The border between the modern states of Austria and Germany (German: Grenze zwischen Deutschland und Österreich) has a length of 815.9 km (507.0 mi),[1][2] or 815.0 km (506.4 mi)[3] respectively. It is the longest international border of Austria and the second longest border of Germany with another country (its longest is the border with the Czech Republic, with a length of 818.8 km (508.8 mi)).
Course
Within its western part, the border runs roughly from east to west, but from a point south of Salzburg to its eastern end, located at the tripoint of Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, it runs in a mainly northeastward direction. The western end is located at the border tripoint of Germany, Austria and Switzerland within the Obersee part of Lake Constance (Bodensee), although the exact course of the international borders within Lake Constance have never been defined. The border is 815 kilometres (506 mi) long, but a straight line between the endpoints is 345 kilometres (214 mi) long.
The border was confirmed in a treaty between the countries in 1972, after having been defined by a number of agreements between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Bavaria in the 19th century. In 1938 the countries merged through the Anschluss. This was reverted in 1955 by the Austrian State Treaty, which re-established Austria as a sovereign state. The Schengen Area removed border controls at the border in 1997. Temporary border controls were reinstalled in 2015 in response to the European migrant crisis. These temporary border controls were scheduled to be removed on 12 May 2020, although they are liable to be extended in six-month periods.[4]