Hallstatt, Austria

Communing with Nature in Austria's Hallstatt
Rick Steves

It's rare that a town's charm will get me out of bed early. The postcard-pretty, lake-cuddling town of Hallstatt, two hours south of Salzburg, is one of those places. Hallstatt is located in Austria's Salzkammergut lake district, a scenic wonder that has enthralled nature lovers for centuries.

10 Best Bargains in Salzburg
Karen Brown

Karen Brown -- traveling to Europe for over 30 years and best known as the author of Karen Brown's travel guides -- shares her 10 Best Bargains in Salzburg, Austria, a favorite tourist destination in Europe.

Strabag pulls out of failed EE consortium
Strabag is to sell its share in a German-Russian joint venture after its failure to bag any deals in three years Austrian Times reported. The Austrian construction top dog teamed up with German Deutsche Bank and DB Development to form a joint venture with Russias Sberbank in 2007. Now Strabag...

Bio-degraded: Austrian cacao project fails in Colombia
Styrian confectioner Josef Zotter announced that he was giving up on his project to encourage Colombian farmers to grow cacao instead of cocaine Austrian Times reported. Zotter said his resources and infrastructure were limited and security in Colombia for project leaders could not be guaranteed in the wake of Mafia...

Immofinanz; black and proud
Austrian real-estate firm Immofinanz AG reported that it was back in the black during its 2009-2010 business year May 1 to April 30 Austrian Times reported. The firm said that preliminary figures showed it had enjoyed a profit of €208.3 million after having lost €3.4 billion during its previous business...

Vienna shopping-centre boom is over
The experts are claiming that the shopping-centre boom in Vienna will end with the completion of the Riverside centre in Liesing Austrian Times reported. Real-estate office EHL said that the market for new shopping centres in Vienna was saturated. He added that the city government had not received any new...

Solid car registration figures reported
The Austrian car dealers business has been stable so far this year with a 0.8% year on year rise in registrations of all sorts of vehicles being reported Austrian Times reported. Statistik Austria said 223 247 vehicles were registered between January and June up by 0.8% compared to the first six...

Employment agency booms
Temporary employment agency Hofmann has revealed it has more staff now than before the global economic downturn Austrian Times reported. Jorn Hadenfeldt head of the Linz-based company said Hofmann employed 2 500 people up by around 500 compared to early 2008. Hadenfeldt said his firm created 1 200 jobs in...

They flew to Dnipropetrovsk
Austrian Airlines AUA has won back the right to land in Dnipropetrovsk Austrian Times reported. The company announced its planes will land in the Ukrainian city from 1 July after having been forced to touch down in Zaporozhye around 90 kilometres from Dnipropetrovsk for the past few weeks. Dnipropetrovsk Airport officials...

CA Immo to acquire Europolis
Vienna-listed CA Immobilien Anlagen owned by UniCredit has acquired all the shares in Central and Eastern European real estate firm Europolis from Austian bank Österreichische Volksbankenb VBAG for €272 million Portfolio Hungary reported. Through the giant transaction CA Immo takes over the Europolis €1.5 billion property portfolio which is focused...

Supermarket chain launches hydro power cooperation
Customers of an Austrian supermarket chain will be able to order hydro energy supply while buying their foodstuff Austrian Times reported. Bosses at Merkur said shoppers would be offered contracts with Styrian provider Unsere Wasserkraft a subsidiary of Energie Steiermark at its shops as of now. Merkur is part of the...

Spanish Riding School heading to knackers yard
Viennas famous Spanish Riding School SRS has caused a media storm with reports on June 22 claiming the institution suffered losses of €400 000 last year Austrian Times reported. Two of the SRSs four head riders suspended from work in 2009 after being at odds with SRS boss Elisabeth Gurtler...

Andritz under fire as Ilisu project advances
Environmentalists are expected to launch another attack on industrial plant producer Andritz as the firm said it would contribute to the construction of a controversial hydroelectric power plant in Turkey Austrian Time. The Styrian company announced it will deliver electromechanical gear such as turbines and generators worth around €340 million...

