Vienna Turns Up Christmas Glitter

AFP-Jiji

17:25 JST, November 28, 2024

VIENNA (AFP-Jiji) — Vienna will splash the cash on lighting up its famed Christmas markets to bring festive cheer to struggling retailers.

Chandeliers, glittering stars and sparkling red globes are among the designs illuminating 31 Viennese streets since Nov. 15, with the capital boosting spending on its end-of-year light displays as Austria’s economy flounders.

“It’s just beautiful. It makes the city a bit more beautiful as a whole,” Kateryna Baranovska, a 23-year-old student, told AFP.

Stored in a large warehouse on Vienna’s outskirts, workers began putting up the massive Christmas light motifs weeks before the on switch was flicked.

In an effort to lessen the impact on the climate, Vienna introduced LED lights in recent years, while the electricity needed to keep the displays twinkling from November until January comes from renewable sources.

That energy is roughly equivalent to what one 14-story apartment building uses in a year.

“The costs are actually relatively low for what you get in return, namely a good ambiance and a great atmosphere for shopping,” Dieter Steup, a representative of the Vienna economic chamber, told AFP.

In a 2022 survey, 64% of Austrians said the festive light displays created “a pleasant, Christmassy atmosphere” for them.

In 2022, when energy costs shot up because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Christmas lights were turned off two hours earlier to save electricity.

But since 2023, the displays have again sparkled bright until midnight.