Austria Calendar of Events

3rd Großglockner Trophy, Großglockner High Alpine Road
On July 1, 2006 on Großglockner High Alpine Road a competion for historic racing motorcycles (built in 1962 or before) will take place. This year we will have competitors from all over Europe, from Australia and the US. The race is dedicated to the deceased racing professor Helmut Krackowizer.

Carinthian Summer 2006
Founded in the eleventh century and extended during the baroque period, Ossiach Abbey lies on the shores of Lake Ossiach, surrounded by the scenic mountains of Carinthia, Austria’s southernmost province. It was here that the Carinthian Summer came into being in 1969, a festival now ranking among the most important in Austria. Since 1972, Villach, the Carinthian city most Mediterranean in character, has been the Festival’s home away from home.The Carinthian Summer Music Festival has a special atmosphere with its many venues (Ossiach Abbey's collegiate church and baroque hall, Villach’s Congress Centre, the Bamberg Hall of the former Park Hotel in the centre of Villach, and the mountain church in Tiffen near Feldkirchen and this year for the first time the „Tauernkirchlein“ near Ossiach and the Stone House of architect Günther Domenig in Steindorf) captivating the hearts both of artists and audiences from all over the world in July and August each year. World famous artists linked to the Carinthian Summer include Claudio Abbado, Wilhelm Backhaus, Leonard Bernstein, Rudolf Buchbinder, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Gottfried von Einem, Jean Françaix, Sir James Galway, Robert Holl, Gidon Kremer, Ernst Krenek, Christa Ludwig, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Sir Roger Norrington, Boris Pergamenshikov, and Horst Stein as well as the most renowned international ensembles and orchestras.

Ennstal Classic, Ennstal, Gröbming
The “Ennstal Classic” is a must for all lovers of vintage cars and hotrods! Action and entertainment for participants and spectators is guaranteed at this car race!The motto of the Ennstal-Classic “Driving in the last paradise” has become a seal of approval during the last twelve years.The ladder that almost leads up to the sky onto the Stoderzinken in Gröbming, the night above the foothills of the Dachstein that turns into a mountain-race through the execrated valleys of the Schladminger Tauern, the morning full of dew on the Sölkpass, the ascension through the woods into the breathtaking green baldness of the Nockmountains to the Glockenhütte, the vastness of the Hochrindl, the lonesome forests of the Klippitztörl, the dramatic strength of the mountains surrounding Präbichl and Gesäuse and in between pictorial leg villages like the aerodrome Niederöblarn, St. Michael, Seckau, Spital am Pyhrn and Rottenmann where thousands of people give applause to the participants of the rallye. There the engines fall silent for a moment, but the merciless stop watches do not stop. All these features make the Ennstal Classic an event that no travel agency can arrange.

Road Cycling World Championships, Salzburg
Salzburg plays host to the UCI Road Cycling World Championships, one of the undisputed highlights of the 2006 sports events.In Salzburg cycling is very popular. The bicycle is the most favoured means of transportation in the population, the network of cycle paths is one of the most densely structured throughout Austria. Additionally professional cycling is quite significant too. Thus I am especially pleased that we succeeded in our bid to host the 2006 Road World Championships in Salzburg. The World Championships as one of the biggest sport events, taking place on venues all over world and each year, is an important multiplicator for race cycling and an unforgettable event for the fans of cycling – hence the preparations run at full speed. Already now I am looking forward to the competitions and the finishes in the heart of our city!