Fastbox to sell and repair E-Cars
Fastbox has set its sights on E-Cars as the car repair chain announced it will sell and maintain an Italian firms electric vehicles Austrian Times reported. Fastbox who have 20 branches across Austria said it will soon begin selling Piaggios E-Cars. The Austrian firm added it would also offer to...

Prehofer denies Cerberus spat as BAWAG PSK departure announced
Regina Prehofer has dismissed claims she decided to leave the BAWAG PSK board over differences of opinion with the Austrian banks American owner. Prehofer said she would resign as board member at Austrias fourth-biggest bank this September or October. Her contract would have expired only in September 2011. She stated that...

Christ turns water into whine
Upper Austrian firm Christ Water Technology CWT bosses claimed they were unable to give a forecast on future developments due to the volatile market situation as losses soar Austrian Times reported. CWT officials said net losses rose from €27.5 million in 2008 to €33.7 million last year. They also said...

Airlines consider legal action against Eurocontrol
Austrias fiercest aviation rivals may cooperate over suing for compensation following the losses they suffered during the shutdown of European airspace due to the Icelandic ash cloud Austrian Times reported. Austrian Airlines AUA spokesman Martin Hehemann announced the company which was taken over by Germanys Lufthansa last year was checking the...

Haas to exploit finite Cosmos
Lower Austrian electronic consumer goods firm Haas is to open two new shops this year in a reaction to the bankruptcy of rival Cosmos Austrian Times reported. Haas boss Wolfgang Pelz explained: The industry is going through significant chances at the moment. We are in a strong position and therefore able...

VIA report more people heading to the heavens
Vienna International Airport VIA reported an increase in turnover earnings and passengers in the first quarter of this year Austrian Times. VIA said earnings before interest and taxes Ebit soared by 9% year on year to €27.4 million adding that turnover increased by 1.3% to €123 million. The number of passengers rose...

Andritz wins Chinese orders worth €50 million
Styrian industrial plant producer Andritz AG has been assigned to deliver special devices to Chinese premium steel producers Austrian Times. Andritz said both firms Jiuquan Iron Steel Group andTianjin Tisco TPCO Stainless Steel were customers for many years adding that the overall value of the orders was around €50 million....

Bau Bye Bulgaria
Austrias Alpine Bau has withdrawn from the construction of Gorna Arda hydropower project in southern Bulgaria leaving energy firm EVN the sole partner of the majority owner dominant state power utility NEK Austrian Times. This was announced previous Sunday by Austrias EVN which holds a 67% stake in one of...

A wider Welcome in the skies
Tyrolean airline Welcome Air announced that it would expand its flight network by autumn this year Austrian Times reported. Firm chief Helmut Wurm said the integration of South Tyrolean airline Air Alps which merged with Welcome Air in 2009 would be complete by this summer. Wurm noted that challenges facing...

Tiger Lacke to enlarge production capacity in China
Upper Austrian firm Tiger Lacke has announced it will increase its production capacity from 10 000 to 15 000 tonnes of powder lacquer annually near Shanghai Austrian Times reported. Marketing manager Christian Ebenberger said the Wels-based company had invested eight million Euro in a new 40 000-square-metre plant construction of...

Vienna looks to China
Vienna is looking to China as a future market for city exports in view of its status as one of the most-promising future markets in the world Austrian Times reported. Brigitte Jank the president of the citys Economy Chamber WKW was in Shanghai as leader of a city business delegation. She...

InterSky begins service to Dusseldorf
Vorarlberg airline InterSky has acquired a fifth aircraft and would begin twice daily services on weekdays on 10 May from its home airport Friedrichshafen in Baden-Wurttemberg to Dusseldorf Germany Austrian Times reported. InterSky chief Claus Bernatzik said he expected there would be a total of 40 000 passengers on the...

