January 2020

Until the middle of February, there will be countless balls in the "waltz city" of Vienna!
Maybe you too can attend one or more balls, or enjoy this unforgettable atmosphere from a loge or while strolling!

If you want to have a lie-in on the next day, then we have a very special offer for you! Order our special ball breakfast with selected delicacies, salmon and a glass of sparkling wine on the evening before - and we will serve it in your room at any time until 11.00 a.m. (at no extra charge). You will indulge in memories while we happily spoil you!

One of our most faithful "regular guests" is likely to be Mrs Margit Böck-Dennhöfer, who visited Hotel AUSTRIA for the first time over 52 years ago - at that time still with her parents!
Years later, she was able to instil some enthusiasm in her husband for our "Wolfengasse"!
Since then, both of them have been REGULAR and FABULOUSLY LOYAL guests with us!
MANY thanks for their loyalty and continued wonderful stays "at the AUSTRIA!

We worked all day...

on the floor, at the breakfast service and at the reception... But this year again - a few days before Christmas - we were busy blow-drying, setting our hair, applying make-up, etc.
Our team celebrated and spent a wonderful Christmas Eve together!

First at the Hotel AUSTRIA, then by enjoying the unique ambiance of the mirrored tent at the Palazzo.

With an exquisite 4-course menu, combined with many great artistic and comedic interludes, this evening will be unforgettable for everyone, for a long time!

As for the absolute STARS of the evening, it was all of US!
OUR VERY OWN  -  Hotel AUSTRIA Team...

Since the Congress of Vienna, the city of waltzes has been famous for its legendary balls. Each year more than 450 balls take place in Vienna. The city celebrates Carnival in January and February with exuberance. The three-four rhythm is also joined by more contemporary sounds, offering enjoyable dancing for every taste.

Each year, the Ball of the Viennese Chimney Sweeps kicks off the ball season. If you're wondering about this ball: in Vienna, it is quite normal for virtually every professional guild to have its own ball. They range from the Confectioners' Ball to the Ball of the Weightlifters.

An especially large number of balls are held at the Imperial Palace in Vienna. These traditional balls adhere to a festive ceremonial pattern. The ladies appear in a long evening gown, the men wear a tuxedo or tails. Young ladies in white dresses and their gentlemen open the ball with a polonaise; the rest of the visitors are only allowed on the dance floor after the proclamation "Alles Walzer!" (Let the waltz begin!). Further show acts and interludes give structure to the night. This includes the popular "Fledermaus" quadrille by Johann Strauss. This is performed by the public to the instructions of a dance master and ends to everyone's amusement in a complete muddle.

On New Year's Eve, guests dance into the new year in a magnificent setting at the New Year's Eve Ball at the Hofburg Vienna (Imperial Palace). At the Hunters' Ball, guests appear at the Imperial Palace in festive costume. The Vienna Coffeehouse Owners' Ball is considered to be one of the most atmospheric. The Opera Ball at the Vienna State Opera has long been legendary. On this day, visitors have the unique opportunity to see the famous opera house on the Ringstrasse boulevard not only from the spectators' seats but actually experience it "backstage" surrounded by many music celebrities. With its prominent guests ranging from artists to the federal president, it is even broadcast live on TV.

The Vienna Philharmonic invites dancers to its ball at the Wiener Musikverein. However, at this event the musicians of this world-famous orchestra can only be found with their instruments during the introduction. Because even the performers of the Vienna Philharmonic want to shake a leg now and then. The sweetest ball is the Bonbon Ball at the Wiener Konzerthaus. This ball is known for its fun and informal ambiance. And at the Vienna Kursalon, the Strauss Brothers once celebrated their greatest accomplishments – where visitors can now dance to the sounds of the waltz at the Johann Strauss Ball. At the Flower Ball, City Hall transforms into a unique sea of flowers.

The end of the ball also follows a traditional ritual: the light in the ballroom is dimmed, the band plays a slow waltz as everyone leaves. In Vienna, lively nights at the ball end at a sausage stand or over goulash in a coffee house.

From January until March, City Hall Square transforms into a huge ice rink and thrills ice-skating enthusiasts of every age. The Vienna Ice World is one of the biggest open-air artificial ice rinks in the world – and on no fewer than two levels!

The idyllically illuminated façade of City Hall forms the fairytale backdrop for Vienna Ice World. An 9,000 m² ice landscape delivers entertaining winter enjoyment for skating fans of every age. A special experience is the Sky Rink, a skating terrace on the first floor with a 120 meter-long ramp. Where else do you have the possibility to race over the ice on two levels? Both families and sporty visitors who are seeking action on the ice will get their money's worth here. Every day from 10.00 am to 10.00 pm, fantastically wild or sweepingly elegant loops can be turned to popular music hits and to some sounds of the waltz.

Winding through the romantically illuminated City Hall Park is a magical ice path that thrills beginners and professionals alike with its countless routes. A free practice area is available for the very youngest ice skaters from Monday to Friday, from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. At 5.00 pm, it transforms into eight curling lanes, where sporty curlers can put their skills to the test.
Restaurateurs pamper guests with delicacies made from regional and organic ingredients at various outdoor booths and in the popular Almhütte with terrace. Warming drinks are also available at Vienna Ice World - from fragrant organic punch to tea. There

are 2,000 pairs of ice skates (all pre-heated with warm air) for rent on site. Lockers are available for any items of clothing or shoes that you don’t need while skating.

