Last update:  14/05/12

Austrian Imperial underwear... sold!

A fan of Austrian royalty has paid 6,250 for a pair of underpants once worn by the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph at the annual Imperial auction in the Vienna Dorotheum auction house.

The underpants were specially designed for the Kaiser to be worn while riding.

Franz Joseph was Emperor of Austria from 1848 until his death in 1916. He is known for keeping the Austrian Empire together during times of political hardship.

Also sold at the same time was underwear that had been especially ordered by the country's beloved Empress Elisabeth "Sisi", but it fetched less – just over 3,000 – because she had never worn it.

Although Elisabeth had a limited influence on Austrian politics, she became a historical icon. The Empress is now thought to have been a non-conformist who abhorred conventional court protocol, as well as a free spirit who valued an individual sense of freedom above anything else.

Following the suicide of her son, Rudolf, she withdrew from public life. Her murder by an anarchist in Geneva, Switzerland in 1898 ended the life of a woman who has since become known as an enigmatic and tragic figure.

The Empress had ordered the underwear in 1898 shortly before she was stabbed to death.

9/05/12

Helicopter pilot may face manslaughter charges

A helicopter pilot could face manslaughter charges after heavy cloud meant he failed to realise how high they were when he released a rope - and dropped a mountain rescue expert to his death.

Alpine policeman Franz Franzeskon, 52, and two colleagues were being lowered on a harness in a bid to rescue a 40-year-old climber trapped on the Grossvenediger mountain range in Austria's East Tyrol on Sunday.

But when freak high winds set in the pilot, who has not been named, released them onto the rock strewn ice face alongside the crevass below, apparently not realising how high they were.

Instead of a few feet the three fell 10 meters (32 feet), leaving Franzeskon dead and the two others critically injured.

Now the local public prosecutor in Innsbruck has opened an inquiry into the accident, investigating whether the pilot was to blame for the death.

'They apparently misjudged the distance they still had to go and fell some way on to rocks,' said one official.

Experts have established there was no technical problems with the helicopter.

Franzeskon died instantly in the fall while the two others suffered multiple injuries. One of the men has been allowed to leave the hospital but the other is suffering from multiple injuries and is an artificial coma after undergoing surgery for broken bones and internal injuries. Lienz hospital spokesman Alfred Fast said: "He responded well to the operation and is now in an artificial sleep."

Officials called off the original hunt for the climber at the time - his body was recovered late yesterday (Monday). Police said the man had been completely wedged headfirst into the glacier around 120 feet into the ice. They were forced to use a pneumatic hammer to widen the gap, and remove the body.

Franzeskon was the head of the local Alpine police force and his friend and regional police boss Helmut Tomac said: "A day like this one is the sort of day that you always have nightmares about. You hope the day like this will never happen."

He said the dead man had been a valuable asset to the force and a good friend.

The owner of the helicopter firm, Roy Knauss, has already been interviewed by police who want to know why the helicopter pilot released the rope. He told officers that the pilot had extensive experience in difficult flying conditions.

He said: "I have spoken to him. He was taking the rescuers to the ground when the clouds suddenly robbed him of vision. It was a dangerous situation and the information he had from them is that they were only 5 m above the ground. He decided to drop the helicopter 5 m and release them rather than put all four of them in danger."

Inspector Sylvester Wolsegger from the police force in Lienz who is heading the investigation said: "We can definitively rule out that there was a technical problem with the helicopter."

But he added that up until now they have not had any information from the pilot: "The man was up until now not yet ready to make a statement."

An expert report has also been commissioned.

Prosecutor Hansjörg Mayr declined to comment more other than to say: "He is facing potential manslaughter charges."

The Grossvenediger mountain lies at 3,657 metres and is Austria's fourth highest peak on the border of Salzburg and East Tyrol. It is the second time this month that rescue workers have been called into action to assist in a rescue on the mountain.

A spokesman for the Alpine police Norbert Zobel said that the safety of the rescuers was always paramount – but added that when it was still possible to save a life rescuers would often push things to the limit.

He said: "If we are talking about a dead body, then certainly there wouldn't be such risks taken."

