Bilingual place-name signs controversy settled

Categories
Politics

Political leaders seem to have ended a lengthy argument considering bilingual place-name signs.Negotiators announced in Klagenfurt yesterday evening (Tues) they agreed that 164 towns and communities in the province of Carinthia will be equipped with place-name signs in both German and Slovenian.Provincial decision-makers and representatives of the Slovenian minority have been at odds over the […]

Power cut at biomass plant

Categories
General News

Around 300 households were without heating for several hours Wednesday night after a short circuit at a biomass heating plant in Vorarlberg.Firemen in the town of Lech said today (Fri) that an electrical short occurred at the facility after a device overheated. Thirty fire-fighters and 10 engineers managed to get the situation under control.The plant […]

Fasching fascinates fewer Austrians

Categories
Lifestyle

Fewer Austrians are celebrating Fasching this year, according to a poll.Linz-based research group Spectra found that 43 per cent of people living in Austria are celebrating the festival known as, Karneval in Germany and Carnival elsewhere this year. Surveys carried out one year ago revealed that two thirds of Austrians were doing so.Spectra said today, […]

Ukrainian cigarette smuggler caught

Categories
General News

An Ukrainian man has been caught smuggling more than 700 cartons of cigarettes.The 27-year-old was stopped in a routine road check near Villach in the southern Austrian province of Carinthia yesterday (Thurs). Traffic police officers discovered 735 cartons containing hundreds of thousands of cigarettes in the boot of his car and on the vehicle’s back […]

Tyrol-endorsing Russians pick upmarket hotels

Categories
Business

More than four out of 10 Russians spending their winter holidays in Austria choose four and five star hotels, it has been announced.The Tyrolean Tourism Marketing said today (Weds) 43 per cent of tourists from Russia book into the two most exclusive categories of hotels.Tyrol is the most popular destination in Austria for Russians with […]

‘Crazy’ speed camera flashes all drivers

Categories
General News

Red-faced police in Salzburg have admitted a speed camera has flashed every driver regardless of the speed they were going for several hours.Motorway officials announced today (Weds) a radar trap took a picture of every car going on the A10 Tauern motorway on Monday for four hours due to a technical malfunction.Autobahn workers were eventually […]

Police find shot chamois in car boot

Categories
General News

A 44-year-old man has been put in custody after police discovered a dead chamois and an unregistered weapon in his car.Traffic police officers found the killed animal and an unlicensed gun, which features a sound absorber, in the boot of the man’s vehicle during a traffic check in Bad Ischl, Upper Austria.He was arrested after […]

Salzburg hotel prices jump

Categories
Business

Hotels in the city of Salzburg have upped their prices by more than 25 Euros, it has been revealed.International hotel comparison website Trivago (www.trivago.co.uk/hotelprices) said today (Thurs) that a standard double room in the holiday hotspot currently costs 129 Euros a night, up from 102 Euros last month.Thousands of skiers spending their holidays in the […]

Afghan walks through motorway tunnel

Categories
General News

An Afghan who stopped while walking through a busy motorway tunnel has applied for asylum in Austria, it has been reported.Officials in the province of Salzburg said today (Thurs) the man was spotted strolling in the A10 Tauern motorway’s 6.4-kilometre Tauern tunnel yesterday.The man failed to present an ID but applied for political asylum in […]

Truffles offence extends Austrian’s stay in Croatia

Categories
General News

A Viennese man has been fined in Croatia for trying to take purchased truffles to Austria.Klaus H. told Austrian newspapers today (Fri) he had been unaware that every export of the delicacy – he bought 130 grams for 60 Euros at a market – must be reported to Croatian officials.The 44-year-old was ordered to spend […]