An Austrian millionaire who became an Internet sensation when he revealed he had given away everything in order to help the poor is really a conman who simply wanted to get publicity to sell his house and pay off his debts. Media around the world rushed to cover the story of Karl Rabeder when he […]
Roadworks season starts
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Roadwork season gets underway now in Austria. Over the winter work on the roads stops because of the extreme cold that make it impossible to carry out repairs or new building. Concrete and tarmac for example can only be laid at certain temperatures. But the Austrians make up for that in spring and summer with […]
Dog checks stepped up in Vienna
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Dog owners in Vienna are being targeted by police in the city over the next two weeks to check their pets are licensed and being properly walked. In recent years a whole spate of tough new regulations governing the way dogs are looked after has been introduced in the capital city. Now Vienna police officers […]
Coining it in
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Austrian hotel manager Rainer Ogrinigg is booked out after offering to allow guests to pay in Austrian Schillings and German Marks rather than Euros. Ogrinigg, who owns the Seehotel Grundlsee in Ausseerland in the Austrian lake district the Salzkammergut, confirmed it is now possible for guests to pay in German Marks. The offer was made […]
Billionaire supermarket and property tycoon Karl Wlaschek, 94, has unveiled plans to marry in a few days, saying jokingly that he hopes to have more children. Wlaschek, who according to Forbes is worth an estimated 4.4 billion euros from the founding of the Billa supermarket chain and a property business, announced at the weekend that […]
The compulsory use of winter tyres rule ends this weekend on Sunday when spring officially arrives for the road transport authorities. The fact however that people will no longer be obliged to wear winter tyres does not seem to have been observed by mother nature – with snowfalls predicted on Monday in many parts of […]
Mystery SMS may help solve murder
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Austrian police are hoping that the mystery SMS sent claiming to be from the woman who was already dead might help them track down her killer. The 58-year-old woman was found dead with massive head injuries in her flat in Schwechat outside Vienna after a neighbour raised the alarm. The neighbour said that the woman […]
Man killed in traffic accident
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A tragic accident claimed the life of a 22-year-old Austrian this week. The young man from Oberndorf, in Flachgau, was travelling in Bavaria when he pulled into the lane used by oncoming traffic to overtake a row of cars. But he smashed into the side of another car driven by another Austrian driver, a 45-year-old […]
Firemen tackle crematorium fire
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Firemen were called out to deal with an unplanned blaze in an Austrian crematorium at a cemetery in Graz this week. The blaze was caused when a filter overheated and was difficult to bring under control because of the thick isolation around the filter. The filter was fixed to one of the ovens used to […]
Austrian builders are starting to feel the pressure of competition from abroad. Since the opening of the domestic market to firms from EU countries more and more foreign firms are setting up business in Austria. Spokeswoman for the builders Maria Epple said: “It is not just the lower wage costs but also the fact that […]