23/04/12

One in 4 Weddings involve Foreigners

Almost a quarter of all the weddings in Austria are binational according to the latest statistics from Statistik Austria.

It said that 23.5 percent of marriages fall into this category were either one partner is an Austrian and the other a foreign national – or both are foreign nationals.   In 2010 that represented 8,823 binational weddings.

The statistics also showed that while the number of foreigners marrying each other in Austria has remained relatively constant, the number of Austrians marrying foreigners has fallen significantly.    In 2004 it was 27.8 percent but the latest figures it had fallen to 18.3 percent.

This was believed to be because of the law changes in 2005 that tightened up the regulations for residency for married foreigners to clamp down on sham marriages that will purely carried out for the purposes of gaining work Visa and residency permit.

The organisation Fibel which is a woman's initiative for multicultural marriages and partnerships work through the statistics for 2009 to work out where the countries are that most foreigners getting married up from.

They found that 46.6 percent were EU citizens – in contrast to 22.3 percent in 2005. In contrast the number of people marrying Africans has fallen significantly.

In general statistics show that about 70 percent of the foreigners marrying here are women. Statistically the most common marriages with foreigners with people from Germany – 770 women and 456 men from Germany marrying Austrians.

The second most common original land for brides is Serbia and Montenegro with 262 and Slovakia with 236. With regards to the men the most common after Germany is Turkey – 373 men and Serbia and Montenegro with 332.

Outside of Europe most women come from Thailand – hundred and 36 – and most of the men come from Japan – 31.

11/04/12

Austrian fathered up to 1,000 children

Austrian scientist Bertold Wiesner is thought to be the father of over 600 children whom he allegedly fathered as a sperm donor in a fertility clinic in London.

Wiesner ran the fertility clinic with his wife Mary Barton and they claimed to provide women with sperm from "intelligent stock" with a "High IQ" between 1940 and 1960.

Wiesner who died in 1972 is alleged to have donated a large proportion of the sperm donations himself in his London clinic.

The clinic is thought to have helped 1,500 women have children.

The discovery was made after two men discovered they are Wiesner’s biological sons and claimed to have found more evidence that Wiesner is responsible for fathering hundreds of other babies at the clinic.

One of the men, Canadian film maker Barry Stevens, who was fathered in the London clinic in 1952 by Wiesner believes Wiesner fathered over 1,000 children. Whereas the other man, London barrister David Gollancz, believes he is responsible for 600 children.

Stevens met Gollancz whilst searching for his father - both of the men were fathered by Wiesner. Together the pair discovered another 18 people who were born as a result of fertility treatment at the Barton Clinic.  After tests on these 18 people they found that two thirds of those tested were fathered by Wiesner himself.

Mr Gollancz said: "A conservative estimate is that he would have been making 20 donations a year.

"Using standard figures for the number of live births which result, I estimate he is responsible for 300 to 600 children."

The Barton Clinic, set up in London in the 1940s, was highly controversial because it used a small number of specially-selected highly intelligent men as donors. One man, a neurochemist, named as Derek Richter was found to have fathered over 100 children at the clinic.

Medical records for the clinic were destroyed.

4/04/12

Rents to rise for older properties

Rents for tenants living in Altbauwohnungen, which refers to living accommodation built before the Second World War, are set to rise after the government increased the Mietrichtwerte used as the basis on which rents are charged on privately owned properties by five per cent.

That means that around 220,000 units in Vienna are affected with about 30 Euros a month more for a typical 80 square metre flat.

The only exception to the increase is for rental contracts that were signed before 1 March 1994. In addition most of the social housing projects are not affected.

The Austrian workers chamber has criticised the increase in saying that this should be a cap on the amount that rents are allowed to rise by.

The increases, the first increase in two years – and generally the increases are on a two-yearly basis. The workers chamber wants the increases only to happen every five years.

The law change mainly affects properties in Vienna but some properties in Styria and Carinthia will also be affected. Across the country experts estimate about 300,000 properties are affected with the vast majority in Vienna.

