Category: Austrian News

On April 1, the rents of 376,000 households will rise by a hefty 8.6 percent. Nevertheless, a rent break is not coming. For weeks, the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Greens had been negotiating about the rent break. Yesterday, the “compromise” was presented: The housing subsidy will be increased by 250 million euros, 25 million of which will go into the “housing umbrella” against delogations. The money does not flow automatically but must be applied for. According to ÖVP club leader Wöginger, the one-time payment will be about 200…

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The XBB.1.5 wave has reached the top. The numbers are dropping just in time for the start of spring, but a new variant is causing intensive care patients. Coronavirus variant outbreak as an omicron subvariant and covid-19 infectious influenza background as dangerous flu strain cases as a pandemic medical health risk concept with disease cells as a 3D rendering The highly contagious omicron variant XBB.1.5 has spread rapidly in Austria in recent weeks, dominating the infection scene with a share of more than 70 percent. But this means that the…

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The weather shows its friendly and mild side in the new week. At the beginning of the new week, a foothill of the Scandinavian low “Gerson” quickly moves off to the east. From the west, the high “Kali” gradually influences the Alpine region’s weather pattern. The weather thus calms down permanently. In addition, Austria moves into the forefield of a new, powerful low-pressure complex near the British Isles in the latest week. The current thus turns to the southwest, and significantly warmer air masses of Mediterranean origin are brought into…

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Spring plants are beginning to bloom one to two weeks earlier than the average in the past decades. This is because January and February were almost consistently too mild, explains Geosphere Austria (formerly ZAMG). Therefore, many plants’ development started significantly earlier than in an average year. For example, forsythia and dirndl are already blooming in many places at lower altitudes. The flowering of the apricot has also already begun, as in the Wachau, in the Vienna area and northern Burgenland around the Leithagebirge. “This means that the development of the…

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Vienna is the first destination in Austria to make it onto TIME Magazine’s list of “World’s Greatest Places.” Since 2018, TIME Magazine has been selecting a list of the “World’s Greatest Places.” This year, Vienna also made it to the top 50 destinations. What makes Vienna a top travel destination for TIME Magazine?In its citation, TIME Magazine praises Vienna as a “classical city, modernized” and highlights those developments that have made the federal capital the world’s most livable city in various rankings. These include, for example, bicycle and pedestrian friendliness,…

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The City of Vienna is on the lookout: 21,000 positions must be filled by 2030. For this reason, one starts now a large personnel offensive, including an advertising campaign, as mayor Michael Ludwig and personnel city councillor Jürgen Czernohorszky (both SPÖ) communicated on Friday. The fields of work, so it was assured, are various. Employees are being sought in social, technical or even digital areas.In total, the city employs around 67,000 people. For example, the City of Vienna is now organizing its job fair for the first time to fill…

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Austria’s households have submitted around 3 million vouchers for energy cost compensation. This corresponds to a relief volume of 440 million euros, calculated by the Ministry of Finance on Friday in a release. However, of the vouchers submitted, around 365,000 were rejected due to incorrect information, so only a relief volume of 375 million euros was realized. Applications are still possible until the end of March. The vouchers can be presented to the respective electricity provider, reducing the annual bill by 150 euros. As one of the first anti-inflation measures,…

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Fines for violations of the cell phone ban behind the wheel will be increased – and significantly. Cell phone behind the wheel: higher fines to be paid in futureIf drivers are caught while driving, it will cost 100 euros instead of 50 euros. If payment is refused or drivers are caught in a speed trap with a cell phone in their hand, the fine can be up to 140 euros. Previously, it was 72 euros. The Traffic Committee of the National Council passed a corresponding amendment to the Motor Vehicle…

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Housing again became more expensive in the fourth quarter of 2022. The increases in operating costs, in particular, were considerable due to high inflation. At the end of the year, average rents, including operating fees, stood at EUR 8.9 per square meter, representing a price increase of 7 percent. Operating expenses increased by 6.2 percent across all rental segments, which was the “highest quarterly increase in the previous year since 2006,” according to Statistics Austria. Operating costs include fees for water, sewage, garbage collection, and common charges such as elevators,…

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