The Chamber of Commerce in Burgenland has been inundated with phone calls from angry hairdressers who have received written warnings that they will be fined for breaching equality laws over pricing for men and women.
The Agency for Equal Treatment based in Salzburg wrote to many hair salons explaining that they had received complaints from customers that the prices of haircuts for men and women were poles apart. The Chamber of Commerce is now investigating.
Legal expert from the Burgenland Chamber of Commerce Harald Mittermayer said that the letters had told the establishments to pay 250 euros for the “on-site research” necessary to collect information. But Mittermayer added that although it appeared to be a con no offence had actually been committed by writing the letters. (via Austrian Times)
Actors Christiane von Poelnitz and Thilo Nest perform on stage during a dress rehearsal of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s play Elektra at Burgtheater (via Telegraph)
A police officer stands next to a poster with naked soccer players daubed with spray paint, advertising an art exhibition. Vienna’s Leopold Museum has decided to cover the intimate parts of three naked male soccer players on large posters put up in the Austrian capital after they caused an outcry. (via Telegraph)
Staff working on the Vienna underground system have been closely studying CCTV footage for a clue as to the identity of a naked young woman wearing nothing but a pair of knee length leather boots on the train who travelled several stops before getting off again.
The woman seemed undisturbed by the fact that she was wearing nothing despite the fact that many parts of Austria have experienced heavy snow falls and even in the capital Vienna the temperature was close to freezing.
One eyewitness who saw the woman at the Kardinal-Nagl-Platz station said: “I couldn’t believe it when she stepped on the train and when some people grabbed their mobile telephones and started taking pictures she didn’t object – in fact she even seemed to be posing for the camera.” (via Austrian Times)
A bank robber who claimed to be carrying a bomb and who was wielding a handgun proved no match for an 82-year-old pensioner who bashed him with her handbag - and then pulled off his balaclava as he threatened staff at a bank at St. Egyden am Steinfeld in Lower Austria.
Hertha Wallecker, 82, saw red when Gerhard P. ran into the local Raiffeisen bank shouting “I’ve got a bomb – I only want the big notes”. The angry pensioner bashed the crook and then grabbed the mask - pulling it off as he tried to run past to the teller while brandishing the gun.
He demanded that the terrified cashier fill the bag with money and warned: “I’ve got a bomb – keep away.”
But that didn’t deter the battling pensioner who accosted him again from behind and grabbed the mask a second time – this time flinging it on the floor.
She told him: “That is the bank’s money, if you want money then get a job you lazy devil.”
Then as the armed raider attempted with one hand to put the mask back on and avoid being snapped by security cameras – she grabbed the plastic bag and tried to wrestle it out of his hands - scattering money over the floor and tearing one of the handles off before the man managed to escape. (via Austrian Times)
A wild lynx that escaped in spring after a small landslide from a hill around its enclosure demolished a wall has been discovered run over by a train.
Keepers have spent months setting up traps around the Mautern adventure Park near Salzburg in Austria without any sign of the eight-year-old female wildcat named “Hera”.
Officials had also warned members of the public to keep clear of the four-foot long big cat while wildlife experts, trackers, and huntsmen searched the area.
But now the animal’s body has been recovered after it was spotted by railway workers carrying out repair work on the train track. (via Austrian Times)
Austria: naked bathers left stranded as cars towed
Naked sunbathers were left completely stark naked after their cars were towed by police on the Donauinsel in Vienna.
Police towed 57 vehicles parked illegally near to the naked bathing area along the Danube river.
Many of the bathers had left their clothes in the car as they went for some all over tanning and naked swimming.
As some of the bathers noticed the cars being towed they rushed to try and beg for their clothes but they were too late. The cars had already been towed. (via Austrian Times)
Police are seen as students leave Vienna University through a side entrance. Police blocked all entrances of the university after students seized the auditorium on Thursday to protest against the abolishment of a subject of study. (via Reuters.com)
A cat looks at Lipizzaner horse “Alea” as it stands under a solarium at the stables of the Spanish Riding School. Every Lipizzaner horse receives individual care and attention, a regular work schedule and a specially created food plan. The supply of revitalising water, magnet therapy covers and solariums with infrared and ultraviolet light complete their daily wellness program. (via Reuters.com)
