Flags on public holidays and festivals in Austria

Austria has thirteen public holidays, but only two of them are days on which the whole country flies flags: 1 May and 26 October. The other holidays are church festivals. On top come the state holidays of the federal states and many local occasions, from swearing-in ceremonies to fire brigade festivals.

The public holidays

Section 7(2) of the Rest Periods Act lists the public holidays. The table shows which of them the Austrian Armed Forces’ flag order lists as occasions for flags.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, public institutions of the federation and the states as well as private houses fly flags on 1 May and 26 October. Federal offices generally use the service flag, state institutions the national flag alone or with the state flag, and private individuals the national flag alone or together with the flag of their federal state. All dates are in the guide to flag days.

1 May and the maypole

On 1 May, called the “State Holiday” in the Rest Periods Act, the maypole is put up in many places. The building codes know it too: the Tyrolean Building Code names maypoles together with flagpoles among the structures to which the act does not apply, and the Styrian Building Act lists maypoles as well as flag and carpet-beating poles among the projects subject to notification. More on building law in the guide to flagpole installation.

State holidays

Each federal state celebrates its patron saint. The state holidays are school holidays but not public holidays under the Rest Periods Act. Under the Armed Forces’ flag order, official buildings fly flags throughout the state, and according to the Ministry of the Interior the buildings then show the state colours, possibly together with the national colours.

• 19 March (St Joseph): Carinthia, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg
• 4 May (St Florian): Upper Austria
• 24 September (St Rupert): Salzburg
• 11 November (St Martin): Burgenland
• 15 November (St Leopold): Lower Austria and Vienna

The colours of the states are described in the guide to the flags of the federal states.

Church festivals and processions

Christmas, Easter and the other church holidays are not state flag days. According to the Ministry of the Interior, church flags take the place of honour at religious processions and events. In churches, the Austrian flag stands on the right-hand side as seen from the altar.

Special occasions

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Government and the state governments can call for flags to be flown on special occasions, for example as a sign of mourning. For the local area, the Armed Forces’ flag order also names swearing-in ceremonies, open days and official visits by state guests; during visits the flag of the guest’s country or federal state is hoisted as well.

Private individuals, clubs and businesses are not tied to any occasion. Weddings, anniversaries and club or fire brigade festivals are frequent reasons to hoist a flag. The usual order when several flags are flown is described in the guide to flag protocol. What applies when the flag stays up overnight is described in the guide to flag lighting.