Austria marks the National Day on October 26 and because of the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no traditional reception organized every year by the Austrian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This time it will be marked in different circumstances by organizing cultural, ceremonial and culinary content via the Internet, and the welcoming speech will be given by the Austrian Ambassador to BiH Ulrike Hartmann.
On 26 October 2020 from 6.30 p.m. – 9.30 p.m., Sarajevo City Hall will be illuminated in the colors of the Austrian flag.
The Austrian National Day is celebrated on October 26 and relates to political developments after WW II.
After the end of the War, Austria was occupied by the four Allied forces (Soviet Union, United States, Great Britain, and France), who divided the country into four zones. The capital Vienna was also divided in four, with the historic central district being jointly administered by the “Allied Control Council”. Although the Austrian parliament was democratically elected, every legislative regulation or political action of the government at first required consent by the Allied Control Council and later on could still be vetoed by it.
The negotiations over a State Treaty putting an end to the occupation could finally be concluded in the spring of 1955: the Austrian State Treaty was signed on May 15, 1955, in Vienna’s Schloss Belvedere and entered into force on July 27, 1955.
On October 26, 1955, the Austrian Parliament passed the constitutional law on permanent neutrality, which has been celebrated as the Austrian National day since 1965.
(Photo: Anadolu Agency)