Bosch Austria optimistic for 2010
Bosses at German car industry supplier Bosch are optimistic its Austrian branch will manage to compensate losses made in 2009 by this year already Austrian Times reported. Karl Strobel head of Robert Bosch AGs Austrian department said: Group volume of Bosch Austria dropped by 18% to €811 million in 2009...

Bene puts 100 back into full-time work
Lower Austrian furniture maker Bene decided to put 100 sales and distribution department staff back into full-time Austrian Times reported. The company based in Waidhofen an der Ybbs had initially planned to keep 420 employees in part-time schemes until 31 July but bosses announced that 100 of them returned to...

InterSky gets bruised by declining figures in 2009
InterSky bosses said the aviation company got away with a black eye last year as turnover declined by more than 10% Austrian Times reported. Claus Bernatzik head of the small Bregenz-based airline said: The year 2009 was very difficult for us. Soaring kerosene prices the economic downturn and an increasingly...

Magna ends Graz plant part-time scheme
Thousands of workers at Magnas Graz plant are back in full-time work as the car industry supplier registered a sharp increase in orders Austrian Times reported. Around 4 500 staff were given reduced hours for 18 months in a bid to avoid sackings. Workers Union official Thomas Stoimaier said The...

Austrian Mahle jobs not critical as vast cull looms
Workers union alarm bells at factories in Carinthia are ringing as German automotive supplier Mahle plans to axe 1 400 jobs Austrian Times reported. Officials at the Stuttgart-based firm announced they would lay off 1 400 employees. Mahle suffered losses of €379 million last year after a turnover of €22...

Schenker opens key hub in Salzburg
A new terminal opened by Schenker Co AG near Salzburg on 20 April is to become one of the most important hubs in worldwide hauling business said the firm Austrian Times reported. Schenker boss Elmar Wieland said the 14 000-square-metre site is to become a key venue for its operations...

Indias Bajaj Auto ups stake in KTM
Indias second largest motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto has invested €20 million to raise its shareholding in Austrian power bike maker KTM to 35.7% from 31.9% Economic Times reported. The stake increase was part of a loan conversion and rights issue program Bajaj said in a statement. The company also said...

E-Bike sales set to soar say experts
Traffic experts said more than 20 000 electric bicycles could be sold this year Austrian Times reported. The Traffic Club Austria VCO announced that more than 5 000 E-Bikes were purchased throughout Austria within the first three months after an overall of 12 000 were sold in 2009. VCO said...

Crisis still bites as lorry registration numbers plunge
The economic crisis is still affecting Austrian companies as the number of newly registered lorries dropped in the first quarter of this year Austrian Times reported. Official figures released show that 5.6% fewer lorries were registered during the first three months of this year compared to the same period in...

Heat is on for Verbund as price hike looms
Verbund Austrias largest energy provider has come under fire over announcing plans to increase prices Austrian Times said. The company announced it would increase the price for one kilowatt hour by 12.3% from 6.5 cent to 7.3 cent as of May 1 and overall prices including taxes would soar by...

Global crisis facilitates process of joining WTO
As part of negotiations to join the World Trade Organization WTO the government of Azerbaijan will send new proposals on goods and services to the Secretariat of WTO Trend news agency quoted Chief Negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev as saying. This will allow the next meeting with WTO...

Parliament ratifies loan deal with Saudi Fund
The Parliament of Azerbaijan Milli Medjlis recently ratified a loan agreement on the Project of Reconstruction and Expansion of the Water Supply and Sewerage System in Baku between Azerbaijan and the Saudi Development Fund Saudi Development Fund Loading Trend news agency reported. The project envisage reconstruction and expansion of the...

Mars Austria hopes for sweet news in 2010
Sweets and pet food maker Mars Austria OG boss Michael Kunze said on 22 March he expected moderate growth this year despite soaring cocoa prices Austrian Times reported. The company a subsidiary of US firm Mars Inc had 391 million euros in turnover from exports last year down by around four...

