Long Reads
Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler Cancels Lobau Tunnel Construction Project
Vienna's controversial Lobau Tunnel project has been cancelled. While the mayor and others condemn the move, environmental activists rejoice.
Long Reads
One Year After the Vienna Terror Attack of 2020, Most Austrians Not Afraid of Another Attack
One year on, two-thirds of Austrians are not expecting further terror attacks. At the same time, the government intensifies its activities targeting “political Islam”.
General
Why Were Austrian Kindergarten Employees On Strike?
Thousands of kindergarten teachers on strike this week said staff and children deserve better conditions - because early childhood education is education.
Cover Story
Wine, Wine, nur du Allein
Austria ranks 13th worldwide for social drinking – our author’s personal journey on growing up in a country where alcohol comes not by the glass but in economy-sized two liter bottles
Cover Story
Linguistic Minefields
Words have always been dangerous. Now, with social justice
warriors on the prowl, they can make or break careers.
Cover Story
A Life in Languages – Vienna’s Many Voices
From Czech to Turkish, a Babel of languages is heard alongside German on Vienna’s streets. With 42% having roots abroad and English in all schools, multilingualism is (again) the norm.
Print Editions
Crisis in the Chancellory – Managing a Pandemic the Austrian Way
Austria’s pandemic response upheld the country’s long tradition of opaque administration and little accountability – a special report.
Cover Story
The Biggest Austrian Corruption Scandals in History
Austria is no more corrupt than other European countries – although possibly more colorful. But the consequences for wrongdoers are often laughably mild. This may be changing.
Print Editions
Facing Instability and Populist Agendas at Home, Southeastern Europeans Move West
Southeastern Europe is one of the world's fastest shrinking regions. What drives so many young and well-educated abroad?
Cover Story
The Lore and Legend Behind the Viennese Kaffeehaus
A myth, a tradition, but most of all a very real place that many in the Austrian capital cannot imagine life without.
Death in Vienna
Some Viennese may play down any special relationship with death. But, then again, it’s probably better not to take any chances...
Art
Is Vienna a Fashion Capital? Not Yet.
Once a burgeoning capital of fashion, Vienna lost its design industry with the Jews who supported it and has struggled in the decades since. But the next chapter may be different.
Cover Story
Families – Dreaming of Life After Corona
So there she was, on a Tuesday morning of what we now call the Corona Era, gazing at the
walls of the little “water closet” decorated in Viennese style.
Special Report
A New Way to Do Good Promises to Provide the Data to Make the Biggest Impact – Effective Altruism
There is a new way to do good that promises to provide the tools to have the most impact – Effective Altruism.
Cover Story
How Vienna Became the Petri Dish for Geniuses Like Schrödinger, Gödel & Freud
From saving mothers to preventing blood clots and unraveling the secrets of our physical universe, Vienna’s scientists have advanced humanity through the ages.
Cover Story
The City and Land of Music
Vienna made music ... and music made Vienna. As told by “Metropole” writers – a libretto for life in the Austrian capital. With an overture by our Editor in Chief Dardis McNamee.
Special Report
How Vienna Got Housing Right
Vienna's population is growing fast, but the city's commitment to social housing means people in all parts of society can still afford to live here.
Vienna – The Secrets of a City That Works
Vienna continues to grow, blending into the new millennium while keeping its Old World charm. The how and the why.
Culture
Alter Egos Come Out to Play
A growing number of conventions and groups prove that dressing up doesn't have to end when you grow up.
Cover Story
Profits, Politics, Patronage – Austria’s Love Affair With Gambling
More revenues, more products and more gambling addicts. With the state reaping both taxes and profits, laws mostly protect operators, not consumers.
Features
My Life as a Game
In an increasingly gamified world, it matters who controls your character.
Features
Europe Goes to the Polls
It is a rainy Friday night, and Ulises is sitting with his girlfriend Laura at a winebar at the Naschmarkt in Vienna. Ulisesis from Madrid and La...
Cover Story
Austrian Business Knows No Bounds
Engines in India, cable cars in La Paz, logistics on the Silk Road – Austrian technology and exports are at an all-time high.
News
Snow Chaos in Austria: Avalanche Alarm Level Red
The Alps have become an extremely dangerous area in the past couple of days. Heavy snowfall and avalanches have led the authorities to issue the highe...
Cover Story
The Power of Austrian Culture
How Austrians know who they are
On November 18, the afternoon temperature suddenly dropped to an icy chill and the first flakes of snow began to...
