Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in Austria
- Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the festival dates on the festival’s website or with a local tourist information office. For more information about these and other events, visit the official tourism sites for Austria, Vienna, and Salzburg.
- This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout Austria. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn’t a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
- See upcoming holidays and festivals across Europe
2015
January 1: New Year’s Day
January: Perchtenlaufen (Salzburg winter festival; parades)
January 6: Epiphany (Dreikönigstag)
January–February: Fasnacht (carnival season in western Austria; balls, parades)
Late January: Mozart Week, Salzburg (Mozartwoche, daily performances by Mozart and his contemporaries)
January–mid-February: Vienna Ball Season (2,000 hours of dancing)
March 28–April 5: OsterKlang Wien (Vienna Easter Music Festival)
March 28–April 6: Osterfestspiele Salzburg (Salzburg Easter Music Festival)
April 3: Good Friday (Karfreitag)
April 5–6: Easter Sunday and Monday (Ostersonntag and Ostermontag)
May 1: May Day (maypole dances)
May 14: Ascension (Christi Himmelfahrt; closures)
May 15–June 21: Vienna Festival (arts, music)
May 22–15: Whitsun Festival, Salzburg (concert series)
May 24–25: Pentecost and Whit Monday (closures)
June 4: Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam, religious festival; some closures)
Late June: Midsummer Eve celebrations
July 17–August 30: Salzburg Summer Festival
August 15: Assumption (Mariä Himmelfahrt; closures)
September 23–27: St. Rupert’s Fair (Ruperti-Kirtag, traditional festival, fireworks, Salzburg)
October 26: Austrian National Day (Nationalfeiertag)
November 1: All Saints’ Day (Allerheiligen; closures)
November 11: St. Martin’s Day (children go door to door for goodies, like trick-or-treating)
Late November–December 26: Christmas markets
December 6: St. Nikolaus Day (parades, children set a boot outside the house and receive presents)
December 8: Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Mariä Empfängnis; closures)
December 24: Christmas Eve (Der Heilige Abend, when Austrians celebrate Christmas)
December 25: Christmas
December 26: St. Stephen’s Day (closures)
December 31: New Year’s Eve (Silvester, a.k.a. Altjahrstag; fireworks), throughout Austria, but particularly Vienna