2023 in Austria explained

Events in the year 2023 in Austria.

Incumbents

• President: Alexander Van der Bellen
• Chancellor: Karl Nehammer

Governors

• Burgenland: Hans Peter Doskozil
• Carinthia: Peter Kaiser
• Lower Austria: Johanna Mikl-Leitner
• Salzburg: Wilfried Haslauer Jr.
• Styria: Christopher Drexler
• Tyrol: Anton Mattle
• Upper Austria: Thomas Stelzer
• Vienna: Michael Ludwig
• Vorarlberg: Markus Wallner

Events

• January 10 – the Criminal Court of Vienna acquitted former Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) leader Heinz-Christian Strache, citing lack of proof.^{[1] [2]}
• January 29 – 2023 Lower Austrian state election: Incumbent Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) remains strongest with slightly less than 40%, the party's weakest result in Lower Austria yet.
• February 5 – Avalanches kill eight tourists across the Austrian Alps.^[3]
• March 5 – 2023 Carinthian state election: Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) loses 9% of votes but remains strongest party with roughly 39% of votes.
• March 17 – In Lower Austria, the ÖVP forms a coalition with the FPÖ.
• March 30 – Lawmakers from the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria walk out from the lower house of Austria's parliament during a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a protest against the violation of Austria's national principle of neutrality.^[4]
• March 31 – In Carinthia, the SPÖ renews its coalition with the ÖVP.
• April 23 – 2023 Salzburg state election: Following the election, a coalition between ÖVP and FPÖ was agreed on, the first of its kind in Salzburg.
• April 24–June 3 – 2023 Social Democratic Party of Austria leadership election: Hans Peter Doskozil initially leads in the non-binding member vote, but Andreas Babler is officially elected as new chairman during a party congress in Linz on June 3.
• May 30 – Three people are killed during a fire at a hospital in Mödling.^[5]
• June 30 – Wiener Zeitung, one of the oldest newspapers still published in the world, ends its daily print after 320 years (1703).^{[6] [7]}
• September 12 – At Salzburg Zoo, a zookeeper is killed and another is injured by a rhinoceros in its enclosure. The zoo remains closed.^[8]
• October 11 – Police in Vienna, announce that they have banned a pro-Palestinian protest over mentions of "from the river to the sea" in invitations and the characterization of the protest as a call for violence.^[9]
• November 3 – A small plane en route from Zagreb, Croatia, crashes as it approached Salzburg, killing four people.^[10]
• November 13 – Justice Minister Alma Zadić announces the allocation of €33 million (around US$35 million) to compensate approximately 11,000 LGBT people affected by the country's historical discriminatory laws.^[11]

Sports

Scheduled

• 2022–23 Austrian Football Bundesliga^[12]
• 2022–23 Austrian Cup^[13]
• Austrian Grand Prix
• 2023 ACCR Formula 4 Championship^[14]

Deaths

January

• January 6
  • Ernst Grissemann, 88, radio host, journalist, and actor (b. 1934)
  • Karl Pfeifer, 94, journalist (b. 1928)
• January 7 – Walter Intemann, 78, businessman and politician (b. 1944)
• January 10 – Traudl Hecher, 79, World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic medalist (b. 1943)
• January 17 – Richard Oesterreicher, 90, conductor and jazz musician (b. 1930)
• January 18
  • Melitta Muszely, 95, opera singer (b. 1927)
  • Leopold Potesil, 89, boxer (b. 1933)
• January 19 – Norbert Sattler, 71, kayaker and water slalomist (b. 1951)
• January 21
  • Kurt Schneider, 90, racing cyclist (b. 1932)
  • Friedrich Weissensteiner, 95, historian and writer (b. 1927)
• January 27 – Martin Purtscher, 94, politician (b. 1928)

November

• November 1 – Gregor Hammerl, 81, politician, ex President of the Federal Council of Austria (b. 1942)^[15]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ehemaliger FPÖ-Chef Strache in Korruptionsprozess freigesprochen. www.spiegel.de. 10 January 2023. de. 2023-01-10.
2. Web site: Freispruch für Strache im zweiten Anlauf. www.orf.at. 10 January 2023. de. 2023-01-10.
3. News: 2023-02-05 . Weekend avalanches kill 10 in Austria and Switzerland . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-02-05.
4. News: 2023-03-30 . Austria's far-right lawmakers walk out of Zelenskyy speech . en-GB . Al Jazeera . 2023-03-31.
5. Web site: 2023-05-30 . Overnight fire at Austrian hospital kills 3 patients, cause unclear . 2023-05-30 . AP NEWS . en.
6. Web site: 2023-06-30 . Stop the press: Vienna newspaper Wiener Zeitung ends daily print edition after 320 years . 2023-07-02 . AP News . en.
7. Web site: 2023-06-30 . »Wiener Zeitung«: Älteste Tageszeitung der Welt erscheint zum letzten Mal . The world's oldest daily newspaper was published for the last time . 2023-07-02 . Der Spiegel . de.
8. Web site: 2023-09-12 . Zookeeper trampled to death by rhino in Austria . 2023-09-13 . euronews . en.
9. News: 2023-10-11 . 'From the river to the sea' prompts Vienna to ban pro-Palestinian protest . en . Reuters . 2023-10-12.
10. Web site: 2023-11-03 . A small plane headed from Croatia to Salzburg crashes in Austria, killing 4 people . 2023-11-03 . AP News . en.
11. News: Agence France-Presse . 2023-11-13 . Austria puts aside millions for gay people who faced prosecution . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-11-14 . 0261-3077.
12. Web site: Bundesliga.at - Offizielle Webseite der Österreichischen Fußball Bundesliga . 2022-11-10 . www.bundesliga.at.
13. Web site: Salzburg triumphiert im UNIQA ÖFB Cup-Finale . 2022-11-10 . oefb.at . de.
14. Web site: Miltner . Harry . 2022-11-03 . BREAKING NEWS: ACCR F4 STARTS AS CERTIFIED FIA SERIES IN 2023! . 2022-11-10 . ACCR F4 . en-GB.
15. News: Die steirische ÖVP trauert um Gregor Hammerl . 2 November 2023 . Kleine Zeitung . 6 November 2023.