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AUSTRIAN TRADITIONS

What are the strict rules in Austria for New Year’s Eve fireworks?

Many people get ready for fireworks displays on New Year's Eve and may want to light up some fireworks themselves. Here are the rules in Austria.

Austria has very strict rules on fireworks and firecrackers, and the country is moving towards a less noisy form of celebration. In Vienna, fireworks remain forbidden for the third year in a row as the administration seeks to avoid the burden on children, the elderly, animals and the environment.

“On New Year’s Eve, any kind of bang should be avoided – only garbage is left after the very short pleasure”, said Jürgen Czernohorszky, Climate City Councillor in the Austrian capital. Provinces and local authorities are free to set some rules on pyrotechnics but must follow specific federal baselines.

READ ALSO: How to celebrate New Year’s Eve like an Austrian

For instance, fireworks are divided into four categories (F1, F2, F3, F4) with specified rules for how old users should be and if they need any special license. 

A category F1 can be fired from the age of 12 and includes smaller items such as sparklers and party poppers which have very low danger and a negligible noise level, according to the government. Category F2 is allowed from the age of 16. It includes items considered of low hazard and low noise level, intended for use in demarcated areas outdoors, such as flash bangers or mini rockets and spinners.

For categories F3 and F4 usage, which include firecrackers and firework bombs, the person needs to have some experience or even be a specialist depending on the type of pyrotechnics. 

People lined up on the street to enter a firework store in Vienna on December 29th, 2022. Despite the strict rules, legal fireworks are very popular (The Local / Amanda Previdelli)

What are the federal rules?

The federal rules, the minimum standard to be followed, restrict age depending on the four categories and require a license for certain fireworks products, as shown above. 

Additionally, category F2 firecrackers are generally not allowed in Ortsgebiete (a “local area” with at least five residential buildings and parks and sports facilities) all year round. However, local authorities could allow a partial exception if there is no danger to people, their property, or public safety or unreasonable noise pollution. 

READ ALSO: Austria set for mild weather over New Year weekend

Within and in the immediate vicinity of hospitals, children’s homes, elderly homes and care homes, churches, places of worship, as well as animal shelters and zoos, the use of fireworks or New Year’s Eve firecrackers is always prohibited, even if they are outside residential areas. There are no exceptions unless the fireworks do not produce any sounds.

The use of New Year’s Eve fireworks of category F2 within or in the immediate vicinity of large gatherings of people, whether inside or outside a residential area, is also strictly prohibited.

Fireworks are also not allowed in the vicinity of petrol stations or other explosive areas, and the F1 and F2 units must be lit individually and not near one another. Furthermore, certain types of fireworks, especially the Schweizer Kracher that gives a flash bang, are also strictly prohibited in Austria.

READ ALSO: Why Vienna is a haven for wild animals – and where you can find them

Non-compliance may result in a fine of up to €3,600 or imprisonment for up to three weeks.

Police operations against illegal fireworks

Ahead of the New Year celebrations, police in Austria have increased operations to find illegal fireworks, especially categories F3 and F4 and products brought from abroad without the minimum safety standards.

In Vienna, for example, police expressly warned against the use of unauthorised firecrackers and improper use of fireworks. The official celebration in the capital is also dispensing fireworks, and the Viennese will get to enjoy a (quiet) laser show instead.

Other Austrian towns and provinces also increase police activity days before the celebrations.

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POLITICS

EXPLAINED: Austria wants to define its fundamental culture but what is it?

Politicians from Austria's centre-right ÖVP are putting together a definition of Austria's 'guiding culture', known in German as 'Leitkultur'. What is that and why are they doing it?

EXPLAINED: Austria wants to define its fundamental culture but what is it?

When you think of Austria, your first thoughts might be of Alpine hills, Schnitzel and traditional folk music. 

Is this what politicians are referring to when they talk about Austrian ‘Leitkultur’ or ‘leading or guiding culture’? 

Many in Austria are considering this question because the coalition government is honing in on this concept. 

