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Literature from Vienna - Austrian Writers - Vienna Authors

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Viennese Culture - Literature - Get to know Vienna with this great city and culture guide: Sightseeing, History, Cuisine, Accommodation, Study and Work, Best Addresses, Travel Tips on more than 1000 pages.

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Austrian architecture is mostly very modern and simple. As seen from the picture below.

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https://www.aboutvienna.org/culture/traditional_fashion.phphttps://www.aboutvienna.org/culture/traditional_fashion.php These are examples of traditional clothes in Austria.

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Concert in Austria

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The Sound of Music - Austrian Folk Dance - WMS Concert '11

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Wesley Methodist School's production of The Sound of Music. Austrian Folk Dance, a dance featured in the concert performance. http://www.calvinchew.com/ http://www.twitter.com/serenadier

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This website describes some key customs and traditions in Austria

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Think of Austria, and - at least as a foreigner - you will think of Lederhosen, traditional Dirndl dress and the Alps. Today′s tourism Mafia has done little to change about this thinking, and so the international image of Austria is a rather romantic one. Nonetheless, it is certainly the case that there are many traditions and customs in my country that are ancient, yet active part of the everyday life in Austria.

Being thoroughly Catholic for many centuries, Austrians have developed a strong sense for celebrations, rituals and symbolism. This is reflected in the many holidays and festivals that are held in an annual cycle. Don′t be afraid to join the crowds - like almost anything in Austria, most traditional customs (with the exception of purely religious actions) actively endorse tourism and welcome international visitors!

Outside of Vienna, Austria is a fairly rural place with traditionally small communities that were often resistant against cultural change. Therefore, many ancient traditions and customs have survived. Some of these are said to date back to Celtic or Roman times, others were introduced by Bavarian and Slavic people. Once Austria was Christian the church implemented old customs into its own mythology and thereby ensured the tradition and preservation of them. What many people today perceive as a festival of a saint might actually be derived from a worshipping ritual of a pagan goddess.

January ("Jänner")

The new year in Austria begins with the so-called "Neujahrsschießen" (New Year′s Salute). Squads of historical rifle associations (well, at least referring to historical associations with their uniforms; drinking societies in any case) gather in traditional costumes in many cities all over the country. They line up in rows and shoot, often with massive, 17th-century style guns. If you are willing to get up on the first of January, this is worth watching.

In the "Wiener Musikverein" ("Vienna Music Club"), the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) play what is probably the World′s most famous and most widely followed annual concert, the " Neujahrskonzert".
Glöckler in the Ausseerland - sadly with no sound.
On the 5th of January, thewalk from one door to another in theSalzkammergut. This is proper pagan-action and spectacular to watch. They are young men dressed up in white trousers and dress with large crest-hat decorations that are lit up from the inside. The "Glöckler" have bells on their belts and joints and perform dances. This was traditionally done to wake the seed in the soil and nature′s spirits. I can′t think of a justification the Catholic Church might have found for continuing with it, but pagan or not, it looks great.

Around the 6th of January (The festival of the Twelfth Night, Epiphany), the "Sternsinger" ("star singers", Epiphany) walk from door to door in all villages and towns of Austria. They normally consist of four children (three kings and a star-person) and an adult to accompany them. They sing a little song about how they are really excited that Jesus was born, bless the house and its inhabitants for the new year and collect a bit of money for a charity, which changes every year. The custom is organised by the "Jungschar", a Catholic youth organisation.

The 6th of January is also one of the " Raunächte", in which are gathering for nightly rituals in Bavaria, Salzburg, Eastern Tyrol and the Salzkammergut. These traditions are all concerned with fertility rites and the winter Sonnenwende (21st of December). For details, see "December".

February ("Februar")

February is dominated by the peak of the ball season in Austria. The "national" ball, sometimes called the "Ball der Republik" (ball of the republic") is the famous Wiener Opernball (Vienna Opera Ball). This is a great opportunity for Austria rich, famous and wannabes to show their wealth, smiles and trophywives. The president, chancellor and most of the government normally at the ball and there is a great deal of media attention from around the World dedicated to the opera that night.