BackWerk to expand in Austria
German discount bakery BackWerk has revealed plans to open up to ten new branches in Austria by the end of this year Austrian Times reported on 22 March. Ingrid Dubowy head of BackWerks Austrian department said the company had turnover of six million euros at its 14 Austrian shops in...

Orange Austria and Alcatel-Lucent continue cooperation
French mobile services provider Alcatel-Lucent on 23 March announced the renewal of its existing managed services contract with Austrian mobile communications operator Orange Austrian Times reported. Officials said the three-year contract had an extension option of five years and would take effect on 1 January 2011. They explained the renewal...

SES to build shopping centre in Ljubljana
SES European Shopping Centers a subsidiary of the Austrian Spar Group will build a shopping centre in Slovene capital Ljubljana it was announced on 15 March Austrian Times reported. SES chief Marcus Wild confirmed claiming that it would invest 100 million euros. Construction will begin at the beginning of 2011 and...

Pollmann to end part-time work next month
Car industry supplier Pollmann Austria announced on 16 March that it would be taking employees off part-time work and making them full-time as of 1 April Austrian Times reported. The firm based in Karlstein an der Thaya Lower Austria cited growth in the European market and the boom in the...

A-Tec is back in the black
Austrian industrialist Mirko Kovats holding company A-Tec Industries reported on March 11 that it had climbed back into the black in 2009 Austrian Times reported. The firm said its earnings before interest and taxes Ebit had risen from 19.4 million euros in 2008 to 143.1 million euros in 2009 and...

Gabor Shoes to close factory at end of year
Gabor Schuhe AG announced on 16 March that it would close its factory in Carinthias Spittal and der Drau district at the end of 2010 after 50 years of operation Austrian Times reported. All 170 employees will lose their jobs. This follows in the wake of 550 other jobs shed...

Red Bull denies interest in German digital radio market
Salzburg energy drink producer Red Bull has denied that it is interested in entering the German digital radio market Austrian Times reported on 9 March. A Red Bull spokesman said that the firm had no intention of doing so although it had been involved in talks about technical developments in the...

Lower Austria to have more postal service providers
Lower Austrian Peoples Party OVP Governor Erwin Proll announced on 10 March that his province would have at least 500 postal service providers within two years official said. Proll said national postal service Post AG and he had agreed on the number which would include post offices and Post partners...

Raiffeisen banks profit rises nine-fold ahead of planned merger
Austrias Raiffeisen Zentralbank RZB recently announced that its net profit rose nine-fold last year as the bank was mulling whether to merge again with its less successful Eastern European subsidiary. RZBs net profit grew to 433 million euros $588 million in 2008 the bank said in a preliminary earnings report...

Erste bank boosts profit by 5.1%
Austrias Erste Group Bank AG recently published its full year figures for 2009 reporting a 5.1 % leap in net profit despite having almost doubled its safety buffer for bad loans in Central and Eastern Europe. Erste a major lender in Europes eastern countries made a net profit of 903...

Steelmaker Voestalpine sees upward trend in past quarter
Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine AG said in a recent statement that it saw positive developments in the quarter ending in December as profits more than doubled from the previous quarter. However Voestalpines net profit of 71.5 million euros $ 96.3 million fell by 18 percent compared to the last three months...

ADL enters bankruptcy proceedings
Rubbish collector ADL Abfalldisposition und Logisitik Gesellschaft mbH Nfg GmbH Co KG has entered bankruptcy proceedings credit protection agencies said Austrian Times reported. The bankruptcy of the firm based in Neuseiersberg Styria near Graz will affect 18 employees and 174 creditors to which it owes 25.4 million euros. The firm...

Baumit turnover down by 10%
The Baumit Group that produces construction materials reported that its turnover had declined by 10 % year on year to 780 million euros in 2009 Austrian Times reported. Robert Schmid the head of Baumits investment division said: We have been able to maintain acceptable turnover in the 29 countries where...

