Culture of Austria

Austria is home to an enormous confluence of cultural riches from architecture to classical music, philosophy and literature. Its hills are alive with the sound of music and its tables are overflowing with Wiener Schnitzel, Strudel and fine wine.

Its cultural stereotypes persist, especially in alpine areas and Austrians take cultural refinement very seriously - just don’t mention Arnold Schwarzenegger.

There’s plenty of beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque art in Austria’s churches. Biedermeier, which is more well-known as a furniture style, also had its day in the gallery - and Biedermeier artist Moritz Michael Daffinger even found his way onto the AS20 note. The most famous Austrian painters were probably Gustav Klimt (Art Nouveau ) and Oskar Kokoschka (Viennese expressionism), but the most outrageous publicity was reserved for Viennese Actionism. This offshoot of abstract expressionism emerged in the late 1950s and sought access to the subconscious through the frenzy of direct art - read pouring paint over canvas and slashing it with knives; using blood and excrement as ‘paint’ and human bodies as ‘brushes’; psychological endurance tests, self-mutilation and other nice Sunday school activities.

Traditional Austrian food is stodgy, hearty fare of the meat-and-dumpling variety. Wiener Schnitzel is Vienna’s best known culinary concoction and it has spread to every two-bit eating house from New York City to Alice Springs. It’s a fried cutlet, usually veal, covered in a coating of egg and breadcrumbs and, when cooked properly, has actually been known to be edible. Austrians are fond of eating bits of beasts that other nations ignore. Beuschel may be translated on menus as ‘calf’s lights’ but it’s really thin slices of calf’s lungs and heart. It’s quite tasty. Really. Austria’s excellent pastries and cakes are effective at transferring bulk from your money belt to your waistline. The most famous Austrian dessert is the strudel, a baked dough filled with a variety of fruits and a sprinkling of raisins and cinnamon. You’ll need to wash down this calorie hit with a cold glass of Austrian beer or a swig of fine Austrian wine.

Composers throughout Europe were drawn to the country in the 18th and 19th centuries by the generous patronage of the Habsburgs. During this period Vienna became to classical music what Seattle is to grunge. In fact many of the Habsburgs were themselves gifted musicians and would, history allowing, have made a funky quartet consisting of Leopold I (composer), Charles VI (violin), Maria Theresa (double bass) and Joseph II (harpsichord and cello). Back in the real world, at various times Beethoven, Brahms, Gluck, Hayden, Mahler, Mozart, Schubert, Schönberg and the Strausses all had their heads in the clouds and their bums on piano stools in Vienna. Today, institutions such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the angelic Vienna Boys’ Choir, the Staatsoper (State Opera), the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus are unrivalled.