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EXPLAINED: What is allowed in eastern Austria during the hard lockdown over Easter?

Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland will go into a strict lockdown from April 1st. Find out what you will and won't be allowed to do over Easter.

Published: 29 March 2021 16:48 CEST
Updated: 3 April 2021 11:12 CEST
EXPLAINED: What is allowed in eastern Austria during the hard lockdown over Easter?
JOE KLAMAR / AFP

Can families or friends meet at Easter?

There will be exit restrictions – otherwise known as a curfew or 24-hour stay at home order – in place, meaning it is only possible to leave the house to exercise, buy essential items, exercise animals or seek medical help.

Travelling to visit people for a family celebration is not allowed, Der Standard newspaper reports, as it is not one of the reasons to leave your house. However, it is possible for members of one household to visit a single member of another household.

Austria’s coronavirus lockdown: Under what circumstances can I leave my apartment?

For example, a son can visit parents, or a family can visit a grandmother who lives on their own. But it is not possible for a family with more than one person to visit two grandparents at once, according to the Kronen Zietung.

Outside the eastern states, these restrictions are in place across Austria between 8pm and 6am.

READ MORE: Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland to re-enter strict coronavirus lockdown

Can people travel from Vienna, Lower Austria or Burgenland to other parts of Austria, or vice versa?

It is possible to cross state borders to visit a relative in a single household. For example, a couple living in Vienna can visit a grandmother living on her own in Tyrol, or two parents from Styria can visit their son living alone in Vienna.

However, the Ministry of Health urges everyone not to hold family reunions or travel. It is not permitted to leave east Austria to go to another federal state to get a haircut or go shopping according to the Austrian APA agency.

However it is legal to travel to or stay at a second home in Austria. 

Can I bring my kids along with me to visit my parents?

A couple cannot visit two grandparents, however, one person visiting both parents may bring their children with them, as children are exempted from the rule.   

Do I have to get tested before seeing anyone?

There is no test requirement before travelling, apart from districts such as Wiener Neustadt-Land and Neunkirchen or parts of Tyrol, where exit tests already apply, according to the Ministry of Health. However people are urged to test themselves before meeting up with other people. 

What will happen with shops?

You should still be able to pick up goods you have ordered from the shops. Shops which stay open, such as supermarkets, should only be able to sell “basic goods”. For example: supermarkets will be allowed to sell food but not flowers during the Easter break.

What about takeaways? 

Takeaways will still be allowed, according to the APA Austrian press agency. 

Can I go to church at Easter?

Church services should also be possible during Holy Week and Easter. However, there will be very strict rules for this. Whenever possible, services will be outdoors.

Visitors to the services must keep a distance of at least two meters. In addition, FFP2 masks are compulsory for adults and young people from the age of 14 – even outdoors.

 Can I visit my parents abroad?

There are different entry requirements when travelling to and from various countries, and you may be asked to provide negative tests or quarantine depending on where you are travelling to and from.

Every person entering Austria, including Austrian citizens and commuters must fill out a Pre-Travel Clearance Form before coming into the country, unless they are in transit.

People may only  enter without  testing and quarantine if they come from Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea or the Vatican. 

Aircraft from South Africa and Brazil are currently banned from landing.

QUARANTINE: Here is the form you need to enter Austria from Friday

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AUSTRIAN TRADITIONS

What do Austrians eat during Easter celebrations?

Austria is a very Catholic country, and Easter festivities are full of events - and traditional dishes.

Published: 27 March 2024 11:37 CET
What do Austrians eat during Easter celebrations?

Easter traditions begin in Austria in the weeks before 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 hard-boiled eggs, and cakes in the shape of a lamb (Osterlamm).

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

Hard-boiled eggs are extremely popular – around 50 million of them are sold in shops during the Easter season, Austrian media has reported. They are eventually eaten but are also part of a special tradition, or Easter “competition”, known in Austria as Eierpecken. 

Families will gather at the dinner table, each choosing their own special dyed egg. In pairs, they will “tap” the eggs together. The egg that survives without a crack wins.  

But, of course, eggs are not the main dish.

READ ALSO: Why is Good Friday not a holiday in Austria?

Almost 230 tons of sheep and lamb meat are eaten in households around Easter. In the months before and after, the figure is only around a third of that.

Some families prefer a lighter meal, and bread and smoked meat are consumed for the Easter festivities – in particular, almost twice as much smoked meat is sold at Easter than in other months. 

A cheese platter – especially with some local cheeses – is also very popular for Easter lunch with family.

Before the feast, though, people often fast on Maundy Thursday – not strict fasting, though. They usually abstain from meat dishes and fill up on spinach (four times as much spinach is consumed on Maundy Thursday than on other days). 

Do people bring presents for Easter?

Traditionally, yes, there is an exchange of chocolate products. In Vienna, two-thirds of the people buy presents for Easter, spending an average of €50 per person or €70 per person if there are children or grandchildren in the family, according to data from the Vienna Economic Chamber.

Various goods are purchased around Easter, including toys, Easter decorations, clothing, consumer electronics, health and beauty products and sporting goods.

READ ALSO: What’s open and what’s closed in Austria over Easter weekend?

Easter is a family celebration, as the results of a survey conducted by KMU Forschung Austria on behalf of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce show: 56 percent plan to spend the day with their family and are preparing an Easter snack or Easter meal together.

“By the end of the Easter weekend, an impressive 16 million dyed eggs and 5 million chocolate bunnies will have been given away in Vienna – that makes eight Easter eggs and at least two chocolate bunnies per person,” said Margarete Gumprecht, Chairwoman of the Retail Division of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.

The survey showed that sweets are the most popular gifts (69 percent), followed by dyed and boiled eggs (33 percent), toys (28 percent), cash (24 percent), and flowers or plants (20 percent). 

The most popular Easter traditions are visiting family members (56 percent), a joint Easter meal (52 percent), an Easter egg hunt (31 percent), egg pecking (the Eierpecken game, with 30 percent) and setting up a decorated Easter tree (29 percent).

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