Postal service adopts new strategy
The Austrian postal service Post AG has adopted a new strategy featuring an offensive on the internet in Austria and expansion of its package delivery service especially in southeastern Europe Austrian Times reported on 19 February.  Post chief Georg Polzl presented the new strategy adding that Posts job cuts would continue....

From the Nile to the Yangtze: Sailing the world's great rivers
The life-blood of civilizations and natural wonders, rivers are one of the best ways to explore the world's most spectacular scenery.

Nature and culture collide in Austria
It's rare that a town's charm will get me out of bed early. The postcard-pretty, lake-cuddling town of Hallstatt, two hours south of Salzburg, is one of those places.

Luke Winn: Ranking the top 20 NCAA players at this summer's Euro Championships
Last week, when the English version of Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a rare college basketball article, it seized the opportunity to run the ultimate Jewish/Mid-Major mashup headline: "Shooting Star of David(son)". The story was about Jake Cohen, the 6-foot-10 rising sophomore at Davidson who grew up in Berwyn, Pa., but -- because of his Jewish heritage -- was able to gain dual citizenship and join Israel's U20 national team for this summer's European Championships. It mentioned how the team, whose other starters are native Israelis, was holding some of its practices in English on account of Cohen, who told SI.com he's "the opposite of fluent" in Hebrew.

Tearful Vienna Calls Jake a Lying 'Fame Whore'
Girardi storms out of a TV taping of her reunion with ex-Bachelor fiancé Pavelka

Stowaway survives flight from Austria to Britain
A 20-year-old Romanian stowaway survived a 90-minute flight in a private plane's wheel compartment and was subsequently arrested, reported the Metropolitan Police Service in London, England.

Vienna tops world's best cities survey
Vienna, the Austrian capital renowned for its music and architecture, has the best quality of life of any city in the world, according to results of a survey released Wednesday.

Chechen president denies links to Vienna murder
A spokesman for the president of Chechnya flatly rejected an Austrian police investigation that implicated the Chechen leader in the 2009 murder of a Chechen dissident in Vienna.

Brian Cazenueve: London v. Beijing for 2015 T&F championships
• Not only will they be compared for their ability to host Olympic Games and to make tea, but Beijing and London will go head-to-head for the right to stage the IAAF world championships in Track & Field for 2015. If Beijing wins, the championships will be held at the acclaimed Birds' Nest stadium that hosted track at the 2008 Games. If London wins, the events would be held at the Olympic Stadium being built for the 2012 Olympics.

'Bachelors' and 'Bachelorettes': Where are they now?
Over the weekend, Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney tied the knot -- we'll see it unfold on television on March 8 -- becoming the first "Bachelor" couple to actually make it down the aisle, news that we can only applaud since Melissa Rycroft recently got hitched as well.

A postcard-perfect Austrian ski trip
I've never seen such wide open slopes -- no trees, no houses, just field after field of newly fallen snow.

Frugal immigrant from Austria leaves $300K estate
New details have emerged about a Jewish immigrant who fled Austria as World War II was brewing, lived frugally in New York and left an estate whose size -- $300,000 -- astounded some.

Violence in India over guru's death
Tensions eased in the northern Indian state of Punjab on Tuesday, following widespread violence across the region after a Sikh guru was shot to death and another was wounded at an Indian temple in Vienna, Austria.

6 hikers killed in Austria avalanche
The bodies of six Czech hikers who died in an avalanche near the Soelden ski resort in the Austrian Alps were recovered Sunday, police and rescue services said Sunday.

US routs Austria, advances at worlds
BERN, Switzerland (AP) -- The United States found its ruthless streak -- eventually -- and beat Austria 6-1 Monday to advance to the second round of the ice hockey world championship.

Austria's beauty and attractions dazzle the whole family
It sparkles everywhere -- on the walls, the floors, on the ceilings in fanciful art displays guaranteed to make you say, "WOW!" no matter what your age.

Tragedy highlights skiing risks
The death of actress Natasha Richardson, who sustained a fatal head injury while skiing, has reignited the perennial debate around the safety of the sport.

