Austria

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30 Nuns and 1 Priest Stuck in the Snow: Don't Come Get Us

Austrian order has been cut off from the world for days

(Newser) - Authorities in Austria tried to reach dozens of Catholic nuns whose Alpine monastery has been cut off from the world for days because of heavy snowfall, per the AP . But public broadcaster ORF reported Thursday that the nuns say they've got enough food and fuel, and they want to...

Northern Alps Are Having a Deadly Month

3 German skiers killed in Austria avalanche, 2 French ski patrollers killed by exploding devices

(Newser) - Three German skiers were killed in an avalanche in Austria and a fourth is still missing, police said Sunday as snowfall set in again in the northern Alps. In France, two ski patrollers were killed when the devices they use to trigger avalanches exploded. The two accidents brought to at...

On NYC Subway, a 'Tragic End to the Everyday Jostle'

Man who fled from Nazis in Austria dies after being pushed to ground by rushing fellow commuter

(Newser) - The New York Times calls Dr. Kurt Salzinger's death "a tragic end to the everyday jostle of straphangers," which the New York Post paints as "a daily underground hazard." His stepdaughter calls it "a complete disregard for the elderly," per the Times. Salzinger...

Austria Plans to Close Mosques, Expel Imams

Chancellor announces crackdown on 'political Islam'

(Newser) - Austria's government said Friday that it's closing seven mosques and plans to expel imams in a crackdown on "political Islam" and foreign financing of religious groups. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says the government is shutting a hard-line Turkish nationalist mosque in Vienna and dissolving a group called the...

Autism Pioneer Said He Kept Kids Safe From Nazis. He Didn't

Hans Asperger 'publicly legitimized race hygiene policies,' says historian

(Newser) - Before his death in 1980, Dr. Hans Asperger said he kept his adolescent patients safe from the Nazis, a claim repeated years later by autism experts. The pediatrician—for whom Asperger's Syndrome was named in 1981—even went so far as to say he'd become a target of...

Quick-Thinking Rescuer Saves Life of Man Trapped in Glacier

German mountaineer lucky to be alive after falling into a crevice in Austria

(Newser) - Austrian emergency teams have rescued a German mountaineer who spent five days in a deep glacier crevice after slipping. Officials say the man was found in the 100-foot-deep gap Thursday after he succeeded in making an emergency call from his cellphone following numerous failed attempts because of poor reception, the...

This Man Is About to Become the World's Youngest Leader

Sebastian Kurz, 31, is set to represent the millennial generation in Austria

(Newser) - At age 31, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz is poised to become the first millennial to lead a European country following his party's victory in a national election Sunday. While no party won a majority, the telegenic Kurz is most likely to be sworn in as Austria's next...

Man, 65, Saves Busload of Tourists From Tragedy

Police laud passenger's quick reflexes after driver collapses in Austrian Alps

(Newser) - A French tourist is being praised for saving a busload of fellow passengers from "catastrophe" after the driver passed out. The bus was on a winding road in the Austrian Alps near Schwaz when the 76-year-old driver collapsed, the BBC reports. As the bus was careening toward a precipice,...

5 Climbers Fall to Deaths After Rope Comes Loose

Another 3 climbers died on Italian glacier

(Newser) - Sunday was a deadly day in the Austrian Alps: Five roped-together German climbers fell to their deaths after a rope apparently came loose, the BBC reports. Police say one of the climbers slipped and pulled down the rest of the group of six men, who plunged more than 600 feet...

A 'Second-Long Sleep,' Then Thousands of Loose Chickens

It happened on an Austrian highway

(Newser) - Some 7,000 chickens on their way to be slaughtered had an unexpected shot at freedom Tuesday when the truck transporting them crashed into a bridge in Austria, spilling its load on the highway. Traffic on the A1 autobahn into Vienna was snarled for hours as authorities cleared the scene...

Court Rules on Seizure of Hitler's Childhood Home

It was legal, court says; the owner is expected to appeal

(Newser) - Austria's highest court on Friday ruled the government was within its rights to seize the house where Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 after its owner refused to sell it, saying the move was needed to give the state full control over plans to reduce its attraction...

This Man Will Be One of Central Europe's Last Hermits

Congrats?

(Newser) - "When I read about the Saalfelden hermitage, I thought to myself: that's the place for me," says Stan Vanuytrecht. The mayor of the Austrian town, perched in the Alps, thought it was just the spot for Vanuytrecht, too. Vanuytrecht, a bearded, pipe-smoking Catholic deacon from Belgium, beat...

Authorities Investigating Hitler Sightings in His Hometown

The impersonator has been spotted at a bookstore and bar

(Newser) - It appears Hitler has made an improbable return to the place of his birth. Reuters reports the former Nazi dictator has been spotted around Braunau am Inn in Austria reading magazines about WWII in a bookstore, giving the name "Harald Hitler" at a bar, and standing outside the home...

Austria Cracks Down on Full-Face Veils

Refugees, some immigrants may also be made to sign 'integration contracts'

(Newser) - Face-covering veils are set to be banned in public places in Austria, per the country's ruling coalition, with a more widespread ban of all headscarves and religious symbols worn by state employees possible down the road, the BBC reports. The ban on niqabs (veils that cover all of the...

Hitler House Not Being Torn Down After All

Home in Braunau am Inn, Austria, will be used by charity for the disabled

(Newser) - Austrian government officials have decided to transform the home where Adolf Hitler was born into a base for a charity, not tear down the property as some had demanded. Thursday's decision comes a day after lawmakers overwhelmingly approved an Interior Ministry bill to dispossess the owner, who had refused...

Austria's Word of the Year Has 51 Letters

And it was born of a messy presidential election

(Newser) - For all those who don't speak German—and indeed for those who do—here is Austria's word of the year, adding to the challenges of reading and speaking the language. It's "Bundespraesidentenstichwahlwiederholungsverschiebung," or "postponement of the repeat of the runoff of the presidential election....

Austria's Infamous Incest House Just Sold

Josef Fritzl's house bought by strip club owner looking to turn it into apartments

(Newser) - The home where "Austrian incest monster" Josef Fritzl kept his daughter locked in the cellar for 24 years while fathering seven children by her may soon be used to house strippers, the Local reports. Fritzl was found guilty of murder, incest, sequestration, and 3,000 counts of rape in...

Far-Right Presidential Hopeful Defeated in Austria

'What happens here today has relevance for all of Europe'

(Newser) - Left-leaning Alexander Van der Bellen triumphed over his right-wing rival Sunday in the vote for Austria's presidency, a victory welcomed by moderate politicians across Europe as a blow against the populist forces looking to weaken the European Union. While the Austrian presidency is a mostly symbolic post, it had...

Austria to Tear Down House Where Hitler Was Born

Feared the house becoming a rallying point for neo-Nazis

(Newser) - After a long national debate, Austria has agreed—in principle—to demolish the house where Adolf Hitler was born, the BBC reports. The infamous German dictator was born on April 20, 1889, in a rented room on the top floor of a guesthouse in the town of Braunau am Inn,...

Austria Eyes 'Cleanest Solution' for Hitler Birthplace

Country's interior minister says demolishing house would probably be best

(Newser) - Austria's interior minister says he can imagine having the house where Adolf Hitler was born demolished, calling it "the cleanest solution" for the building that nobody wants , reports the AP . The Austrian government wants to expropriate the house in Braunau am Inn on the German border where the...

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