With Bad Ischl, Austria has its third European Capital of Culture. The initial discord was drowned out by the promising opening.
VIENNA/BAD ISCHL taz | The stage filled for a few minutes until the thousand-strong amateur choir was fully seated. World musician Hubert von Goisern played a multi-voiced yodel in the cultural capital of Bad Ischl and the surrounding Salzkammergut region on Saturday. Despite the freezing temperatures, around 15,000 people came to the Ischl thermal park to kick off a controversial but very promising year. The acclaimed outing also featured renowned Austrian artists, such as song contest winner Conchita Wurst and artist and choreographer Doris Uhlich.
In addition to Bad Ischl, the former summer home of the Viennese court, of which you can still see magnificent buildings and thriving souvenir shops, 22 other surrounding communities participate in the Capital of Culture year. Salzkammergut is the first rural, even Alpine, region to receive this title from the European Union since the “European Capital of Culture” format began in 1985. To the surprise of everyone involved, the region prevailed in the application process against the other Austrian candidates, “Dornbirn plus”, and the favorite St. Pölten. After Graz (2003) and Linz (2009), Bad Ischl (14,000 inhabitants) is the third cultural capital of Austria.
A breath of fresh air and great challenges
That a lot of fresh wind is now blowing from outside is something quite unusual for many in this traditional region surrounded by mountains. The challenges are diverse: places like Hallstatt have been characterized for years by problematic mass tourism. Others, like the city of Gmunden, have long struggled to revitalize the city center. The more peripheral communities, on the other hand, have not yet benefited much from tourism, the most important source of income here. Many young people leave the Salzkammergut simply because there is a lack of work there.
The Capital of Culture year will address all of these topics in an artistic way: from rampant soil sealing to the still somewhat taboo Nazi history. Art treasures stolen by the Nazis were stored in the region's salt mines to protect them from Allied bombs. Forced laborers had to dig miles deep into the mountains for the Nazis' secret weapons production. Some of these tunnels will be accessible for exhibitions that critically address this heritage. Climate change and feminism are also central themes. Other important issues of our time, such as the shift to the right, refugees or the war in Ukraine, are poorly represented.
Political disputes advance
General conditions were difficult: Bad Ischl, like most Salzkammergut municipalities, is social democratic, but the host states of Upper Austria and Styria are governed conservatively. Probably also due to the rejection of the St. Pölten jury, the black-ruled states refused to provide adequate support to the Capital of Culture project. According to those involved, the ÖVP did not release or access financing for political reasons. Now the management has to settle for a meager 30 million euros. For comparison: the cultural capital Linz had around 70 million euros available in 2009, Chemnitz can work with 90 million euros in 2025.
The atmospheric conflicts beforehand were even louder. Some considered that director Elisabeth Schweeger, originally from Vienna and with extensive international experience, was “too elitist” and that she “did not involve the local population enough,” she said, for example. However, a look at the program debunks most of the accusations, as many projects are linked to local initiatives, from craft houses to music schools. About 85 percent of participating project sponsors are local, Schweeger says.
They are not flagship projects, but they are an ambitious program
The main theme of the year is salt, which has been extracted here for 7,000 years and which brought immense wealth to the Viennese imperial family. The main exhibition takes place in the Bad Ischl brewhouse, which was used for salt production from 1835 to 1965. There are modern approaches, from understanding salt production through augmented reality, i.e. through the insertion of digital elements into the real world, to long-term experiments. with paint dripping Salt. More relevant will be “The Journey of Images,” which will address looted art and restitution, topics that have been neglected in Austria for decades, starting March 19 in Bad Aussee, Bad Ischl and the twin city of Linz.
Currently only a few flagship projects remain to be identified, which is probably due to the limited budget, but also to the thematic and geographical breadth. However, the program is ambitious in its goal of developing new solutions at the local level, but also of opening an introspective region to the world. “Not everything will please everyone, but there will be something for everyone,” he said at the inaugural conference. This can now be confirmed with confidence.
Transparency note: The trip was made at the invitation of the Capital of Culture.