December/January 2018/2019
A Banana Republic, If You Can Keep It
The OSCE in Vienna monitors elections around the world. Its report on the US midterms found the elections to be just as fair as those in the ex-Soviet...
November 2018
Could it Happen Here?
With press freedom declining across Central Europe, Austrians have to stay vigilant to defend the rights of journalists.
Poland i...
Cover Story
Viennese Humor | Tour de Schmäh
Forget Sissi, Schönbrunn and Apfelstrudel: According to the Viennese, their humor is the city’s most remarkable accomplishment.
General
After Sexual Harassment on Facebook l Controversal Verdict in Sigrid Maurer Trial
On October 9, an Austrian judge hands down a controversial verdict. A young woman, called Sigrid Maurer, has to pay €4,000 to Albert Lastufka, the own...
Cover Story
The Hidden Champions of Austrian Business & Industry
Austria may appear frozen in time. But below the surface, Austrian business powers one of the most vibrant globalized economies in the world.
General
Austria’s Interior Ministry Under Fire for Suggesting Blocking “Critical Media”
On September 24, some troubling news broke: News outlets like Kurier and Der Standard published a leaked email that was sent from within the Interior ...
September 2018
Fewer Migrants, More Challenges
From welcoming refugees to protecting borders, the question of how to best deal with migration is vexing Europe.
The dramatic pictures that splashed...
September 2018
The Sociable City
Conversations with Viennese architects reveal the secrets to creating a liveable city.
“Everything is Architecture,” wrote the Pritzker prize-win...
Cover Story
Animals Are Our Best Ingredients | Can You Love Puppy Dogs AND Pork Cutlets?
The Viennese love their pets under and their meaty schnitzel on the table. A report on the animals we cuddle and those we devour
An elderly lady is ...
June 2018
The Marshall Plan | 70 Years of US-Austrian Relations
As America turns inward, the enormously ambitious program once described as the “most enligthened self-interest in history” has a positive impact stil...
Up & Down the Danube | From the Black Forest to the Black Sea
The mighty river is the lifeblood of the entire southeastern flank of Europe. Cultures flourish, empires fall and ideologies shatter on its shores.
...
May 2018
History of the Austrian Army – Of Officers and Lesser Mortals
For centuries, Austria’s military was the structure that held a sprawling collection of multi-ethnic territories together, perhaps a European Union be...
The Closer the Better | Austrian Chefs Go Local
Austrian restaurants are proud to cook with local fare. It’s all about knowing your suppliers and helping your customers understand the differ...
Bringing Life to Our Streets | The Tramway’s Enduring Appeal
With the Straßenbahn in their DNA, the Viennese are abandoning their cars for public transport and looking forward to robot chauffeurs.
Bumper to bum...
The Birth of Modernism | 100 Years of Artistic Excellence and Revolution
On this centennial of the deaths of four Viennese masters, the city looks back on the birth of modernism and a vision of the “total work of art,” an e...
Cover Story
Austrian Democracy | The Consensus Machine
From Proporz to Verhaberung, participation and influence in Austria go far beyond the walls of Parliament to find an "Austrian solution".
By Mar...
Special Report
From Neni to Secret Vienna: Vienna’s Jewish Community is Diverse, Growing and Thriving
Our community is small, but thriving. Ever more diverse, Vienna's Jews are making waves on every level
By Sara Friedman & B...
The Nostalgia Trap: How There Has Never Been Just One “Old Vienna”
In every age, the pressures of change in Vienna have stirred a longing for better times gone by, often more imagined than real, but nonetheless ...
Special Report
Can Austria Help Bring the Balkans Into the EU?
Can Austria help bring Southeastern Europe into the EU’s fold? After all, as State Chancellor Klemens von Metternich knew, “the Ba...
Special Report
How Vienna Is Bidding to Become the New Home of the European Banking Authority
Following the Brexit vote, two EU agencies are poised to leave London. Amidst cutthroat competition, Vienna is a prime contender
...
Siblings Reunited – How Open Borders are Reconnecting the Central Europe Family
Austria shares a rich history and culture with its Central European brothers and sisters. Now that borders have disappeared, the region is once ...
Special Report
The Austrian Election: A Soap Opera
On October 15, Austrians will head to the polls to elect a new parliament – in the most elaborate piece of theater the Alpine Republic has on ...
Cover Story
The Good Life is as Easy to Define as Love or Justice
Why Vienna tops the rankings of the world’s most livable cities is about attitude as much as anything
For the mild-mannered “Zettlpoet” H...
