Tourism Similar shapes of Austria and Lake Biwa boost friendly ties

Shiga Prefecture, home of Japan's largest lake, and the Austrian federal state of Burgenland signed a memorandum of friendship on 6 November to deepen their friendly ties. In a tweet, the Tokyo branch of the Austrian National Tourist Office stressed the similarities between the two regions, calling Lake Biwa and Austria two of a kind: Lake Biwa and Austria had "remarkably similar shapes".

Burgenland, Austria's easternmost state, lies south of Vienna. Its area of 3,965 square kilometres nearly matches the 4,017-square-kilometre Shiga Prefecture. Around 290,000 people call it home, compared to Shiga's population of 1.4 million. The state surrounds much of Lake Neusiedl, Austria's largest, which at 320 square km is around half the size of the 670-square-km Lake Biwa, also called Lake Biwako. According to the Shiga Prefectural Government, similarities with Burgenland don't end at "We're landlocked, but have a lake." Both hold lakeside music festivals, have cycling infrastructure and a culinary culture of eating fish from their lakes. Moreover, both are known for their wine and pottery production.

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The future will show whether the memorandum of friendship will lead to a sister-region agreement similar to that Shiga has with the US state of Michigan.




My cousin runs a restaurant near Lake Neusiedl, and I can see similarities between both areas. Burgenland is Austria's easternmost state, the only one without mountains, and borders Hungary, with which it shares a lot of culture, history and, last but not least, cuisine.