28/03/12

Austrian know-how helps UK House Builders

With temperatures of minus 20 degrees and more in winter and snow that lies on the ground for months at a time compared to temperatures of over 40 degrees in summer Austrian house builders know a lot about extremes.

Little wonder then that they are world leaders in the passive house - or Passivhaus in German - that refers to the standard for energy efficiency in a building, reducing its ecological footprint. The result is an ultra-low energy building that requires little energy for space heating or cooling.

And that knowledge and experience that the Austrians have gathered over the years is now offering opportunities for Austrian companies abroad – especially in the United Kingdom which is admittedly a "late starter" when it comes to such sustainable building.

But According to the Austrian foreign trade centre in London it is now making impressive efforts to catch up, which points out that the UK’s climate targets are very ambitious and demand a radical change of thinking. The mindset, not only of the population in general, but also of the building industry has changed and the impact of this exciting process, which only started a few years ago, is already beginning to show.

The word "Passivhaus", previously a completely unknown term, is already beginning to appear in English usage. The UK "Passivhaus Trust" is an umbrella organisation for building professionals with a specific interest in Passivhaus design and although it was only founded a year and a half ago it already has 150 members – the Austrian foreign trade centre in London is one of the founding members.

Indeed, it seems that Passivhaus design has certainly caught the UK’s attention as it is being successfully lobbied in Parliament to introduce the "Passivhaus standard" into English building regulations. In any case, from 2016, all buildings in England and Wales will be Co2 neutral, i.e. very energy efficient and built sustainably. An even bigger market will arise therefore for the subsequent thermal insulation of old buildings.

Austria is seen as a model example for sustainable building and industry professionals listen intently to the achievements of Ursula Schneider, POS architect from Vienna, and about the experiences and developments in Austria.

As a country, at Ecobuild in London, the leading trade fair for sustainable building, Austria had the biggest presence with 500 square metres of exhibition space and 28 exhibiting companies on one group stand. A further six Austrian companies took part independently. From solar energy solutions, bio-mass heating, heating pumps, windows, the Tirol wood companies and pre-fabricated houses, the "Made in Austria" brand dominated with a strong presence.

There was also a particularly special feature on the foreign trade centre’s group stand that caused much interest this year. The stand featured a "Passivhaus Kaffeehaus", a full scale model of an actual Passivhaus with integrated products, provided by the Austrian exhibitors. During the fair the Austrian Passivhaus was used as the venue for a very special event. The UK Passivhaus Trust invited its members into the Austrian Passivhaus and Prof Wolfgang Faist, the "Godfather of Passivhaus", who teaches at Innsbruck University, launched the first UK Passivhaus Awards.

The Ecobuild trade fair has grown in recent years from being a small event to an international marketplace for sustainable building with 1,500 exhibitors and 60,000 visitors. "This development underlines the positive prospects for market opportunities in this industry," explains Georg Karabaczek, The Austrian Trade Commissioner in London, "the British market offers excellent opportunities for top-quality Austrian products and solutions."

23/3/12

Human smuggling into Austria increasing

Austrian officials have raised the alarm about the dramatic increase in the number of human smuggling cases taken place in 2011.

They say that there is a 44 per cent increase to 9,812 people attempting to cross the borders illegally from a total of 21,232.

Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) blamed the difficult situation on the Turkish Greek border for the increase.

Certain isolated statistics make worrying reading – for example in Salzburg 649 illegal immigrants were caught – an increase of 85 per cent on the year 2010. At Neusiedl am See in Burgenland it was 612, an increase of 95 per cent.

Most of those coming into the country travelled via Italy (44 per cent) while 25 per cent came from Hungary and from Germany seven per cent and from Slovakia six per cent.

In addition, although the numbers have risen, the numbers of smugglers being caught have fallen.

In 2011 a total of 288 human smugglers were caught which is a fall of 12 per cent. Most of those were from Greece (26) Turkey (24) and Austria (23).

Most of those being smuggled came from Afghanistan, Russia and Pakistan.

The interior minister admitted that the massive increase in the number of people being smuggled into the country had also led to an increase in the number of asylum applications which is up by 31 per cent according to the most recent statistics.