Vienna Ice World, January 23 - March 1, 2020, Daily from 10.00 am - 10.00 pm
January 22, 7.00 pm - 10.00 pm with free ice skating
Information at www.wienereistraum.com

Wiener Werkstätte designer, architect of monumental residential buildings, as well as an influential art professor and above all a representative of a new school of thought. Otto Prutscher was more versatile than almost all other artists of the Vienna Modernism period. A new exhibition at the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art focuses on the astonishing range of abilities of this all-rounder.

There was hardly an area of life that Otto Prutscher (1880 to 1949) didn't give good shape to: the native Viennese designed residential and industrial buildings as well as country houses and villas. But the outer wrapping wasn't enough for him. He leaned towards the total work of art.

Prutscher's designs were the basis for all kinds of furniture – he designed everyday objects such as vases, coffee and tea services, tablecloths and silverware. Around 200 companies implemented his designs: from Backhausen to Lobmeyr and from Thonet to the Wiener Werkstätte. Whether textile, wood or metal: when it came to materials, Prutscher was also extremely flexible. He was one of the most productive and versatile artists of the Vienna Modernism period.

The exhibition "Otto Prutscher. Universal Designer of Viennese Modernism" at the MAK focuses the spotlight on Prutscher's extensive repertoire and the special circumstances that made such an extraordinary career possible in the first place. Prutscher was among the first students to graduate from the University of Applied Arts Vienna, founded at the end of the 19th century. Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser were his teachers. It was a time in which conventions were cast aside. Prutscher found great favor in it.

His receptiveness to new ideas also expressed itself in the form of his membership in the most important reform art movements of Vienna Modernism. From the Secession to the Werkbund and the Wiener Werkstätte. Prutscher's exceptional status is also related to an unusual career. In addition to his artistic training, he also completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter and bricklayer. Handicrafts were also a central motif of Prutscher's work.
Around 200 of Prutscher's designs and objects can be seen at the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art. Many of them are being exhibited in public for the first time. The exhibits come from private collections, from the Prutscher family archive in Milan and from the extensive Otto Prutscher estate of the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art.

Otto Prutscher. Universal Designer of Viennese Modernism, November 20, 2019 - May 17, 2020
www.mak.at

Hedy Lamarr was much more than just a pretty face. In its exhibition "Lady Bluetooth", the Judenplatz Museum presents the hidden talents that slumbered in the famous Hollywood actress.

An object of desire, a celebrated world star, a unrecognized inventor. Hedy Lamarr had many facets. Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler was born into a middle-class family in Vienna in 1914. Her father was a bank manager with roots in Lviv, her mother a trained concert pianist from Budapest – a typical Viennese family of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, if you will. Her acting talent was encouraged early on and she didn't have to wait long for her first big success with the film "Ecstasy". At 19 years of age, she filmed her first nude scene and the first female orgasm in movie history. What a scandal! But it had no effect on Hedy's career. She was more sought-after than ever before and after a failed marriage to the Viennese arms maker Fritz Mandl found herself in the glittering Hollywood of the late 1930s.

A new life began for Hedy in America in 1937. From then on, she called herself Hedy Lamarr and rose quickly from newcomer to movie diva. The "world's most beautiful woman" made movies with Hollywood greats such as Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart and became an acting and style icon. Yet Hedy's talent was not restricted to the stage alone. For example, she developed the frequency-hopping method together with the composer George Antheil. A technology that would make it possible for the American military to make radio signals invisible to torpedo control systems.

Ingenious! In 1942, Antheil and Lamarr received the patent with number 2292387 and gave it to the US Navy, which, however, didn’t recognize this ingenious technology and left it to vanish in a drawer. Only many years later was this groundbreaking invention finally given the attention it deserved. The frequency-hopping method is still in use today and formed the basis for GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and other systems. However, as Hedy had let the patent expire, the two inventors never earned a cent with their technology.

The exhibition in the Museum Judenplatz deals with the multifaceted life of Hedy Lamarr as an actress and inventor, and pays particular attention to her years in Vienna and Berlin.
The Metro Kinokulturhaus dedicates itself to a comprehensive retrospective of Hedy's work from the middle of December.

Lady Bluetooth. Hedy Lamarr, November 27, 2019 – May 10, 2020
www.jmw.at

Fancy hanging around with the best of the best in the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art? The finest in contemporary communication design presents itself on the Stubenring in the new exhibition on the competition "100 best posters 18. Germany Austria Switzerland".

We all know posters. That much is clear. We see them every day and everywhere. Sometimes more, sometimes less eye-catching, exciting or rousing. The annual competition 100 best Posters searches in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for exciting works that celebrate the poster as a medium.

For the fourteenth time, the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art shows the 100 best of the best in an extraordinary setting. A total of 2,353 designs were submitted to the association 100 Beste Plakate e.V., with an online vote reducing this number to 695 posters. After a final meeting of the jury, the top 100 submissions were finally identified. In addition to works by students, there are also designs of established graphic artists and advertising agencies. It's worth dropping by for a look.

100 Best Posters 18. Germany Austria Switzerland, November 6, 2019 - March 1, 2020
www.mak.at