Similarly traditional is the " Opernballdemo", a demonstration of left-wing activists opposing the decadence and bourgeois culture of the Opernball. In recent years it became obvious that the whole revolution thing probably won′t work out and the demonstrations have faded. A pity, I say, as they were a much more interesting element of the event than Vienna′s high-society.

The Opernball is definitely not the only ball of Austria. Balls and Rendoutes in mask or without, formal dress of various degrees, parties and gatherings are popular anywhere in Austria, with formal highlights in Vienna and Salzburg, so a lesser degree in Graz and Innsbruck. Universities, societies and clubs, charity organisations, dance schools or political parties organise annual balls.

The "second" ball after the Opernball is probably the "" that was founded a few years ago in the sake of HIV and Aids charities. It was particularly popular with the gay scene, although gradually all kinds of anti-establishment-ball fans have contributed to the event′s popularity. Celebrities have their share in making the "Life Ball" tickets harder to get than those for the Opernball.

An interesting feature of balls are the young people giving their "debut": especially balls organised by the big dancing schools are opened with a dance by young people (typically between 16 and 18 years old) that are formally introduced (or initiated) to society. This traditionally marks the end of their dance and etiquette training and is still a big deal for many girls, not so much the male part of Austria.

The peak of the ball season coincides with Fasching ("carnival"), the period of celebrations and party before the Easter Lent. The two most important days are Faschingssamstag (the Saturday before Ash Wednesday) and Faschingsdienstag (Mardi Gras). Children will dress up in costumes and teenagers or adults go to fancy dress parties. In small communities, there are parades and processions.

This wild face of Faschings is most excessively celebrated in and nearby areas in . If you travel to Austria around this time of the year, consider to go to Venice in Italy for a stop-over of a day or two, where Fasching is celebrated in its own, very special way. Fasching ends when lent starts: Ash Wednesday.

Another February Tradition is the Aperschnalzen in Salzburg and Bavaria: Young men in Lederhosen gather in uneven numbers and use large whips to create loud sounds. They are meant to awake the seed in the soil and call good spirits to chase the snow away. Aperschnalzen is today often held in a competitive manner, the event in Wals near Salzburg is probably the most famous one.

March & April ("März & April")

After forty days of lent (try the traditional lent beer " Osterbock"), Easter takes place. Many customs of the Easter festival are still more religious than the rather commercialised Christmas. On Palm Sunday, people in rural communities take bouquets made of seven different weeds, each with its own symbolism, attached to a stick to church. Together with foods the bouquets, called Palmbuschen, receive good blessings. They are meant to symbolise Christ′s arrival in Jerusalem. They are later placed on fields to protect the crops, where they stay normally until they rot (blessed items are traditionally not thrown away in Austria).

There are many different customs with regional significance held in Austria in the week that follows. Passion plays are organised in some communities. Eggs are painted and decorated. Branches of fruit trees (mostly cherry) or bushes are cut and decorated with eggs or Easter ornaments. Most families paint or stain eggs - they are then knocked against each other in a competitive manner (" Eierpecken").

Church bells are not in use from Green Thursday until the resurrection service in Easter Night (Saturday). Traditionally, children are told that they have flown to Rome. Minister boys walk from door to door and make noises with wooden instruments called "Ratschen" instead. During Easter Night, many communities burn large stacks of woods in bonfires, which is derived from pagan traditions.

The 23rd of April is St. George′s Day, the patron of horses. This day was traditionally significant for farmers, who often relied on the power of horses. In some areas of Austria, riders are coming together for services or " Georgiritt" processions in historic costumes with a man playing St. George.