"This is a Europe wide problems and unacceptable trends," said Mikl-Leitner.

16/03/12

Honesty does pay..for a homeless man

Previously homeless Hermann Schleichert has moved into his very own flat as a result of one very honest deed. The 48-year-old found 7,000 Euros on the street last year and handed it in to the police. Since then he has received several generous donations from fellow Austrians impressed by his act of kindness.

Hermann Schlechert from Styria, Austria, worked as an assembly worker around Europe before he ended up in prison for six years and then out on the streets. The 48-year-old suffered from drug and alcohol problems, had no job and was marked as a mentally disturbed offender. "I am no saint" said Schleichert. Despite this the ex-convict still managed to impress people at home and away with just one noble act.

On St. Stephen’s Day, 26 December 2011, the homeless 48-year-old discovered 7,000 Euros just lying on the street and handed it into the police. After this good deed Schlechert met the rightful owner of the money 44-year-old Mario Berisha and both job offers and donations followed. So generous were the donations that Hermann can now afford to live in a 30-square-metre apartment, "the first apartment of my life," he explained.

The 48-year-old is reportedly very excited to move into his peaceful apartment and to live alone. Thanks to his new job he also no longer worries about his previous dependency on drugs and alcohol. On 1 March Hermann starts work at The Meridian Hotel in Vienna.

11/03/12

Avalanche expert killed in Austrian avalanche

An avalanche expert was swept to his death as he was testing snow to see if it was safe for skiers to use, officials in Obertauern, in the Austrian province of Salzburg, have confirmed.

The 44-year-old man who worked for the avalanche warning commission was carrying out controls into the current avalanche risk in the resort when he was swept under an avalanche.

The experienced skier was testing the area off piste to assess whether it was safe and find out whether the areas should be cordoned off and whether lifts should be closed as the danger of avalanche is high throughout Austrian ski resorts.

However, as he skied down the area he triggered an avalanche of extremely wet and heavy snow. He was carried almost 200 metres and was then buried more than one and a half metres under the snow.

He was located by his colleague and other skiers who were passing after 10 - 15 minutes but died at the scene after resuscitation attempts failed.

Norbert Altenhofer, the director of the Salzburg Warning Service said: "Both men are highly experienced skiers. The accident victim has worked for more than 25-years for the ski lift company assessing safety in the ski areas.

District commissioner in the area Heinz Lammer said: "The snow was particularly wet and in these temperatures is extremely heavy - it weighs 2.5 tonnes per cubic metre.

23/02/12

Toll Free Road Travel around Salzburg

Officials in Salzburg are hoping to persuade state motorway officials at ASFINAG to scrap the toll on the short section of motorway between the North and South of the city in order to attract more cross-border tourists.

Anyone travelling on an Austrian motorway needs a toll sticker which has proved a deterrent to tourists from neighbouring Bavaria who might otherwise use the ring road to get around the city.

City officials are hoping that the move if accepted by motorway officials will kill two birds with one stone.

They hope that it will be welcomed by Germans across the border in Bavaria who will no longer have to buy motorway toll stickers if they are only interested in visiting Salzburg and aren't planning to go any further – and they are also hoping that by making it easier for Germans to travel in the region it will stop complaints from across the border about the noise from Salzburg airport.

Complaints about noise have been going on for months and the speculation is that the free motorway usage deal might ease anger over the airport noise.

Local environmental councillor Walter Blachfellner (SPÖ) has already started concrete talks with ASFINAG about removing the need for a toll on the short section and has reportedly put a cash amount on the table to compensate ASFINAG for the lost income.

Blachfellner said that the Bavarians would benefit but the city of Salzburg would also benefit as many Bavarians would use the motorway to visit Europark, or the shops for example at the airport or the Congress Centre and who would not then be driving through the city's residential areas.

Blachfellner said: "In March I'm meeting the German transport minister in Berlin because it is an important subject for both of us. We are also planning to talk about the noise from the airport. By having something on both sides there is a good opportunity that we can come together to a position where both benefit."