A wunderbar welcome in Austria and Germany
Many sights in Germany and Austria have been renovated in the last year or two to better display this region's rich heritage, making 2009 a good time to visit.

Austria takes over bank hit by Madoff case
The Austrian government has taken control of a private bank with significant exposure to the alleged fraud by Bernard Madoff.

Dad raped daughters for 27 years
A British man was jailed Tuesday for raping two of his daughters and fathering nine children over 27 years, a case with echoes of Austria's Josef Fritzl.

Joerg Haider's Troubled Legacy
Rightist Joerg Haider's, dead in a car crash, marshaled anti-immigrant sentiment, nationalism and even a bit of Nazi sympathy to change Austrian politics forever

Austria's Far Right on the Rise
Though prosperous and safe, the country is chronically susceptible to politicians who rail against immigrants

View from the top of Germany
One of my favorite places to be in Europe is atop the Zugspitze -- the highest point in Germany. Standing on this 9,700-foot peak, you can't help but marvel at the thought that you are above everyone else in the entire country -- No. 1 out of 82 million. From here, facing south, I feel like a maestro conducting a symphony of snow-capped peaks, as the mighty Alps stretch seemingly forever to the right and left.

Gabriele Marcotti: From Austria to Zlatan, the best of Euro 2008 so far
ZURICH, Switzerland -- From top to bottom, here is an A to Z of the best and worst of the European Championship through two weeks of action.

Euro 2008: Germany Defeats Austria
The pre-tournament favorites put an end to the co-hosts' hopes in a fixture that is always about more than just football

Euro 2008: the Hosts' Fates Diverge
While the Dutch continue to reinvent 'The Beautiful Game', France's woes continue. And it's mixed fortunes for the tournament's hosts

Justices are well-off, well-traveled
Most of the Supreme Court justices piled up a lot frequent flyer miles in 2007, jetting to such exotic locales as Austria, India and Hawaii, according to financial disclosure reports released Friday.

Can Austria's Cellar Children Recover?
The three kids who emerged from an Austrian dungeon face a host of challenges adjusting to the outside world

Cellar Incest Case Shocks Austria
Josef Fritzl has confessed to holding his daughter captive for 24 years and fathering her seven children. How did it happen?

Austria Dad Admits Abuse
A 73-year-old man has confessed to holding his daughter captive in his home cellar for nearly 24 years and fathering seven children by her, Austrian police say

Avalanche buries street in Austria ski area
An avalanche fell on a street in an Alpine town in Austria, close to many ski resorts, covering the roadway in three to four meters of snow, but no one was hurt, Austrian police said Tuesday.

Celebrating with the Christkind
Like a German child's fantasy, Nurnberg's fairy-godmother-like teenage angel stretched out her arms and said, "If you're very, very gentle, you can touch my wings." I stayed seated while little Bavarian preschoolers mobbed the stage to touch their Christkind.

Pope fulfils vow to revisit shrine
Calling himself a "pilgrim among pilgrims" Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday visited the Marian sanctuary of Mariazell southwest of Vienna, fulfilling a promise he made in 2004 -- while still a cardinal -- to return to the shrine on its 850th birthday.

Pope Benedict Stays Lofty in Austria
But he may need to grapple again, and more diplomatically, with world affairs

Visiting pope honors Austrian Jews
Pope Benedict XVI paid solemn tribute to Holocaust victims as he began a three-day pilgrimage to Austria on Friday.

Ex-UN Chief Waldheim Dead at 88
Former U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim, who was elected Austrian president despite an international scandal about his secretive World War II Nazi connections, died Thursday

Global child-porn ring uncovered
Austrian police have uncovered a massive child-pornography ring on the Internet, tracking downloads of sexually violent material to more than 2,300 people in 77 countries, a government official said.

'This is our Mona Lisa'
At about midnight last July 5, the New York Police Department closed Manhattan's East 86th Street. Billionaire Ronald S. Lauder walked back and forth in the street, waiting. Employees of his boutiq...