Festivals & Events elsewhere in Austria

Vorarlberg - Tyrol (Tirol) - Salzburg - Upper Austria (Oberösterreich) - Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) - Vienna - Carinthia (Kärnten) - Styria - Burgenland

Further Reading

Heimatwerk Austria (preserves folk culture)

Ministery for Education, Culture and Science (includes folk culture)

Austrian Tourism Council for current events

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travel austria facts tourist visitor independent local vacation guide information tourism trip

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Austrian Traditions, Customs & Events : January to April : Spring

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Think of Austria, and - at least as a foreigner - you will think of Lederhosen, traditional Dirndl dress and the Alps. Today′s tourism Mafia has done little to change about this thinking, and so the international image of Austria is a rather romantic one.

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If you like hearty, flavorsome, and sweet dishes you will love Austrian food. To provide you with an overview I'm sharing my guide to the best local dishes of my home country, including links to Austrian recipes.

In general, food from Austria mixes Central European produce, textures and flavours. Most of these influences date back to more than six centuries of Habsburg Empire. While savoury Austrian food focuses on meat, poultry, root vegetables, and dairy Austrian desserts mostly work their magic using chocolate, soft cheese, yeast, compotes and jams.

When visiting Vienna, consider joining one of our Vienna cooking classes for a lovely off-beat experience. To shop for food from Austria just stick to good local supermarkets such as Meinl and Merkur.

Clear Soups With Solid Ingredients

In general Austrian love to enrich clear soups with all sorts of solid ingredients, some of which differ by region. While cut carrots, parsnips, turnips, leeks and celeriac make a good broth, it is the extras that count: Semolina balls, liver dumplings, bacon dumplings, strips of pancake (see photo), soup pearls, and egg puffs are the most popular add-ons. Other than soup pearls and egg puffs, which are best bought ready made, the other ingredients are quite easy to make and form part of every decent Austrian cook book. You will also find most of them in every decent Austrian restaurant.

While these soups are essentially beef broths, the Carinthian Klachelsuppe is made from pork leg and root vegetables. It gets its texture from a little flour whirled into the soup, and its flavour from onion slices, laurel, pepper, juniper berries and cloves.

Bread Spreads

Austrian food is probably at its most creative when it comes to bread spreads. They are closely connected to Viennese, Lower Austrian, and Styrian wineries, which traditionally serve them. My personal favourite is Liptauer (derived from the Slovakian region of Liptau).It is based on creamy soft cheese with red pepper and herbs. Many Vienna wineries serve a mild and a spicy version. The more sophisticated variations include chopped pickled gherkins, onions and anchovies. Other popular bread spreads include the Styrian Verhackert's, based on finely chopped bacon, the Brat'lfettn, which is essentially cold gravy and pork fat (sounds awful but tastes nice!), and the horse radish spread, basically soft cheese with spicy horse radish.

Fried, Breaded And Boiled Beef, Veal, Pork And Poultry

Our lush pastures, large forests and mild climate have created a nation of beef and poultry eaters, generally speaking. Home grown fishes from our rivers and lakes are rare with Austrian food but do land on our plates every now and then. The closer we live to their habitats, the more regional fish specialities we have.

Learn all about our continuing love of breaded cutlets, how to prepare the best Wiener Schnitzel, and the the most popular varieties.

Tafelspitz

Does boiled beef sound dull to you? It shouldn't. The Tafelspitz is one of the tastiest types of savoury Austrian food; and one of the easiest Austrian recipes for meat dishes. The name Tafelspitz refers to the pointed fine fibred piece of meat from the cow's back, just where the tail starts. The meat itself is lean, and has just a thin layer of fat on the upper part of the cut. A typical Austrian household or restaurant would serve the Tafelspitz in thebroth it is boiled in, together with boiled carrots, leeks and turnips, and perhaps a slice of bone marrow.

You would start off with the soup and vegetables. Then, you would have the beef as the main course, together with roast potatoes, cream spinach, horseradish cream and cream with chives. If your cholesterol levels allow, have the bone marrow lightly salted on a piece of toasted dark sourdough bread.

Gulash (or Goulash, in German: Gulasch) is the hearty and very versatile stew that we share with the Hungarians. Find out more about Gulash and how to prepare it.

