The aeiou Encyclopedia (www.aeiou.at) is a free online reference work in both German and English about Austria-related topics. All material is protected by copyright. Online means being connected to the Internet or another similar electronic network, like a bulletin board system. ... A reference work is a compendium of information, usually of a specific type, compiled for ease of reference. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... For copyright issues in relation to Wikipedia itself, see Wikipedia:Copyrights. ...

The project was launched in 1996 by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research as part of Austria's millennial celebrations (first mention of the name Ostarrîchi = Österreich = Austria in 996). The content was based on the German-language Österreich-Lexikon, first published in a printed version in 1995. Additional material was acquired, including more images and also audio and video files, and aeiou soon grew into a multimedia information system. 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Document in which ostarrichi was first mentioned 996 (red circle) Ostarrîchi is an Old High German name found to the famous Ostarrîchi document of 996, where it refers to the Margraviate ruled by the Babenberg Count Henry I located mostly in what is today Lower Austria. ... Events March/April - Pope John XV dies before being being able to coronate Otto III, King of Germany as Holy Roman Emperor. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Multimedia is the use of several different media to convey information (text, audio, graphics, animation, video, and interactivity). ... The term information system has the following meanings: 1. ...

The title aeiou—the "Annotatable Electronic Interactive Oesterreich Universal Information System"—is an allusion to the old Habsburg motto, A.E.I.O.U.. Suggestions for the improvement of articles can be made by users; it should be noted though that the aeiou Encyclopedia is not a wiki. In rhetoric, an allusion is the implicit referencing of a related object or circumstance, which has occurred or existed in an external context. ... Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg, but never so in official use) was one of the major ruling houses of Europe. ... See AEIOU (disambiguation) for other meanings of AEIOU AEIOU, or A.E.I.O.U. was a device utilised by the Habsburgs emperors. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Wiki Science A wiki is a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the conten. ...

With an ever-increasing number of Austrian classrooms having Internet access, the encyclopedia is today widely used by Austrian students at both high school and university levels and, generally, by people all over the world interested in Austria's history and culture. In the spring of 2005 there was a lot of concern and embitterment when the Ministry headed by Elisabeth Gehrer decided, for pecuniary reasons, to take the encyclopedia off the Internet—on, of all days, April 1. However, in the long run sanity prevailed, and after heavy protests the Ministry greenlighted the server being reactivated. There have been recent talks and negotiations on how in the future the encyclopedia could be regularly updated. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Elisabeth Gehrer in an ORF interview at the beginning of a new schoolyear (September 2005) Elisabeth Gehrer (born May 11, 1942) is a Conservative Austrian politician. ... April Fools Day or All Fools Day, though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. ...

External links

• The aeiou homepage | Table of Contents | Search
• The genesis of the project
• Copyright information