16/02/12

Ski resorts forced to close as a result of too much snow

Ski resorts forced to remain closed by a lack of snow in December have now been forced to close many runs because of too much snow.

Ski resorts across Austria and Switzerland say they are now struggling to cope after metres of snow combined with high winds and stormy conditions over the past 48 hours left runs blocked or in danger of avalanches.

Changeable temperatures combined with high winds and new snow has put many ski resorts across Tirol, Salzburg and Vorarlberg on high avalanche alert. Temperatures are expected to drop dramatically over the weekend and winds today (Friday) have already reached over 170 kph making conditions even more treacherous. Full story on ski page:

5/02/12

Austrians not impressed by rising rents!

Almost one out of five Austrians consider investing in real estate within the next 12 months, according to an investigation. This of course would drive up property prices.

Public opinion agency Integral found that 19 per cent of Austrians planned to spend money on properties in the coming 12 months – five per cent more than in the previous quarter. The research group’s check also shows that 16 per cent considered investing in gold. Around two in three Austrians think about opening a savings account in the next 12 months – despite extremely low interest rates and high inflation.

News that the number of people considering buying real estate is increasing comes as a surprise since purchase prices and rents are on the rise. Real estate information platform Find My Home recently spoke with Viennese real estate agents to find that flat rent rates were expected to soar further in 2012 and the years to come.

Experts said that high demand for medium-prized apartments and very few offers in some areas of the capital would intensify the upward price cycle. Other industrial regions of the country will experience similar developments, according to analysts – who also warned that prices would not remain stable in rural regions either.

To read the full article, go to our news pages: click here 

30/01/12

The Alpine village of the Far East: Chinese build replica of Austrian village!

Ski regions succeed with Free Internet

IT experts in charge of providing two of Austria’s biggest ski resorts have said they are satisfied with tourists’ response to the new offer.

Salzburg’s winter sport resort of Amade and the Sölden glacier region, East Tyrol, as well as several other resorts across the country set up free of charge wireless local area network (WLAN) connections at lift stations and information centres.

The organisers masterminding the projects at Amade and Sölden glacier told the Kurier newspaper today (Thurs) that skiers and snowboarders reacted positively to the opportunity. More than 12,000 holidaymakers logged in with their smartphones and notebooks at Amade so far this month, according to the paper’s report.

Holiday industry experts think that services such as the most recent provision with WLAN internet access are developing into a decisive criterion of people when it comes to choosing their holiday destination. They also underline the various positive effects for the holiday regions if tourists send pictures and texts to friends and families on a regular basis this way.

16/01/12

Two people die on slopes of Salzburg

Two people died on Sunday while skiing in Salzburg.A 70-year-old Pole died on the Aineck, Katschberg, Lungau. The lifeless man had been found by other skiers on the slopes.

Four randomly passing doctors from Germany tried to resuscitate the tourist but to no avail. The team flying in on the rescue helicopter could only confirm the man's death. The police suspect he died of natural causes.

A 53-year-old German died suddenly on Sunday on the slopes in the Pinzgau region. The man was skiing in Saalbach and suddenly collapsed and was found lifeless on the slopes.

Three passers-by and ski rescuers provided first aid. When the ambulance arrived it could only confirm his death.

report by  Luis Monse

10/01/12

Ski resorts forced to close as a result of too much snow

Ski resorts forced to remain closed by a lack of snow in December have now been forced to close many runs because of too much snow.

Ski resorts across Austria and Switzerland say they are now struggling to cope after metres of snow combined with high winds and stormy conditions over the past 48 hours left runs blocked or in danger of avalanches.

Changeable temperatures combined with high winds and new snow has put many ski resorts across Tirol, Salzburg and Vorarlberg on high avalanche alert. Temperatures are expected to drop dramatically over the weekend and winds today (Friday) have already reached over 170 kph making conditions even more treacherous.

Avalanche experts are working around the clock to assess the risks and where necessary and possible are carrying out controlled detonations. Rudi Mair, manager of the avalanche action team in Tirol said: "With winds peaking at 170 kph we can safely talk about a hurricane. Heavy new snow, freezing temperatures and the hurricane we are talking about high risk. The avalanche risk across Tirol is high and it will rise.

