2012 Staatskongress Theme is:
"Österreich: das Land der Kultur"

Austrian culture is one of the richest topics imaginable. To narrow it down we have selected the culture page of the Austrian foreign ministry, Bundesministerium für europäische und internationale Angelegenheiten:
http://www.bmeia.gv.at/aussenministerium/oesterreich/kultur.html

A switch at the top of the page will toggle between the English and the German version of the page. There are concise paragraphs about: Kultur, Literatur, Musik, Theater, Bildende Kunst und Architektur und auch Film.

Some of the people or works or institutions have built-in links for futher information; for others (such as Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven) you will need to explore other information sources.

The Quiz Bowl will include questions about the people or movements, when they were active and why they are famous, basic information about their masterworks, and what they look like.

Some additional information may also be found at the Wikipedia site on Austria:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria#Culture

which has more links and also additional cultural information on science, cooking, and sports.

Enjoy your exploration of German culture.
Professor Johnson, Quizmeister

Quiz Bowl - Staatskongress 2011 - famous people from the 20th and 21st century.

Sports
1. Franz Beckenbauer - soccer
2. Oliver Kahn - soccer
3. Michael Ballock - soccer
4. Michael Schumacher - racecar driver
5. Boris Becker - tennis
6. Katarina Witt - ice skater
7. Steffi Graff - tennis
8. Dirk Nowitzki - basketball

Fashion
1. Heide Klum - model
2. Claudia Schiffer - model
3. Adolf Dassler - founder of Adidas
4. Rudolph Dassler - founder of Puma

Film
1. Roland Emmerich - film director
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger - actor
3. Marlena Dietrich - actress
4. Billy Wilder - director
5. Michael Ballhaus - cinematographer
6. Hans Zimmer - composer of film music
7. Wolfgang Petersen

Politics
1. Konrad Adenauer - 1^st Chancellor of West Germany (post WWII)
2. Ruth Dreifuss - 1^st female president in Switzerland
3. Angela Merkel - current Chancellor of Germany - 1^st female
4. Helmut Kohl - Chancellor with the longest reign in Germany's history, chancellor during reunification
5. Willy Brandt

Science
1. Albert Einstein - physicist
2. Werner Karl Heisenberg - physicist
3. Erwin Schrödinger - Austrian physicist - known for his work in quantum mechanics.
4. Edward Teller - scientist - founder of the H bomb
5. Konrad Zuse - invented the 1^st mechanical binary digital computer, the first fully functioning electromechanical computer and the first programmable computer
6. Max Planck - quantum mechanics
7. Thomas Reiter - astronaut

Art/Architecture
1. Walter Gropius - architect - founder of Bauhaus
2. Friedenreich Hundertwasser - Austrian architect (& artist)
3. Max Ernst - surrealist artist
4. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - expressionist - founder of "Die Brücke"
5. Franz Marc - expressionist - founder of "Der Blauer Reiter"
6. Paul Klee - artist - associated with the Bauhaus, Der Blauer Reiter, Dadaists and Surrealists.
7. Käthe Kollwitz - sculptress
8. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe - architect

Authors
1. Guenter Grass - 1999 German Nobel prize winner
2. Peter Handke - Austrian novelist and playwright
3. Thomas Mann - 1929 German Nobel Prize winner
4. Joseph Pulitzer - journalist - Established the Pulitzer prize for literature and journalism
5. Rainer Maria Rilke - Austrian poet
6. Nelly Sachs - 1966 German female Nobel Prize Winner
7. Elfriede Jellinek - 2004 Nobel prize
8. Herta Mueller - 2009 Nobel prize

Music
1. Nena
2. Herbert Grönemeyer
3. Carl Orff
4. Richard Strauss