Europe in Brussels part 5: Austria's influence on Belgium

Austria's national day on 26 October is the anniversary of when the state regained its full status as an independent country after the Allies left its territory after the second world war.

"It is a special day for us, related to political development after the war,” explains Jürgen Meindl, Austrian ambassador to Belgium. "It was the first day when Austria regained its status as an independent country after the last remaining foreign troops left on 25 October 1955."

Following the war, Austria was occupied by the four Allied Forces (Soviet Union, US, Great Britain and France) and divided into four zones. Despite the Austrian parliament being democratically elected, the Allied powers still exerted control over its decisions. The occupation was brought to an end by the signing of the Austrian State Treaty in May 1955, with the last troops leaving the following October.

In Austria the national day is celebrated every year with a series of events, says Ambassador Meindl. “The president and minister for defence attend a special event at the Heldenplatz Square in Vienna, the council of ministers holds a special meeting, the president addresses the nation at a state of the union style event, the federal chancellery opens its doors to the public, who can meet the prime minister and other ministers and also new soldiers are sworn in."

Austrian embassies around the world host events for Austrian citizens - and Belgium is no exception, with a reception for 700 people.

Austrian influence

The Austrian presence in Belgium goes back a lot further than the beginning of its EU membership, despite the number of Austrians increasing greatly since the country joined up in 1995.

"We have some special historical links with what we call the Österreichische Niederlande [Austrian Netherlands], which means there was an Austrian presence in Brussels for hundreds of years,” says Ambassador Meindl. This territory covered what is modern-day Western Belgium and Luxembourg with the Austrian Empire acquiring it in 1714, remaining in control until 1797.

“You can see there are several Austrian influences here in Brussels, in the architecture and the art nouveau concept, which is similar to that of Vienna,” says Thomas Schmidt, one of approximately 6,000 Austrian citizens based in Belgium.

“If you go to the Horta Musuem you get a sense of the similarity between art nouveau and Jugendstil [the German equivalent]. Even in the EU Council building there is a legacy left from the Austrian Presidency, a café called the Café Autriche,” explains Schmidt.

Hailing from Salzburg, Mozart’s birthplace, Schmidt arrived in Belgium in 2003, although living in Brussels was not his original intention.

"I’m a journalist and my original plan was to work as a correspondent in Moscow. In the end I turned up in Brussels, but to my surprise I found that it was quite interesting so I’m happy to be here. I like the openness of the city and it’s more open than other European capitals. It’s a real melting pot."

Nonetheless, Schmidt remains quite attached to his home country: “For me Austria is still my home country rather than Belgium, but for my kids it’s different. They know Austria only from vacations.”

Ambassador Meindl highlights that Austria and Belgium have very close relations, both on a political EU level and especially as regards tourism. “500,000 Belgians visit Austria to go skiing each year. This figure went up 20% in the last year, so it’s the fifth most important market for us,” he states.

In addition should anyone want to find examples and demonstrations of Austrian culture on show in Belgium, Ambassador Meindl highlighted three upcoming events over October and November: "There will the Amazing Hadyn Festival in Mechelen featuring a Mozart ensemble, the World Machine exhibition by Franz Gsellmann at the Atomium and the Getting Things Done architecture exhibition in Ghent."

For more information, see https://www.bmeia.gv.at/oeb-bruessel/