The high winds in particular are a threat to ski lifts which have been forced to close as the winds from "Hurricane Andrea" are too high - making conditions highly dangerous. The high winds also risk dislodging snow from high peaks.

Herbert Kaufmann form Dornbirn Seilbahn AG - the lift company in Dornbirn, Voarlberg said: "We have around twenty people stuck in the restaurant at the top of the mountain still as we are unable to put the lifts back into action. But at least the chef is stuck too and he can make food."

Winter safety expert Erich Schwarzler from the Austrian province of Vorarlberg said: "We are on high alert, we have army helicopters and avalanche teams on 24 hour standby.

04/01/12

Tourism registers Russian guest increase

The number of Russians spending their holidays in Austria is soaring.

ÖW, the Austrian Tourism Marketing Agency, said yesterday (Tues) that 360,000 Russians came to the country in the first 11 months of this year – 31.6 per cent more than in the same time span of 2010. More than half of them spent their vacation at hotels of the four and five star category, according to statistics.

Austria is, according to polls, the most popular winter sports destination of Russians. However, people from the Eurasian nation also enjoy trips to the alpine country’s capital. Vienna’s hotels recorded 36 per cent more overnight stays by Russian holidaymakers last month than in November 2010. The number of overnight stays booked by Spaniards (plus 28 per cent) and Swiss (plus 16 per cent) soared as well. Overall, 858,000 overnight stays took place at Viennese hotels and guesthouses in November, 4.9 per cent more than in the same month of last year.

30/12/11

Austrian 'coffee know how' to challenge oriental tea!

Over a third of all the Chinese tourists coming to Europe end up in Austria with Salzburg the most popular place to visit according to statistics revealed by the Chinese ambassador in an exclusive interview with the Austrian Times.

He also revealed that despite the economic crisis business was also booming between the two countries with similar increases in trade in the same way as the tourism business had expanded.

Ambassador Shi Mingde said that there was a tremendous fascination in China with Austria as a business partner and tourism destination which had its roots in Austria's courageous decision in 1971 to establish bilateral ties with China in a time of political unrest and Cold War tension.

He said: "There is no doubt that the decision by Austria which was a neutral country to open ties with China was a brave decision. It is also one which China has always valued and which is where we are now with such close ties between the two countries. It was a very brave act."

He said that his embassy now had a staff of more than 30 diplomats working full-time to satisfy the demand from everything from students looking for grants to study in China through to various questions from the 600 existing Austrian businesses now active in China - and the hundreds of others hoping to do business there.

For more on this story click on our news blogs.

17/12/11

Austrians' spending power slides

Austria remains one of the richest countries in Europe – but new figures also show that people’s purchasing power is waning.

The European Commission’s (EC) statistics agency, Eurostat, said yesterday (Tues) Austria had the fifth-strongest purchasing power among the European Union’s (EU) 27 member countries last year. The alpine country, which became a member of the EU in 1995, was in fourth place in 2009. Denmark overtook Austria as far as spending power is regarded, Eurostat explained.

Luxembourg comes first considering spending power in the EU, with the Netherlands coming second. Economically challenged Ireland is third. Eurostat said Austrians’ spending power was found to be at 126 per cent if the EU average is set at 100 per cent. Luxembourg achieved 271 per cent, Ireland reached 128 per cent. Denmark’s purchasing power was just one percentage point lower than the one of Ireland in 2010.

The research – which considers countries’ per capita gross domestic products (GDPs) – identified Bulgaria (44 per cent) and Romania (46 per cent) as the EU’s poorest countries. Crisis-stricken Greece achieved a spending power of 90 per cent, while Italy was above the average (101 per cent). The purchasing power of Spain, where people are bracing for dramatic austerity measures, resembles the EU average at exactly 100 per cent.

11/12/11

Man wins 37 million on Fruit machine..maybe?

A gambler who thought he had won £37million on a fruit machine has been offered a free meal and £60 instead, after casino bosses said the jackpot was due to a ‘software error’.