Hiring expected steady for rest of year
U.S. employers project healthy hiring for the fourth quarter, despite talk of a possible downturn in the economy, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Europe scrambles to stop bird flu
European Union veterinary experts have backed plans to boost surveillance of migratory birds and impose stricter bans on imports as officials desperately tried to find ways to curb the spread of deadly bird flu on the continent.

EU 'on precipice' over Turkey
Britain said the European Union was on the "edge of a precipice" on Monday over terms for historic membership talks with Turkey.

Austria cable car accident kills 9
At least nine tourists have been killed after a helicopter dropped a concrete block on a cable car in western Austria, according to police.

Supplies arrive in flood-ravaged areas
Helicopters are delivering food and other supplies and lifting hundreds of people to safety in the aftermath of deadly floods in central and southern Europe.

Schwarzenegger: No country more welcoming than the USA
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, an immigrant, Tuesday night addressed the Republican National Convention where he spoke of the greatness of America. Schwarzenegger, born in Austria, is a former actor and body builder. Here is a transcript of his remarks:

THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SHARES
Is your investing antenna picking up irresistible international signals? It should be. Share prices of a number of corporations in Europe and Asia rose dramatically in the first six months of the y...

Austria Won’t Charge Leader of Chechnya in Ex-Bodyguard’s Killing
Prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to file charges against Ramzan A. Kadyrov, who is believed to have ordered the killing of Umar S. Israilov.

A Spotlight for an Unsung Talent
The Innsbruck Early Music Festival has mounted a memorable revival of Pergolesi's "L'Olimpiade," an opera seria.

North Korean Artwork at Vienna Museum
An exhibition in Vienna of propagandistic North Korean artworks has garnered condemnation and suspicion since it opened in May.

'The Passenger' Gets Long Awaited Full Staging at Bregenz Festival
Shelved for decades in Russia because of its theme of Jewish suffering, an at-times brilliant and often heart-rending performance finds a home on an Austrian stage.

Salzburg Festival Features Wolfgang Rihm
The Salzburg Festival is honoring a major living composer, Wolfgang Rihm, with a premiere of his work “Dionysus” and a program called Kontinent Rihm, which opened on Tuesday.

Vienna Still a Spot for Cloak-and-Dagger Work
For more than a century, the Austrian capital has been an espionage center, because of its laws and because it is an East-West bridge.

Secrets of a Disappointed Life
A small box of possessions sheds light on a child prodigy who never had the opportunity to reach his full potential.

The Best Place to Live?
Istanbul or Alberta, Auckland or Vienna? Livability is a subjective thing, but everyone has their ideal.

Chechen President Denies Involvement in Critic’s Shooting Death
President Ramzan A. Kadyrov rejected accusations by the Austrian government that he was implicated in the killing of a Chechen whistleblower in Vienna last year.

Top Chechen Ordered Abduction, Austria Says
Austrian investigators said that Chechnya’s president ordered a critic’s kidnapping, and that the Chechens who tried to carry out the order botched the job and killed him.

Investigation Links Critic’s Death to Top Chechens
New evidence is raising questions about whether Chechnya’s president played a role in the killing of a whistleblower who was gunned down in 2009.

Austrian President on Way to Landslide Victory
President Heinz Fischer won nearly 80 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results that were not expected to change.

Vatican on Defense as Sex Scandals Build
The Vatican said Tuesday that local churches had “acted swiftly and decisively” to address the growing child sex abuse scandal in Europe.

Europe Offers $273 Million in Aid for a Gas Pipeline From Turkey to Austria
The supply line would come from the Caspian Sea region and bypass Russia and Ukraine, whose bickering in the past has interrupted supplies to Europe.

RINGS; U.S. Takes Top 2 Spots In Nordic Combined
Rings column; American skier Bill Demong wins gold medal in men's Nordic combined event at Olympics; American Johnny Spillane wins silver medal and Austrian Bernard Gruber takes bronze