal coins. Austrian shilling was divided into 100 pennies. In the country there were coins in denominations from one to fifty pennies and paper notes in the value of twenty, fifty, one hundred, five hundred, one thousand and five thousand shillings.
In 1938, the shilling was replaced by the Reichsmark, as the country became a protectorate of Germany. In 1945, the currency of Austria was returned, however, her design was changed. The new currency was quite stable and practically did not depreciate. Its approximate rate throughout the second half of the twentieth century was 0.04 US dollars.
Currency in Austria now
Almost from the very moment of the formation of the European Union, Austria became an active member. Therefore, it is not difficult to guess what currency is in Austria now. Of course, this is the euro. Although among the countries of the European Union there were also such states that did not begin to switch to the euro, but retained their national currency, Austria was not among them.
Absolutely all banknotes and coins of this single European monetary unit are in use. The exchange of the national currency for the euro took place in the country at the rate of approximately 13.75 Austrian shillings for one euro.
Course
For one dollar, as already mentioned above, they gave about 26 Austrian shillings.
The modern currency of Austria, the euro, is one of the most popular and stable currency units in the world. Perhaps, only the American dollar is in great demand. Economic indicators and per capita income are among the highest in Europe, not many countries demonstrate such success as Austria. The currency before the euro, although it was quite stable, was in much less demand on the world market.
Today's exchange rate of the euro against the ruble is approximately 62-64 rubles. However, due to the unstable economic situation both in Russia and in Europe, the course is constantly changing. If you compare the euro with the US dollar, then for one euro you can get about $ 1.1.
Exchange operations
Going to Austria, you need to consider that Russians do not visit this state so often, so not every bank or exchange office works with Russian rubles. The most common foreign currency is the American dollar, it can be exchanged in almost any hotel, bank, exchange office, at the airport.
There will also be no particular problems with the exchange of Czech currency and British pounds. Some financial companies work with other currencies, mainly European. Exchange fees are usually not too high.
The easiest way is for a Russian tourist to exchange their rubles for euros in advance, so that later they do not look for a place where you can change the Russian currency. If you have dollars at your disposal, for example, you get paid in American currency, then you can safely take them with you. There will definitely not be problems with the exchange.
Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere in the country, but it’s better to know in advance whether this payment method is possible or not. There are ATMs in any city, even a small one. There are a lot of them in the country, so there will also be no difficulties with withdrawing cash from your credit card. The only thing you may not like is the bank's commission for such an operation.
It is interesting that when making a purchase for an amount exceeding seventy-five euros, the buyer has the right to return the VAT to himself. In Austria, this is about thirteen percent. To do this, you need to take a check from a store called Tax-free. After carrying out all necessary actions, you will receive your money back in cash. They will be issued to you directly at the customs post when you leave Austria.
Conclusion
The currency of Austria today is not its national currency, since it is used in many other countries. The euro does not cause priority associations with Austria, as a rule, it is perceived as a pan-European monetary unit.
But, despite the fact that Austria refused shilling and switched to the euro, it did not lose its individuality and zest. It is worth coming to this country, because it has a rich history, culture and beautiful mountain nature. And the fact that the euro is the official state currency in the country only makes it easier for the traveler to visit this country. After all, all the problems with the exchange of money and the loss of a significant part of their funds on commissions are almost completely eliminated.
You can import any monetary unit into the country, be it Russian rubles or Chinese yuan, but it is best to have euros or American dollars with you. Then you can completely exclude the possibility of any problems associated with the exchange of money. It will be possible to carry out a similar operation in almost any part of the country, in any locality. As for the cities popular among tourists, here you can generally exchange almost any foreign money.
Although Austria's transition to European currency did not become a fundamental factor for the formation of a pan-European currency, yet its stable, strong economy played an important role in this process. After all, if the euro was used exclusively in poor, economically disadvantaged countries, it is unlikely that he managed to take the position of the world currency along with the American dollar.