Behar Merlaku, 26, played the winning machine at a casino in Bregenz, Austria. Despite only getting four of the slot machine's five required matches, Mr Merlaku was told he had won the massive jackpot -  complete with a winning bell and flashing screen.

However when he went to claim his prize, the Swiss player was instead offered the money and meal by casino bosses after they refused to pay out.

Now the disgruntled 26-year-old is to launch a lawsuit in Austria next month to force the casino to honour the 'win', which Mr Merlaku's lawyers says he is entitled to because of the what machine said. The civil action, thought to be the biggest claim of its kind anywhere in the world, is being keenly watched by gaming operators everywhere.

The incident happened in a Casinos Austria AG establishment at Bregenz, which is run by a company which also has UK outlets, on March 26 this year.

Reported by UK's Daily Mail.

1/12/11

Austria given AAA financial rating

The press is full of doom and despondency stories about the Euro and credit rating, and it makes one wonder if they are talking themselves into a crisis?  Say it enough times and it must be true...welll let's hope for the world economy they have got it wrong.  For Austria, all three financial assessment firms, Moody's, S&P and Fitch, Credit rated Austria AAA for investment security.  This is a very good confidence booster for people considering to invest in European property.

Austria of course is not immune to the troubles of Europe, being a large tourist attraction.  With all the concerns, people are not taking the holidays they used to do, and this will have an effect on all tourism related economies...even the uK.

24/11/11

Xmas markets want homeless vendors to stay out

Possibly a lack of Christmas spirit as Homeless people may be banned from selling a street newspaper at some of Vienna’s most popular Christmas markets. It is felt there are too many street vendors in one place.

Die Presse reports that seven markets were unhappy with the situation. The head of an agency promoting Viennese Christmas markets told the daily that managers of some markets counted up to 20 vendors of Augustin, Vienna’s best-known street magazine. The monthly magazine is offered by homeless people registered as salespeople. The monthly magazine costs 2.50 Euros apiece. Half the price goes directly to the vendor. The other 1.25 Euros are used to finance the production of the magazine which is created by a small team of editors and a large number of voluntary contributors. The Augustin management also runs an online store and a programme on radio station Orange.

Die Presse reports that managers of Christmas markets are considering ordering security staff to ask Augustin vendors to leave after a proposal by the promotion agency in charge fell on deaf ears. The enterprise suggested that Augustin should assign only one vendor per market who would then not be barred from selling the paper while additional salespeople would be prohibited offering the Augustin to people visiting Christmas markets. Some of the federal capital’s busiest Christmas markets – including the ones at city hall square and Belvedere Palace – are entangled in the debate, according to Die Press.

18/11/11

Viennese Xmas market seen as a rip-off

One of Austria’s most famous Christmas markets was branded as overcrowded and overly cheesy in a survey.

Around 1,000 Austrians were asked by pollster Marketagent for their favourite Christmas markets. Vienna’s city hall square (Rathausplatz) market was identified as the best known but also most cheesy. It was criticised as too crowded and fared badly considering aspects like prices and food quality. The market in front of Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace made first place when it came to identify the Christmas market Austrians would miss the most were it forced to shut for some reason.

Salzburg’s tradition-rich Christkindlmarkt – situated at Mirabell Square – topped the Marketagent check when it came to price-performance ratio regards and markets’ atmosphere. The market made the top five of an US travel platform last year. American broadcaster CNN’s CNNGo website listed it fourth in November 2010. CNNGo said it was "hard not to be charmed" by the "Christmas cliché upon Christmas cliché" at the market located in the heart of the city where composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born and raised. A Christmas market in Reykjavik, Iceland, topped the CNNGo list.

Austrians spend 35 Euros per capita on hot drinks, food and traditional products when attending one of the country’s many Christmas markets, a spokesman for Marketagent said yesterday (Thurs). A nice atmosphere is regarded as most important by Austrians, the agency’s study showed. However, staff’s friendliness and high quality of beverages and culinary offers matter a lot as well.