Cover Story
The Turbulent Times of Viennese Design
In Vienna, with so much arts and culture, design may seem like an afterthought. In fact, it's all around us, shaping how we live, eat and dress
T...
Special Report
Urban Planning Threatens Vienna’s UNESCO Status
Cities bask in UNESCO world heritage status. But what happens if it conflicts with modern city planning?
When Vienna’s Historic Center was officiall...
Special Report
The Post-Partisan Politics of Sebastian Kurz
The ascent of Austria’s 30-year-old Foreign Minister marks a dramatic departure in the country’s politics, reflecting an important shift across Europe...
Unlikely Wanderlust and the Austrian Appetite for Adventure
Exploring the Austrians’ love for traveling
In early 2009, five months pregnant, I listened in astonishment as my Austrian guy announced he neede...
At The End of the Rainbow
The LGBT scene has experienced a surge of acceptance in Austria, but it took a while to get here and equality is not yet a reality.
Special Report
Viktor Orbán vs. Budapest’s Central European University
Prime Minister Orbán’s assault on the Central European University has become a flash point in the struggle between democracy and nationalism in the EU...
Adrenaline Junkies – Austria’s Obsession With Extreme Sports and How It Changes Us
How Austria's taming the rush of death-defying adrenaline highs condition us to be more resilient.
In just one tenth of a second your brain goes ...
Special Report
Michael Häupl’s Fall From Grace
Vienna’s eternal mayor Michael Häupl is under mounting pressure to step down. And the squeeze is coming from within his own party
The basic chronolo...
In Sickness and in Health | How Viable is Austria’s Health Care System?
The Austrian health care system covers you regardless of your wallet size or passport. But cracks are showing in this jewel of the welfare state.
Special Report
Will Chancellor Christian Kern’s “Plan A” Tame the Refugee Problem?
Or does Kern's new narrative play into the hands of the populists?
There have been no bombs in Austrian cities. There are no policemen in body ...
Living and Working in Austria
Austrians appreciate a fair day’s work if it doesn’t interfere too much with their private lives. But as the economic heart of Central Europe, the cou...
Spies in Vienna – Capital of Cloak & Dagger
Vienna has never tried to curb the activities of foreign spies. Over the past century, it’s become the go-to stage for the dramas of global espionage
...
Craftsmanship in Vienna – What Money Can’t Buy
Luxury retail is the lifeblood of the city center, but can Vienna manage to sustain its tradition of local craftsmanship with the demands of internati...
Education in Modern Times – Beautiful Minds
If our education decides our future, what happens to upward mobility and equal opportunity?
A democracy depends on citizens knowing what they are v...
Smart City Vienna
From San Diego to Copenhagen, from Vienna to Singapore, everybody wants to become a smart city. But how do you upgrade the world's most livable city?
...
Cover Story
Theater in Vienna – Reimagining The Self
Vienna’s dramatists have a long, brilliant and turbulent history. But no year was quite so momentous as 1929, the year modernity was born.
Hedwig Kie...
Cover Story
The Green Republic
No other country believes itself to be so in touch with nature. Is Austria living a lie?
Cover Story
Fostering a Culture of Innovation in Austria
Austria often looks to America’s can-do approach to business, but can it foster its own forward-leaning climate while still preserving its heritage?...
April 2016
Growing Global – Third-Culture Kids
For third-culture kids, international schools around the world become an important but temporary extended family
You can hear them on the subway,...
Cover Story
Austria’s Monetary History – Banking on the Long Run
What Austria’s turbulent past tells us about the current economic and financial crisis
In 2012, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s lowered ...
Cover Story
The Collaborative Economy & the Sharing Game
From cars to office space, and even livestock, the Collaborative Economy is changing more than how we use things. It’s reinventing how we value proper...
Cover Story
Private Lives
From the internet to the bedroom, Austrians care about – and protect – the personal sphere. It’s a cultural thing.
On a cold, grey day in January...
Cover Story
For the Sake of Art
Does culture still matter in a world where big money often defines value?
On a Monday evening in mid-November, the narrow street in front of the ...
Cover Story
The Sharing Game
From cars to office space, and even livestock, the Collaborative Economy is changing more than how we use things. It’s reinventing how we value proper...
Austria, the Many-Peopled Land
Can Vienna be enriched by the flood of migrants coming to Europe? History suggests that it will.
Suddenly, Vienna has become the point city of th...