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LIVING IN AUSTRIA

How to celebrate Easter like an Austrian

From cakes in the shape of a baby lamb to 'Green Thursday', Easter in Austria can feel a little different. Here's your guide to the festivities.

Published: 26 March 2021 13:33 CET
Updated: 6 April 2023 17:24 CEST
Easter egg decorations
ALEXANDER KLEIN / AFP

Easter traditions begin in Austria in the weeks leading up to the big day, as shops and bakeries start to fill up with seasonal goods such as Osterpinzen (a kind of sweet bread roll), Schinken im Brotteig (ham in a bread crust), colourful hardboiled eggs and cakes in the shape of a baby lamb (Osterlamm). 

Here are some examples of what the Osterlamm might look like – and one of a pretty sad looking little lamb. 

For those unsure why a lamb-shaped cake should take centre stage this time of year, here is a brief explanation of its history and purpose during Easter time.

As well as looking cute, delighting children, and tasting nice, Osterlamm has a serious side.

There are lots of different Osterlamm recipes available online – most requiring a lamb-shaped cake form – but the ready-made version is also easy to pick up from certain shops in Austria.

The following link breaks down the Osterlamm and at least tries to answer why it is so important for Austrians. 

READ MORE: ‘Osterlamm’ and what it means to Austria

Decorations

Many people decorate their homes with an Easter centrepiece arrangements of Palmkätzchen (also known as Palmbuschen, Palmkatzln, Palmkatzerl or pussy willow in English) and decorated wooden eggs, though some people add other foliage to the decoration. 

Palmsonntag (Palm Sunday) is celebrated in Austria by the blessing of Palmkätzchen rather than palms.

An Austrian folk custom says that if you bury these blessed Palmkätzchen, they protect your fields from bad weather during the year.

Green Thursday

Maundy Thursday follows or Gründonnerstag (Green Thursday), as it is known in Austria. It is traditional to eat spinach and other green foods such as kale, herbs or salads on this day, hence the name.

On this day in much of Austria and also in Catholic areas of Germany it is said the church bells fall silent and “fly to Rome”, so children are tasked with making a noise with wooden rattles to announce the times of day and call for church services.

READ MORE: What does Gründonnerstag mean in Austria?

In some parts of Austria, groups of boys walk from house to house with baskets and their ratchets to collect eggs.

Good Friday

Karfreitag (Good Friday) is not really celebrated by Catholics and is no longer a public holiday for Protestants living in Austria.

Easter fires

The most elaborate Easter rituals in Austria are said to be in Styria and Carinthia, where   on the Saturday before Easter (Holy Saturday or Karsamstag) it is common to have a bonfire or Osterfeuer outside together with family and friends.

However, due to the coronavirus pandemic this year, there will be restrictions on traditional Easter bonfires. In Carinthia they will only be allowed in public between 6am and 8pm in Carinthia.

The number of participants will also be limited.

Traditional Easter bonfires will be restricted this year in Austria. Image: AFP

Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday in Austria, children enjoy Easter egg hunts and a large Saturday dinner and/or Sunday breakfast with ham, coloured eggs, Osterpinzen bread and special cakes. Church bells ring out, having returned from Rome.

A popular game is Eierpecken (egg pecking), in which people bang coloured eggs together until they break. Then the winner has to eat the eggs. 

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LIVING IN AUSTRIA

Austria breaks population growth record in 2022

The country grew by a net 126,000 people last year – the most in its post-war history. The increase is down solely to immigration into the country, according to the country’s statistics agency.

Published: 1 June 2023 16:45 CEST
Austria breaks population growth record in 2022

If it wasn’t for immigration into Austria, including refugee arrivals, the Austrian population would’ve shrunk last year.

That’s according to Statistics Austria, the country’s official agency.

126,000 net newcomers is a huge increase on 2021 numbers, where 46,000 net new people took up residence in Austria.

More than half that total was made up of the 67,000 refugees who fled to Austria from Ukraine as Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

READ ALSO: Ukrainian refugees push Austria’s population past nine million

Ukrainians constituted the largest group by far. The second-largest group, at 14,000 people, were Syrians. About 9,000 Germans also took up residence in Austria last year, who made up the largest share of the net 36,000 people who came from other EEA countries, Switzerland, or the UK in 2022. A further 2,700 came from Turkey.

The immigration into Austria more than made up for the country’s demographic slide – at least this time. Around 82,600 people were born in Austria last year, about 10,000 less than the number of people who died, leaving immigration solely responsible for the country’s population increase in 2022.

Out of the country’s 9 million people, about 1.7 million do not have Austrian citizenship.

READ ALSO: Vienna will ‘soon’ reach two million residents

The largest net increase in population was seen in Vienna, which got 50,000 new residents last year and is expected to pass the 2 million mark either this year or next.

Lower and Upper Austria saw the next highest increases at around 20,000 and 18,000 people, respectively. Styria saw another 17,000 new residents.

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