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What does Gründonnerstag mean in Austria?

Searches for the word 'Gründonnerstag' spiked overnight due to eastern Austria's lockdown - but what exactly does the term mean?

Published: 25 March 2021 12:27 CET

Chocolate bunnies

STEFAN WERMUTH / AFP

Austrian Health Minister Rudolf Anschober referred to “Gründonnerstag” as the starting day for restrictions in the east Austrian states of Vienna, Burgenland and Lower Austria on Wednesday night.

The declaration sent many people scrambling for the internet to try and work out what exactly ‘Green Thursday’ meant – and when it was.

Exponentieller Anstieg bei #Gründonnerstag Suchanfragen auf Google pic.twitter.com/NQ3stJRc4D

— Radio FM4 (@radiofm4) March 24, 2021

Austria’s FM4 station posted this image joking the use of the word had prompted a spike in Google searches for “Gründonnerstag” as the rest of the world tried to work out what exactly Anschober was talking about.

Contrary to popular belief it is not another word for April’s Fools Day in Austria, but the German term for Maundy Thursday.

Maundy Thursday is a religious day which commemorates Jesus Christ’s last supper with his disciples.

It is celebrated on the Thursday before Good Friday each year – meaning that this year’s date of April 1st is purely a coincidence.

Gründonnerstag pic.twitter.com/IylON21Jo0

— leeve Jong (@leeve_jong) April 9, 2020

While in many cultures it is little known, in Austria the day retains a special significance.

It is traditional to eat spinach and other green foods such as kale, herbs or salads on this day, hence the name.

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Traffic jams and sold-out trains: the latest on Easter travel in Sweden

Travelling by rail

If you haven’t already booked your ticket, you may find it difficult to get a seat on some popular routes.

“Some routes are already fully booked. This is particularly the case between the major cities,” Anders Edgren, a press officer for the national train company SJ, told state broadcaster SVT.

A screenshot of SJ’s booking site for Good Friday shows most morning trains between Malmö and Stockholm are already sold out.

Edgren said on Thursday morning that there were still a few seats left between Stockholm and Gothenburg and Stockholm and Sundsvall but that they were selling out fast.

“What we’re trying to do is to double-up trains, which is to stick together two trains, and if we manage to do that we might be able to release some more tickets.”

Sweden’s national rail company SJ often schedules engineering work for national holidays, as fewer people are travelling to work, and this easter there will be engineering work at around 20 sites across the country, meaning more than 1,000 trains will be partly or totally replaced with buses during the Easter break.

The worst areas are on the routes between Gothenburg and Malmö, between Västerås and Stockholm, and between Karlstad and Växjö. Work on the new Västkustbanan will mean replacement buses between Helsingborg and Gothenburg throughout the Easter holidays.

SJ has made a map showing all the routes where you can expect interruptions:

Traffic interruptions over Easter:

Karlstad C to Kristinehamn: 10pm April 14th to 5am April 19th

Gothenburg going north and south: 10.35pm April 14th to 2pm April 18th

Varberg to Heberg: 2pm April 14th to 2pm April 19th 14

Ängelholm Helsingborg: 12am April 4th to April 25th 4.15am

Frövi to Kumla: 10pm April 14th to 5am April 19th

Skymossen to Motala: 12am April 14th to 5am April 19th

Stockholm Central platforms 3 to 7: 10pm April 14th to 10pm April 21st

Huvudsta – Barkarby: 1.10am April 14th to 4.30am April 19th

Travelling by car

In its guide to travelling by car over Easter, the Swedish Transport Agency warns that weather conditions at this time of year can vary enormously as you drive north. You may find, for instance, that you need winter snow tyres by the time you reach your destination, even seemed almost summery when you set out. You should also make sure you have clothing for all seasons.

Here is the agency’s maps of roads which it expects to see heavy Easter traffic.

A map showing which roads are expected to be busy over the Easter period. Photo: Swedish Transport Agency

These include:

The E22 between Kalmar and Norrköping, the E4 between Norrköping and Stockholm, and then from Stockholm all the way up to Sundsvall. The roads leading towards the ski areas around Sälen and Östersund also tend to get crowded. None of the roads in Skåne are expected to see heavy traffic.

The Swedish Transport Agency has imposed a ban on overtaking on the E4 between Gävle och Tönnebro, on the 14th and 14th of April for travel in a northerly direction, and on the 17th and 18th of April travelling south.

The agency also recommends choosing roads with central reservations and speed cameras, as these are safer, even if this might mean a slower journey. Here is the agency’s map of roads with central reservations.

Flights

If you’re coming to Sweden by air, you should be aware that companies have been cancelling a high number of flights in recent days, because many of their staff have Covid.

EasyJet and British Airways cancelled more than 80 scheduled flights on Thursday, blaming staff sickness.

Airports

If your flight is running as scheduled, be aware of issues at several UK airports.

Airports including Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham have been hit by disruption because of staff shortages caused by Covid, affecting everything from airport security to luggage handlers. Passengers risked missing their flights because of lengthy delays, according to reports in the UK press.

Passport queues at Heathrow Terminal 2, from where SAS flies to Stockholm, were ‘stretching to 90 minutes’ on Maundy Thursday, The Independent reported.

Passengers have been advised to make sure they are at the airport as early as possible to allow for delays, and unions have warned that the disruption could last for some time.

In the case of Manchester, the advice last week was to arrive three hours early.

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