Schweinsbraten

In the first place, roast pork ( Schweinsbraten) is Eastern Austria's traditional Sunday lunch. (However, since cholesterol has entered the common debate, most of us don't eat it that often anymore.) The pork loin comes with a crunchy crust topped with cumin and is served with white sour cabbage ( Sauerkraut) and bread dumplings. In most families, Schweinsbraten is eaten with gravy, which can sometimes be thickened with flour. Equally popular is our crispy pork leg ( Stelze), especially at local beer and wine festivals - see photo.

Backhendl, Paprikahendl

Just as we coat meat cutlets in flour, eggs and breadcrumbs, we do the same for whole breaded chickens. Specifically local taverns, Eastern Austrian wineries and local festivals offer Backhenderln as a staple Austrian food. In the past few decades, the Styrians have successfully added a new dish to typical Austrian food: Green leafy salad tossed with Styrian pumpkin seed oil, and topped with stripes of warm breaded chicken, a must!

Another local chicken variety is Paprikahendl, roast chicken with sweet red pepper. Actually a culinary import, Paprika chicken reached Austria from Hungaria via the Eastern Austrian region of Burgenland. Most of the times we have it with German Spätzle pasta and lettuce. Gasthaus Hanno Poeschl, one of the best taverns in the centre of Vienna (Weihburggasse 17), applies a special traditional recipe to its Paprikahendl which is excellent.

Savoury And Sweet Balls: Nockerl

Since more than 200 years Nockerl, with all their irregularities, have been shaping Austrian food. They contain either flour, semolina/polenta, or soft cheese, and are bound with eggs and milk. In general, Nockerl can make up both savoury dishes and sweet dishes. Additionally, they are utterly simple, versatile, and inexpensive. While you can easily form them using two spoons, there is a special tool called Nockerlhobel to get them in perfect shape. Here are the four most popular types of Nockerl:

Griessnockerl

Whenever I crave Austrian food at my London home, I usually make semolina balls (see photo above). They are easy to prepare and are used as a solid ingredient for clear soups.

Eiernockerl

Although their ingredients can't be simpler, Eiernockerl are a true feel-good food. In fact, those Nockerl just contain flour, eggs and milk, and nothing else. Most people add them to scrambled eggs and toss them with parsley for a simple dish. To lighten up the dish, serve the Nockerl together with a bowl of fresh lettuce.

Topfennockerl

Whenever I want to display my insider Austrian food skills to friends from abroad, I serve Topfennockerl. Besides having a light extrue, these balls from semolina, soft cheese and egg, are the perfect upgrade to a fruity dessert. In particular, Topfennockerl go well either with strawberries inside or plum compote on the side, and tossed with breadcrumbs fried in butter, and cinnamon.

Salzburger Nockerl

Not only are Salzburger Nockerl the fluffiest of all, they are also a local cult dessert. More a soufflé rather than balls, they contain egg yolk, sugar, loads of whipped egg white and a little flour. We have even created a song and 1990ies TV series out of them! Skilled cooks can prepare them at home. In any case, try the original version in Austria, if you can, as they can turn out in different ways.

Learn how to prepare the best Austrian Knödel by using my favourite dumpling recipes.

Root Vegetables in Austrian Food

Much like other Central European cuisine, Austrian food is unthinkable without root vegetables. Especially carrots, turnips, parsnips, radish, beet root, celeriac and potatoes make popular side dishes. There is nothing like having your Wiener Schnitzel with Austrian potato salad, still a little warm, with finely chopped onions and flavoured with broth. Another popular vegetable dish is beet-root salad with chopped parsley. If you love vegetarian dishes, try to coat celeriac in breadcrumbs like Wiener Schnitzel and fry it in a pan. When serving the celeriac, add either yoghurt sauce with chives or mayonnaise, and potatoes.

Austria's officially best chef Heinz Reitbauer has been cultivating his passion for forgotten Austrian vegetables at his Michelin restaurant Steirereck in Vienna, serving beta sweet carrots and gold roots.

