Austria - Culture Smart! by Peter Gieler

Author:Peter Gieler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kuperard
Published: 2018-03-17T04:00:00+00:00

THE AUSTRIANS AT HOME

In Austria there is a sharp contrast between the formality of work and the relaxed mode at home. The Austrian is generous, friendly, accommodating, and, above all, gemütlich (of which, more below).

HEIMAT

Austrians are very committed to their own particular region and homeland—their Heimat. They are proud of their region, which they consider to be superior to all others, and when they are introduced they will immediately say where they come from. All regions have their own characteristics, and the inhabitants reflect this. There is a general but good-humored animosity toward Vienna, as it is the seat of national government, but for their part the Viennese consider all the regions to be provincial and narrow-minded. Competition is healthy and regionality has become a good source of storytelling and jokes. This is where their parents and forebears lived, and where they were brought up and educated, and throughout their lives they keep the connection going. However, Austrians have a different attitude to their Heimat from that of the Germans. As the renowned Austrian essayist Hans Weigel once wrote, “Whereas other nations love their homeland an Austrian is married to his; and as in a marriage really begins to appreciate it when he is separated from it.” Those who care most for Austria are those living abroad. This is partly due to nostalgia for the imperial past, before Austria’s borders were changed by international wars and disputes.

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