Long Reads

Vienna's controversial Lobau Tunnel project has been cancelled. While the mayor and others condemn the move, environmental activists rejoice.

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”.

Thousands of kindergarten teachers on strike this week said staff and children deserve better conditions - because early childhood education is education.

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

Words have always been dangerous. Now, with social justice warriors on the prowl, they can make or break careers.

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.

Austria’s pandemic response upheld the country’s long tradition of opaque administration and little accountability – a special report.

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.

Southeastern Europe is one of the world's fastest shrinking regions. What drives so many young and well-educated abroad?

A myth, a tradition, but most of all a very real place that many in the Austrian capital cannot imagine life without.

Some Viennese may play down any special relationship with death. But, then again, it’s probably better not to take any chances...

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.

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.

There is a new way to do good that promises to provide the tools to have the most impact – Effective Altruism.

From saving mothers to preventing blood clots and unraveling the secrets of our physical universe, Vienna’s scientists have advanced humanity through the ages.

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.

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 continues to grow, blending into the new millennium while keeping its Old World charm. The how and the why.

A growing number of conventions and groups prove that dressing up doesn't have to end when you grow up.

More revenues, more products and more gambling addicts. With the state reaping both taxes and profits, laws mostly protect operators, not consumers. 

In an increasingly gamified world, it matters who controls your character.

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...

Engines in India, cable cars in La Paz, logistics on the Silk Road – Austrian technology and exports are at an all-time high.

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...

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...

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...

With press freedom declining across Central Europe, Austrians have to stay vigilant to defend the rights of journalists. Poland i...

Forget Sissi, Schönbrunn and Apfelstrudel: According to the Viennese, their humor is the city’s most remarkable accomplishment.

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...

Austria may appear frozen in time. But below the surface, Austrian business powers one of the most vibrant globalized economies in the world.

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 ...

From welcoming refugees to protecting borders, the question of how to best deal with migration is vexing Europe. The dramatic pictures that splashed...

Conversations with Viennese architects reveal the secrets to creating a liveable city. “Everything is Architecture,” wrote the Pritzker prize-win...

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 ...

As America turns inward, the enormously ambitious program once described as the “most enligthened self-interest in history” has a positive impact stil...

The mighty river is the lifeblood of the entire southeastern flank of Europe. Cultures flourish, empires fall and ideologies shatter on its shores. ...

For centuries, Austria’s military was the structure that held a sprawling collection of multi-ethnic territories together, perhaps a European Union be...

  Austrian restaurants are proud to cook with local fare. It’s all about knowing your suppliers and helping your customers understand the differ...

With the Straßenbahn in their DNA, the Viennese are abandoning their cars for public transport and looking forward to robot chauffeurs. Bumper to bum...

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...

From Proporz to Verhaberung, participation and influence in Austria go far beyond the walls of Parliament to find an "Austrian solution".  By Mar...

Our community is small, but thriving. Ever more diverse, Vienna's Jews are making waves on every level By Sara Friedman & B...

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 ...

Can Austria help bring Southeastern Europe into the EU’s fold? After all, as State Chancellor Klemens von Metternich knew, “the Ba...

Following the Brexit vote, two EU agencies are poised to leave London. Amidst cutthroat competition, Vienna is a prime contender ...

Austria shares a rich history and culture with its Central European brothers and sisters. Now that borders have disappeared, the region is once ...

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 ...

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...

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...

Cities bask in UNESCO world heritage status. But what happens if it conflicts with modern city planning? When Vienna’s Historic Center was officiall...

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...

Exploring the Austrians’ love for traveling In early 2009, five months pregnant, I listened in astonishment as my Austrian guy announced he neede...

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.

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...

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 ...

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...

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.

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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...

If our education decides our future, what happens to upward mobility and equal opportunity? A democracy depends on citizens knowing what they are v...

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? ...

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...

No other country believes itself to be so in touch with nature. Is Austria living a lie?

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?...

For third-culture kids, international schools around the world become an important but temporary extended family You can hear them on the subway,...

What Austria’s turbulent past tells us about the current economic and financial crisis In 2012, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s lowered ...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...