Austria’s Integration Minister Susanne Raab, of the centre-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), has been tasked by chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) to develop a legal definition of ‘Austrian guiding culture’.

It’s part of the “Austria Plan” that Nehammer presented earlier this year when he called for a “guiding Austrian culture by 2030, which should also be reflected in law as a national cultural asset”.

READ ALSO: ‘Austria Plan’ – What are the chancellor’s new plans for the country?

Raab said it should ensure “that symbols and behaviours that contradict our fundamental values can be treated in a legally differentiated manner”.

However, this topic has been the subject of heated debate with critics accusing politicians of using it to alienate immigrants, particularly asylum seekers and refugees.There is a fear that the ‘Leitkultur’ concept goes against multiculturalism and calls on people to conform to one ‘guiding culture’ without an acceptance of other ways of life outside western culture. 

The concept is not just a talking point in Austria – it’s also been discussed heavily in neighbouring Germany for years, particularly by centre-right and far-right parties. 

How is Austria planning to define Leitkultur?

The Austrian government says it wants to define a concept of national cultural heritage in law over the next six years. 

As a first step, the Integration Minister has brought together a panel of experts who will meet on Thursday.

Under the banner “Austrian identity and guiding culture: values of coexistence”, the first meeting will be an introductory exchange, according to Raab’s office. The minister will outline her approach to the topic before the discussion, Austrian newspaper Der Standard reported.

The panel includes Katharina Pabel, a lawyer from Linz, Rainer Münz, who worked for Erste Bank and advised Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the EU Commission and Wolfgang Mazal, a professor at the Institute for Labour and Social Law at the University of Vienna.

What is Austrian ‘guiding culture’?

In an interview with Der Standard before the meeting, Mazal said the initial discussion “should serve to find a consensus in society about what is important to us and what form of coexistence we should cultivate”. He added that the ‘Leitkultur’ debate should be a “process of reflection”.

Mazal does not share the criticism of the term – in his view, it is not about placing one culture above others. Similar to the mission statement of a company, a “guiding culture” should define the “fundamental direction” of a society, he said. 

But the ÖVP’s communication has been more rigid. Secretary General Christian Stocker, for instance, recently explained in a Facebook video that Austrian identity is “what defines us”. This goes “from A to Z”, for example from brass band music to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. “How we celebrate our festivals and holidays” is also part of our identity, he said. And “anyone who doesn’t want to accept all that is welcome to leave”, he made clear.

Overall, the People’s Party is focussing the debate very strongly on the topic of migration. Stocker says, for example, in the context of his comments on identity, that those “who have come to us” have done so voluntarily. “They have chosen this country and therefore they must also accept how we live in this country, what tradition and identity we have.”

In social media posts, Der Standard notes that the party states things like: “Anyone who believes that they should not shake a woman’s hand because she is ‘unclean’ must leave.” Or: “Anyone who rejects our way of life must leave!” 

Integration a key component 

Integration Minister Susanne Raab (ÖVP) told the Kronen Zeitung earlier this year that the concept was centred on integration. 

“Integration means learning the language, going to work and also accepting the values of our coexistence,” she said.

“And that is relevant because many people come to us who have been socialised completely differently. Where the culture is completely different, where women are worth less than men, where girls have no access to education and are forced into marriage or where the police are not your friend and helper, but highly corrupt. All of this is important to convey. And this is where immigrants also have to adapt.”

Raab added that it was possible for someone who did not adapt to face sanctions. 

“Yes, there will be measures that can be implemented in law, Raab told the newspaper, suggesting that could include cuts to social benefits, for example, or negative influences in the citizenship procedure or to asylum status.

The minister gave the example of when refugees come to Austria they have to take a German and values course as well as sign a declaration of integration otherwise there is a risk of having social benefits cut. The ÖVP is also currently considering further sanctions. 

Whatever the case, it is clear that the ÖVP is pushing for more integration measures in Austria, which is something they have been doing consistently. 

READ ALSO: Austrian minister wants foreigners to improve German levels to keep social benefits

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