Austrian Desserts

Austrian desserts enjoy a reputation that is probably only topped by Mozart. Hardly any page about Austrian food can surpass the Sacher Torte. There are loads of other fantastic cakes served in Austrian patisseries such as Dobostorte, Esterhazytorte, Imperialtorte or Kardinalschnitten. And then there are warm desserts such as sweet poppy seed potato pasta ( Mohnnudeln, see photo). The list below focuses on those desserts most popular in traditional Austrian households, in addition to the sweet balls and dumplings which I described above.

Formerly the cake of the poor, Emperor Francis Joseph and his sweet tooth promoted Gugelhupf until it became Austria's number one for afternoon tea, breakfast and dessert.

Unlike Sacher Torte, this cake is really easy to prepare. Learn all about Gugelhupf and classic Austrian recipes, which can also be used to bake American Bundt cakes.

Apple strudel

If it wasn't for the Siege of Vienna and Budapest by the Turks, our apple strudel would probably not exist. Notably, many historians agree that the Ottomans (Turks) have added the apple strudel to Austrian food. In general, Apfelstrudel is made from puff pastry that is used in Turkish baklava but can, however, also be done with yeast dough.

People from my mother's generation downwards used to make apple strudel from the original strudel dough, skillfully pulling and extending the dough until it was like thin pergament, covering the whole kitchen table, with the thicker edges hanging over the table's edges, before being cut. Especially if you use ready made puff pastry, the strudel is easy to prepare yourself. After baking the cake, add warm vanilla sauce to the plates and put the strudel on top.

Rehrücken

What makes Rehrücken special is that first this chocolate cake uses biscuit crumbs instead of flour. Second the cake goes in a long shaped creased cake form which provides its name 'deer back' ( Rehrücken). To point out the main flavours, the deer back thrives on marzipan, ground almonds, chocolate, and apricot jam, resulting in a sweet and creamy texture. For decades, my late grandmother, who only cooked Austrian food, excelled with her Rehrücken. While this cake is not a quick fix, it's perfect for special occasions: factor in a little more than an hour to bake and decorate the cake.

Kaiserschmarrn

Kaiserschmarrn is a thick pancake with raisins, torn into giant flakes and topped with plum compote, caster sugar and cinnamon. According to one legend, the Austrian Emperor's kitchen staff would at times ruin the pancakes for the Emperor, creating an 'Emperor's Mess' ( Kaiserschmarrn) and had to eat them themselves. At the annual Film and Food Festival in front of Vienna's City Hall, Kaiserschmarrn is prepared in a huge pan and sold to the public.

Palatschinken

Though similar to the French crêpes, Palatschinken are a typical Austrian food. They are a little softer than crêpes, as they are not made with mineral water. The most popular filling is apricot jam and chocolate. The left overs of Palatschinken usually get sliced up into Fritatten for clear soup.

Topfenkolatschen

The Topfenkolatsche, a small square-shaped cheesecake made of danish or puff pastry, is another lovely down-to-earth Austrian sweet dish. The soft cheese filling is made with caster sugar, raisins, egg yolk and corn starch.

In the same fashion as Topfenkolatschen are a type of danish, you would enjoy them for afternoon tea or as a sweet snack rather than for dessert. When in Austria, get them at local bakeries and patisseries, such as at Mann, Anker or Ströck bakery chains.

Kärntner Reindling

The Carinthian Reindling is a dry yeast cake with raisins, and one of Carinthia's most popular regional dishes. Its taste is quite close to the Panettone of neighbouring Italy. As the Reindling has a quite neutral flavour, people eat it with ham and grated horse radish, or with jam and butter. The name Reindling is derived from the Austrian word for a flat pot ( Reindl).

Regional Produce

Austrian food consists of a few regional specialities that are typical or even unique. You can buy most of them at Naschmarkt, and in every well sorted Austrian supermarket or delicatessen shop. A great opportunity to taste authentic Austrian delicatessen is the annual Austrian food fair Genussfestival.

Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil

Styrian pumpkin seed oil is a richly flavoured green-black coloured oil from the soft seeds of the oil pumpkin grown in Styria. While you can buy it throughout Austria even some specialist supermarkets abroad stock pumpkinseed oil. Specifically, our Kernöl provides a rich taste to green leafy salads and potato salads. On the more exotic side, I have even had ice cream from pumpkin seed oil in a tavern in the Vienna Woods, strangely delicious!

Pumpkin seed oil is also said to help with prostate-related illnesses, arteriosclerosis, and high blood pressure. Some women use it as an anti-ageing product and to prevent dry skin because it is rich in vitamins A, E and in carotenoids.

Styrian Horse Radish

Spicy horse radish is mostly grown in the South Eastern Austrian region of Styria. It is called Radi in Viennese, and is often served thinly grated with pork leg. Why? It helps to digest that irresistibly crunchy but fatty upper crust.

Jams And Pickles

Our long winters taught us a thing or two about preserving fruit and vegetables in rich compotes, jams and sweet/sour pickles. The two most traditional quality brands are Vienna-based jams and pickles manufacturer Staud's and Tyrol-based compote, jam and sirup maker D'Arbo.

When I travel back to Vienna, I often take Staud's jam from apricots grown in the Danube valley of Wachau, pickled gherkins and aromatic forest honey with me.

Most And Sturm

Most is a fruit drink similar to the French cider. When you pronounce it with a closed 'o', it refers to pressed grape juice before it ferments to Sturm wine. On the other hand, if you say it with an open 'o', the term refers to the Upper Austrian and Styrian apple and pear ciders, which usually contain four to eight percent of alcohol. The Sturm exclusively refers to the young still fermenting wine ( vin moussant in French) of Austria and has about one percent of alcohol. You only get it at local wineries between September and December.

Viennese Cook Books

Tante Hertha's Viennese Kitchen

For most foodies Vienna symbolises the classic Central European kitchen, not least because of the vast multiethnic heritage from our Empire days. If you want to re-create at home what you had on your plate in Vienna get a good Viennese cuisine cook book . For example, I am regularly using my German language cook book Hess: Wiener Küche for semolina dumpling soup and apple strudel. Certainly the most delightful English language cook book is Tante Hertha's Viennese Kitchen. A Book of Family Recipes. My friend Elisabeth and fellow Viennese emigrant in London loves it, not least because of its extensive section on desserts and because of the beautiful imagery and personal context: The book is based on the notes of local baronesse Hertha Freiin von Winkler in the early 20th century.

Plachutta Cookbook: Best Of Viennese Cuisine

Those of you who like Vienna beef and have been to one of the local Plachutta restaurants may want to bag this Plachutta cookbook: Best Of Viennese Cuisine before or after you travel Vienna. The book includes mouth-watering photos and focuses on classical Viennese cuisine, from roast beef with onions ( Zwiebelrostbraten) to our way to preparing potato salad to classical desserts like cream cheese strudel ( Milchrahmstrudel).

You can prepare Austrian Food using almost any cookware. The most traditional way is using enamel cookware. My family has been using it since the time of my great grand parents, possibly longer. My family and I still use Austria's Riess porcelain enamel cookware. Riess has had a strong comeback on the market with a carefully modernised range.

Find out whether you would like to use Riess products with my enamel cookware review.

You May Also Be Interested In

My Free Vienna Shopping Guide, Including Many Tips for Homeware and Accessories Shops (it comes with signing up to my free newsletter)
Best Restaurants In Vienna Serving Austrian Food
Vienna Culture Shopping - My Selection of the Best Shops For Homeware, Accessories And Delicatessen

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Austrian Food - A Native's Guide to Austrian Recipes - Vienna Unwrapped

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If you like hearty, flavorsome, and sweet dishes you will love Austrian food. To provide you with an overview I'm sharing my guide to the best local dishes of my home country, including links to Austrian recipes. In general, food from Austria mixes Central European produce, textures and flavours.

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Austro-Hungarian Infantry Weapons 1867 to 1918 ( including WW1 Weapons )