People from all over the world are coming to Austria each winter to visit Christmas markets, go skiing and attend spas. Most holidaymakers booking rooms in the countryside and in cities come from Germany, the Netherlands and Austria itself. A strong surge of Russian tourists were registered all over Austria last winter. Especially the province of Tyrol was popular with the Eurasian country’s new middle class and its millionaires. Statistik Austria said the number of overnight stays booked by Russians in Austria rose by 27.3 per cent from November 2009 to March 2010 to the same time span of the next winter vacation period.

11/11/11

The Von Trapps fact and fiction in Salzburg at last

Over 52 years after it first appeared on Broadway, Salzburg has finally welcomed the Sound of Music home. In a reunion of the real and the Rogers and Hamerstein Von Trapps, the city at the foot of the Untersberg is truly alive with the Sound of Music.

To a diehard Sound of Music fan, of which there are around 1,424,012 according to the Facebook page, the fairy-tale city of Salzburg provides not only a suitable backdrop in front of which to consume large amounts of Mozart Kugeln and Kasnocken (small irregularly shaped dumplings with melted cheese) but a place in which to jump, twirl and do-re-mi like a complete fool.

It is this influx of around 300,000 tourists every year, who come with the sole purpose of taking part in the Sound of Music experience, which has created such ambivalence amongst Salzburgers and Austrians in general since the film’s release in 1965.

Apart from the buses which roll around the outskirts of the city, sporting Julie Andrews’s jubilant face, there is little else to reveal the city for the Sound of Music mecca that it truly is. As kitsch as the film may be, the locations revealed on the ever popular Panorama Tour are simply spectacular in their own right not warranting any Sound of Music signage.

It is no great surprise however that to locals these tour buses are nothing more than a blip on their otherwise perfect landscape. "It is not that we don’t like the film but only that we don’t know anything about it," said Anna Waid from Salzburg. "All we know is that it is factually incorrect." It is this very illusion that Rogers and Hammerstein were attempting to create anything but a fiction that directors of the new musical are trying to shatter.

Attempts to bring the musical back to Salzburg were made 12 years ago but had a frosty reception. Attitudes in the last few years however have changed, believes Burt Fink, Vice-President of Communications at Rodger’s & Hammerstein, with young Austrians encountering The Sound of Music everywhere they go. With "flashmobs" taking place around the Old Town and the iconic songs now ringing out in German, even past generations of locals can no longer ignore the fact that The Sound of Music is here to stay in Salzburg. "We always knew we would have to wait for Salzburg to find a place for us in their hearts," said Fink.

By Rebecca Musgrave

8/11/11

Stolen Klimt painting sells for 30 million Euros

 A Gustav Klimt landscapepainting  has sold for 30 million Euros in New York. The painting, entitled "Litzlberg am Attersee" was stolen by the Nazis in Austria in 1938 and recently returned to the owner this year.

The painting, which depicts rolling hills beside a lake, was in The Salzburg Museum of Modern Art until last summer but was recently returned to the family of the original Jewish owner.

Sotheby’s in New York expected the painting to fetch 25 million dollars but this figure was surpassed, the landscape’s final sale price was 40.4 million dollars.

30/10/11

Spielberg on his Austrian namesake

Steven Spielberg has disclosed the secret of his alleged Austrian roots.

Rumour has it that Spielberg’s ancestors originate from Spielberg, a town in the Austrian province of Styria. The three-time Academy Award for Best Director laureate told Austrian magazine News: "Fact is that my family come from Ukraine. They once cultivated agricultural estates in Austria and then accepted the name – which was not unusual in those days."

The filmmaker said he was "confused" about a metal plate he was sent from the town which bears the same name as his family. "My sister had to explain to me that it is a place-name sign from Spielberg. I have never visited the town but I want to catch up on that," he said.

Spielberg refused to reveal whether he could imagine shooting a movie in Austrian capital Vienna, but explained: "I love Vienna because my son, Max, said his first sentence there. He must have been 19 months old. (...) We were standing at our hotel window overlooking a busy road when he suddenly said ‘I see a bus’ after not having muttered a word ever before."

23/10/11

Hotel prices plunge in Vienna