Introduction
Austin, capital of the state of Texas, with 466,000 inhabitants. Austin is located on a bend of the Colorado on a number of hills. The local industry produces machines, canned goods, so-called high technology products such as computers, steel and furniture. Furthermore, Austin is a trading center for an agricultural environment (maize, cotton, livestock, dairy).
There are two universities: the University of Texas (founded 1881) and St. Edward’s University (1885), several colleges and other educational institutions, a large library (LB Johnson Library) and a museum (sculpture).
The cityscape is dominated by the pink granite Capitol (1888). Other buildings worth seeing are the ‘Old French Legation’ (1841) and Governor’s Mansion (1856).
History
Austin was founded in 1838 (initially called Waterloo) as the capital of the state of Texas and is named after one of the founders of the state: Stephen F. Austin.
