Traditions and everyday life in AustriaFestivals, family customs, favourite places and everyday traditions, written by members of Global Penfriends who live in Austria. Each cultural keepsake is a short note about life where they are.
39 keepsakes from Austria · page 1 of 2
Villacher Kirchtag is the largest traditional folk festival in the country and takes place in the town of Villach, in the southern region of Carinthia. The festival usually happens during the first week of August and lasts for a…
Shared by CosmicWanderer
Perchten or Krampus/Krampal are scary hairy animal-like creatures that are decorated with cowbells to make as much noise as possible. Back in the day, they would go through the village at the beginning of winter, accompanied by…
Shared by Jessiiii
Minimundus is a famous miniature park located in Klagenfurt, Austria. It showcases more than 150 detailed scale models of well-known buildings, monuments, and landmarks from around the world.All the models are built at a scale of…
Shared by Corina57
Celebrating easter starts on Saturday. Meat (ham and traditional sausages) is cooked also eggs are boiled and coloured. The meat, the eggs, salt and horseradish is put in a basket and covered with cross-stitch cloths and…
Shared by Feh
You wear traditional clothing on special events or dates like easter, christmas, on weddings or certain holidays. It’s a typical austrian thing but not everyone does it and we don’t do it always but for example on St. Rupert’s…
Shared by loeyschinasheep
December is my favourite month, because there are so many beautiful traditions around Christmas. My family and I use to bake different kinds of Christmas-cookies and on every sunday we sit around our table and sing Christmas…
Shared by Lxthlorien
Starting around November every year in every city or town you visit you will likely find a Christmas market. Most countries have something similar but everyone does it a little differently. At every booth you will find delicious…
Shared by mintey
I was really excited to see the Northern Lights for the first time. We were on a cruise to Longyearbyen, one of the northernmost inhabited places in Norway, and seeing the lights from the deck of the ship was an incredible…
Shared by Elcaspade
In Poland there is a tradition called tłusty czeartek (fat Thursday)It’s always on the last Thursday before the Ash Wednesday. On this day we eat at least one pączek(filled donut). It is believed that if you eat filled donuts on…
Shared by SaCha22
Every year in late November and early December, he comes to town: a horned, hairy demon with a hand-carved wooden mask, heavy cowbells and a birch rod. He's the grumpy sidekick of St. Nicholas. Nicholas brings sweets to the good…
Shared by Salzamt
The Buttnmandl procession is a unique, centuries-old custom in the Berchtesgadener Land. On 5 and 6 December (as well as on Sundays during Advent), groups – known as ‘Bassn’ – comprising St Nicholas, angels and wild figures, make…
Shared by Othala
Skiing is pretty much the biggest sport in Austria and the country is very dependent on it. Ten percent of all Austrians work in tourism jobs, most of them in ski resorts. Many people here ski, and even more come from other…
Shared by jellyfish3110
Every winter, in the evening of december 5th, people get together for a so called „Krampus Lauf“. This is a sort-of-parade of people wearing devil‘s costumes with masks, are getting horribly drunk and then (or during that) run…
Shared by leybella123
In my family it’s a custom to start Christmas Dinner only after the first star can be seen on the nighty sky. If stars aren’t visible we start our dinner after they play "Silent Night“ for the first time on the radio, which…
Shared by Nixenheim
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, commonly known as Sissi, is one of the most iconic and intriguing figures in European history. Born on December 24, 1837, in Munich, Bavaria, she became the Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary…
Shared by kimsibee
In Austria, thousands of girls feel like princesses every winter because of the ball season in Austria. The traditional events enchant locals and guests from around the world alike well beyond a single night. More than 400 balls…
Shared by hydrangea
Christkindlmarkt (Christmas market) bring people together and offer local businesses an opportunity to connect directly with the community. If you ever happen to be in Austria during the Advent season, I highly recommend making a…
Shared by k3ziq
In Austria there is a tradition to dance to the song "The Blue Danube" on new years eve the moment the clock strikes midnight. Everyone starts waltzing to the song, either after having drunk a glass of sparkling wine (or Sekt) or…
Shared by Fia.
We have them all over the country at christmas time starting in november and lasting until december. I love to go to the Adventmarkt with friends, sipping on some punch under beautiful lights between sales stalls. Maybe it even…
Shared by Jay but only the letter
Sachertorte is a traditional Austrian chocolate cake with apricot jam and a chocolate glaze, usually served with whipped cream.It is especially famous in Vienna and is a lovely part of Austrian coffeehouse culture.
Shared by DreamyNomad
It is a traditional dance and mostly done by a group of dancers. There are always a boy and a girl (a few dances are just with boys). There is also a thing called "blatler" witch is in almost every dance.
Shared by Maggy2
For easter, the men go out and water the women, as if they were flowers, for which the get a chocolate egg. In bigger towns men throw water at women, but usually they spray them with cologne or perfume
Shared by kneecatchu
It‘s tradition to gather as family and celebrate Easter with a Jause (bread, cheese, eggs, ham, etc.). We do this before after for easter eggs and we try to find out who‘s egg is the strongest!
Shared by AnawithoneA
This picture was taken last winter. When I was a kid we used to have 2m of snow in the winter, but it decreased over the years. I mean we still have a lot but not as much as we used to have.
Shared by sar.raw
In Vienna there are rally old cafés. Going for a coffee is a common thing here. you can also enjoy a lot of delicious cakes and pastries like the famous "Sachertorte".
Shared by Mika0205
It is very beautiful to walk along the danube in what is called the meadow. There are small forests and grass along the river. You feel very calm going there. :-)
Shared by littlegirl
I love going for walks in our beautiful Forests! They are so full of live and green. It so peacfull, especially when the sun shines through the leaves.
Shared by Magdalena Leatitia Leni
This is my home mountain called "the hochschwab". Certainly not the highest mountain (2277m) of Austria but a very lovely one to hike up to.
Shared by lorenz1997
Austria is rich in important sights, like many things in Vienna, but also the other provinces ("Bundesländer") have lots to show!
Shared by powidlWant to hear about life in Austria first-hand? Write to a penpal who lives there.
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