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LIVING IN AUSTRIA

What you need to know about driving in Austria ahead of the new year

Traffic jams and street closures will make life harder for drivers in Austria during the festivities. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 29 December 2023 15:41 CET
Traffic
Vehicles sit in traffic on a congested motorway. Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP

If you plan on driving to your car somewhere in the next few days, you’ll have to be prepared to face traffic jams and street closures throughout Austria. 

Not only New Year’s Eve events will be causing blockages, but sports events and a large influx of people travelling to ski resorts for their winter holidays will affect traffic, according to road experts at ARBÖ, Austria’s driving association.

New Year running events

Running events across Austria, especially in cities like Vienna, Graz, Linz, and Innsbruck, regularly lead to road closures, affecting local traffic and public transport systems.

The primary running event in Vienna starts at 11 am in the city centre. Several streets in the first district, including the Ringstrasse, will be closed from around 10 am to 1 pm. Public transport via Wiener Linien, including tramlines D, 1, 2, 271, 74A, and tram line 31, will be altered, shortened, or diverted between 9:45 am and 1 pm, causing potential delays.

In Graz, the New Year’s Eve run starts around 2:10 pm, following a five-kilometre route through Mariahilfer Platz, Lendkai, Kalvarienbrücke, Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Kai, and back to Mariahilfer Platz. Road closures will affect these areas from approximately 1:30 pm to 4 pm. Graz’s tram lines 1, 4, 5, 7, 13, 26, and 67 will have adjustments or replacement services between 2 pm and 4:30 pm.

READ ALSO: Where can I celebrate New Year’s Eve in Vienna last minute?

Linz hosts its main New Year’s Eve run at 3 pm with a three-kilometre route through the main square, Volksgarten, Herrenstraße, and the old town. Public transport services on tram lines 1, 2, 3, and 4 and bus lines 12, 17, 19, 26, 27, 45, and 46 may experience interruptions or stops around 2 pm to 4 pm.

Finally, Innsbruck hosts a New Year’s Eve run at 5 pm, following a route through the city centre, potentially leading to local road closures.

These events may cause disruptions and closures to roads and public transport, with alternate routes or replacement services set up to accommodate the running events and ensure public safety.

Other sports events

The Four Hills Tournament’s third stop at the Berg-Isel-Schanze in Innsbruck will occur from January 2 to January 3, 2023, attracting thousands of ski jumping enthusiasts.

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

On January 3rd, spectators mainly gather to witness the thrilling competition and enjoy the venue’s unique view. To accommodate the high number of visitors’ vehicles, the Brenner Bundesstraße (B182) between the Innsbruck-Süd highway junction and Innsbruck will be closed from 9 am to 5 pm.

The influx of visitors will impact the city centre, Inntal Freeway (A12), and Brenner Freeway (A13), leading to longer traffic delays and limited parking spaces. Officials recommend using the free shuttle bus service from the central train station to the base of the Bergisel or utilising other transportation options provided by IVB to ease travel congestion.

Parties and parades

New Year’s Eve celebrations in various Austrian cities, including Vienna and seven provincial capitals, offer outdoor festivities for people to enjoy.

Vienna hosts the prominent New Year’s Eve trail, anticipated to draw hundreds of thousands of attendees to the city centre. Road closures are expected to affect significant areas, with Ringstrasse likely closed from Operngasse to Rathausplatz starting around 7:30 pm until about 1:30 am. 

READ ALSO: What are the best New Year’s markets in Vienna?

Additional closures could affect Löwelstraße, Renngasse, Schottengasse, and Schulergasse from midday onwards.

To ease transportation congestion, experts recommend using public transportation, as subway lines, numerous tram lines and select bus services will operate continuously from December 31st to January 1st, providing convenient travel options for attendees.

Similar celebrations will occur in other provincial capitals, including Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Eisenstadt, and Sankt Pölten, where festivities are planned at main squares or historic town areas. 

Expect local road closures in these locations, emphasising the advice to avoid personal vehicle use for those attending public New Year’s Eve gatherings.

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LIVING IN AUSTRIA

Why internet users in Austria need to be aware of new ‘shitstorm’ ruling

'Shitstorm' is a ubiquitous Anglicism used in Austria referring to public, online and broad harassment people sometimes suffer. And now the country's supreme court is cracking down on perpetrators.

Published: 14 June 2024 09:02 CEST
Why internet users in Austria need to be aware of new 'shitstorm' ruling

The word “shitstorm” officially arrived in German dictionaries more than ten years ago,

Its meaning is different from the English version, which according to the Oxford dictionary is used to a describe “a situation marked by violent controversy”.

However in German the Duden Dictionary explains it as a “storm of indignation in an internet communication medium, sometimes accompanied by insulting statements”.

The word is back on Austrian media after a controversial decision of Austria’s Supreme Court, which decided to crack down on instances of online harassment. According to the decision, simply participating in a “shitstorm” can cost an individual plenty. 

According to the court’s decision, it’s sufficient for a victim of a “shitstorm” to identify one person involved. You can “then assert a claim against this person for the entire immaterial damage that the person has suffered as a result of the ‘shitstorm’ “, media lawyer Maria Windhager told broadcaster ORF. 

READ ALSO: Four reasons Austria is great for women and four reasons why it isn’t

The Supreme Court’s decision means that those who spread hate and fake news online must also accept that they can be prosecuted for it. 

Police officer vilified online

Austria’s highest court dealt with the specific case of a police officer photographed and filmed as he worked in one of the 2021 demonstrations against COVID-19 measures. In a Facebook post, his image was shared with the false accusation that he pulled an 82-year-old man to the ground before arresting and interrogating him. 

According to the police officer, the post had many unpleasant consequences for him. He, his sister, and his mother had been asked about it many times, and even his former post commander had confronted him about it, the report stated. 

He was able to identify several people who shared the post and was able to bring one to court. In an initial trial, the court only awarded him a small portion of the €3,000 compensation he had demanded. 

Austria’s Supreme Court, however, awarded the man a total €3,000. In its reasoning, the Supreme Court stated that a “shitstorm” is defined precisely by the fact that many people participate in it. At the same time, the Supreme Court disagreed with the argument that this makes the individual act of every participant less significant. 

READ ALSO: What to do if you experience online abuse in Austria

Such an argument would have the consequence that the more people who take part in a shitstorm, the “less liable” everyone would be.

“The effect of a shitstorm is all the more violent, the more people participate in it”, according to the Supreme Court. With this, the court said those affected by a “shitstorm” could claim the total damage from a single perpetrator. 

Lawyer Windhager said: “I do believe that the ruling will shake people up and make them think a little more carefully about what they post and, above all, what they share”.

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