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WHAT'S ON IN VIENNA

Everything that’s happening in Vienna in April 2023

From bonuses to festivals and Easter markets, we've gathered together the big events and changes in Vienna in April 2023 that are relevant for foreign residents.

Published: 3 April 2023 17:21 CEST
Everything that's happening in Vienna in April 2023
Photo by Andy Wang on Unsplash

Vienna energy bonus

Starting in April, a total of 650,000 Viennese households will benefit from the new Vienna Energy Bonus of up to €200. The amount will be automatically transferred to the accounts registered with the Stadt Wien.

Additionally, the federal government’s housing aid of approximately €200 per eligible household could be paid from early April.

Parties, holidays and events

  • Schönbrunn Easter Market (March 25th – 11th April)

Easter markets are held across Austria annually, and one of the most charming takes place at Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace.

Stalls at this family-friendly market sell arts, crafts and regional food, and photos can be taken with giant Easter eggs. 

The market in Schönbrunn is the most famous, but certainly not the only one: Am Hof and Freyung are also excellent options.

  • Easter Monday (April 10th)

The Monday after Easter is an official bank holiday in Austria, so shops and stores will be closed (supermarkets including – and they were closed on Sunday too, so be prepared). 

Good Friday (Friday, April 7th in 2023) isn’t a public holiday in Austria, but many employers still give their workers the day off without needing annual leave. If that applies to you, you can book time off from April 3rd to get nine days off in a row with four requested yearly leave days.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How to maximise your annual leave in Austria in 2023

  • Viennese Song Festival (April 13th to May 11th)

Viennese music enthusiasts can look forward to the upcoming Wean Hean festival, which will be held from April 13 to May 11, 2023. The festival will showcase the traditional songs of Vienna, featuring their history and the people behind them. In addition, attendees can enjoy various authentic and contemporary Viennese music while interacting with other genre fans. 

The festival will also host other events in different locations throughout Vienna, with a detailed program on the official website. 

  • Raritätenbörse 2023 (April 14th to April 16th)

Vienna’s annual plant and flower fair is the most significant event of its kind in the city. Whether you are searching for exquisite flowers to adorn your home or are simply keen to experience the stunning diversity of spring’s floral offerings, the fair is a must-visit destination for all plant enthusiasts.

Scheduled to take place in April, the botanical gardens Vienna will host the much-anticipated rare plants market, where attendees will have the opportunity to engage with many passionate plant vendors who will showcase and sell their exotic and rare flora.

The event costs € 6.50 a day to attend, and guests will have the chance to engage with like-minded individuals while browsing through an assortment of beautiful and unusual plant and flower specimens. 

You can check out more HERE.

  • Bike Festival (April 15th and 16th)

The Bike Festival Vienna is definitely a great event for cycling enthusiasts! With a bicycle fair, an e-bike test course, and a bicycle flea market, there is something for everyone. In addition, the bicycle children’s world will surely be a hit with families, and the dirt battle competition sounds exciting to watch. 

It’s a fantastic event promoting sustainable transportation and encouraging people to get out and ride their bikes.

  • Vienna City Marathon (April 23rd)

The highly anticipated annual Vienna City Marathon is fast approaching and scheduled to take place on the 23rd of April. This year’s event promises to be even more exciting than previous years, with people from all over the world participating in the run or cheering on the runners from the sidelines. In addition to the full marathon, there is also a half marathon, which spans 21km.

Registration is closed for most runs, but you can check out more HERE. The marathon route covers some of the city’s most beautiful and scenic locations and offers a unique opportunity to appreciate Vienna’s culture and beauty. 

Whether you’re a seasoned runner or just looking for a fun day out, the Vienna City Marathon is an event not to be missed.

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VIENNA

Could be wurst: Vienna sausage stands push for UN recognition

From top bankers and politicians to students and factory workers, Vienna's popular sausage stands heaving with bratwurst and meaty delicacies are a longstanding cultural legacy they hope to have recognised by UNESCO.

Published: 23 June 2024 08:31 CEST
Could be wurst: Vienna sausage stands push for UN recognition

The owners of 15 stands in the Austrian capital have formed a lobbying group and applied last week to have the “Vienna sausage stand culture” inscribed as intangible cultural heritage by the UN agency.

“We want to create a kind of quality seal for Vienna sausage stands,” said 36-year-old Patrick Tondl, one of the association’s founders whose family owns Leo’s Wuerstelstand — Vienna’s oldest operating sausage stand.

“At the sausage stand, everyone is the same… No matter if you’re a top banker who earns hundreds of thousands of euros or if you have to scrape together the last euros to buy a sausage… You meet here, you can talk to everyone,” he adds.

High inflation driving consumers looking for affordable meals, plus a new wave of vendors with updated flavours, have helped keep the stands busy.

Tondl’s great-grandfather started their business in the late 1920s, pulling a cart behind him and selling sausages at night.

The family’s customers have included former chancellor Bruno Kreisky, recalls Vera Tondl, 67, who runs the shop together with her son Patrick.

Leo’s is one of about 180 sausage stands in Vienna today, out of a total of about 300 food stands, selling fast food at fixed locations and open until the early hours, according to the city’s economic chamber.

Whereas the number of stands has remained similar over the last decade, more than a third have changed from selling sausages to kebabs, pizza and noodles, a spokesman for the chamber told AFP.

‘Momentum’

But sausage stands have seen a “mini boom” in customer numbers recently, according to Patrick Tondl.

Many have been drawn back to the stands by high inflation, where a meal can be had for less than 10 euros ($11) with lower overheads than restaurants.

New stand operators have also brought a “bit of momentum”, said Tondl, bringing the likes of organic vegetarian sausages with kimchi.

Tourists are already drawn in droves.

“When you come to Austria, it’s what you want to try,” 28-year-old Australian tourist Sam Bowden told AFP.

The cultural legacy of Vienna’s sausages is far-reaching, including the use of the term “wiener” for sausages in the United States, which is believed to have derived from the German name for Vienna, Wien.

However Sebastian Hackenschmidt, who has published a photo book on the stands, said the legacy of the “Vienna phenomena” is more complex.

He says that for many in multicultural Vienna, the sausage stands hold little appeal — equally for the growing number of vegetarians — and their universal appeal is something of a “myth”.

“Vienna is a city in great flux… With the influx of people, cultural customs are also changing,” Hackenschmidt told AFP.

Some 40 percent of Vienna’s two million inhabitants were born outside the country, where the anti-immigrant far-right looks set to top September national polls for the first time.

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