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MFPL Welcome Guide Package 1 Living in Vienna Last update 2013/08/06 Table of Content Willkommen in Wien! – Welcome to Vienna! 1 Facts about Vienna 1 Viennese Districts 2 Arrival 2 Travelling by Airplane 2 Travelling by Railway 2 Travelling by Car 3 First Steps to Settle Down in Vienna 3 Entry Requirements 3 Important Addresses and Phone Numbers 5 Living in Vienna 5 Communication 5 Eating & Drinking 6 Electricity 6 Finding a Flat 7 Health Insurance 7 Money, Money, Money 8 On the Road 10 Weights and Measures 12 Public Holidays and Events 13 German Language Guide 13 MFPL Welcome Package – Living in Vienna – Table of content 06/08/2013 Facts about Vienna Living in Vienna Location in Eastern Austria Willkommen in Wien! – average altitude: 170 m distances: 520 km to Berlin (Germany), Welcome to Vienna! 250 km to Prague (Czech Republic), 55 km to Bratislava (Slovakia), 215 km to Budapest (Hungary), 280 km to Ljubljana (Slovenia), 765 km to Rome (Italy), Austria Once the centre of power for the large 685 km to Bern (Switzerland) in Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was re- The ferry wheel Riesenrad in the Prater history duced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occu- Land Area pation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a dec- 414.67 sq.km ade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's inde- pendence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality". A prosperous, democratic coun- Urban Administration try, Austria entered the European Union in 1995 and the EU Economic and Mone- 23 districts ("Bezirk") tary Union in 1999. head of urban administration: mayor ("Bürgermeister") Dr Michael Häupl (since 1994) Vienna, The capital of Austria is known around the world as a centre of Western sophistica- Inhabitants by comparison the tion. Renowned for its exquisite balls in the carnival season, impeccable concerts of Tokyo 36.5 million capital of classical music, and culinary traditions that gave the world such delights as the Wie- Population Mexico City 19.3 million Austria ner Schnitzel and Sachertorte, Vienna is an absolute must for people looking to 1,713,957 New York 19.3 million experience the spirit of traditional European elegance. population density: 4,133 inh./sq.km Cairo 10.9 million London 8.6 million Vienna is Austria's largest city and home to a Sydney 4.4 million population of more than 1.7 million people. Transport Situated in the very East of the country, airport: Vienna International Airport Wien-Schwechat close to Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech railway: 2 international railway stations, 6 regional railway stations Republic, Vienna is a major European centre inner-city transport: metropolitan railway, underground, tramway, bus (about of economic, political, and cultural life. The 120 lines, 2.3 million passengers daily) MERCER Quality of Living Reports, a survey measuring the quality of life in cities around the globe, has listed Vienna as number 1 Addresses since 2009. Every Viennese district has its own postal code composed of 4 numbers. The first number is always 1, the second and third number is the number of the dis- Church of St. Peter and Dome of St. Stephen’s trict, the fourth is always 0, e.g. the postal code for the 3rd district is 1030. MFPL Welcome Package – Living in Vienna 1 06/08/2013 Viennese Districts Arrival The MFPL is located in Where rd the the 3 district (Land- MFPL is strasse), surrounded Moving to a new city or even to a new country requires quite a bit of organization st nd th located by the 1 , 2 , 4 , and preparation. Take your time and prepare well before leaving your home town! 10th, and 11th districts. This will save you a lot of time and hassle once you are in Vienna. Time much better The 1st district is the spent getting started in the lab, meeting new colleagues, and enjoying your first oldest and most pic- impressions of living in this beautiful city. turesque part of Vi- enna. It attracts many tourists but living Travelling by Airplane there is almost always Vienna has one airport, the Vienna International Airport Wien-Schwechat, located in Airport unaffordable. The 2nd Schwechat, about 15 km South East of the city centre. district (Leopoldstadt) is perfect for joggers Metropolitan railway ("Schnellbahn", "S-Bahn"): line S7, every 30 min, daily from because the nearly 4.54am to 0.18pm, € 4.20 one way, 25 min running 15 km long Prater time park with the famous Bus: Flughafenbus, every 30 min 24/7, € 8.00 one way, ferry wheel Riesenrad about 30 min running time is located there. The CAT City Airport Train: every 30 min, daily from 11th is one of the 6.00am to 23.35pm, € 11.00 one way, 16 min running cheapest districts. The time (www.cityairporttrain.com) typical student dis- Taxi: € 30.00 – € 40.00 one way, running time 25 min to 50 min due to traffic jams tricts are from 6th – 9th during rush hours th th and from 16 – 18 . Did you know…? Travelling by Railway The 21st and 22nd districts are called colloquially "Transdanubien", meaning "on the Vienna has 2 international railway stations (Westbahnhof and Hauptbahnhof) and 6 Railway other side of the Danube". These two districts and the 10th district have the most regional railway stations (Wien Mitte, Wien Nord, Wien Meidling, Franz-Josefs- inhabitants (10th 175,000, 21st 141,000, 22nd 156,000). Bahnhof, Wien Hütteldorf, Wien Praterstern). At the mo- ment the Hauptbahnhof is only partially in charge due to construction works, and most of the trains go via the re- gional railway station at Wien Meidling. ► Useful links www.wien.gv.at: the official website of Vienna with answers to almost all Austria has one public railway company, ÖBB Österreichische Bundesbahnen. If you questions you may have about living in Vienna are under the age of 26 years you can apply for the "ÖBB Vorteilscard <26" which www.wien.gv.at/stadtplan/en/: one of the best online maps for fast orien- costs about € 20.00 for 12 months. Vorteilscard holders are granted 40 – 50 % price tation that displays additional information such as public transport, current reductions on train tickets. If you are older than 26 years then you can buy the "ÖBB traffic situation, points of interest, and many others Vorteilscard Classic" which costs about € 100.00 and gives you equal reductions. MFPL Welcome Package – Living in Vienna 2 06/08/2013 Travelling by Car Car To drive a car in Vienna you need a driving licence. Toll stickers are required on all First Steps to Settling Down in Vienna vehicles on Austria’s motorways and highways. The drink-drive limit is 0.5 mg/ml. The speed limit on motorways and highways is 130 kph, on all other roads 100 kph, in towns 50 kph. Entry Requirements In Austria you are obliged by law to register where you are living. There are two breakdown service organisations in Austria: ÖAMTC (www.oeamtc.at) Every inhabitant has to fill out a "Meldezettel" and register it with the and ARBÖ (www.arboe.at). authorities. Austria has been a member state of the Euro- The official emblem Useful links ► pean Union (EU) since 1995. Therefore, people of the city of www.viennaairport.com: the official website of the Vienna International with citizenship of any member state of the EU Vienna Airport Wien-Schwechat (except Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia) can www.oebb.at: the official website of the Austrian railway company enter, settle, and work in Austria without any former applica- The official www.austria.info/us/plan-your-trip/driving-regulations-in-austria- tion. They only need to register at the official authority MA35. homepage of the 1084578.html: information about the most important driving regulations in city of Vienna Austria People with citizenship from all other countries have to apply (www.wien.at). for a visa. Visa C allows you to enter Austria for 3 months, but you are not allowed to settle in Austria. The "Visum D" allows you to enter and work in Austria for at most 6 months. For any longer period of work in Austria you need a residence permit ("Aufenthaltsbewilligung"). Meldezettel Melde- You have to register your place of living with the authorities within the first three zettel days of your arrival ("Meldezettel"). To apply you need the following documents: passport completed form signed by your landlord/landlady, can be found at www.help.gv.at/Content.Node/documents/meldez.pdf You have to repeat this procedure every time you move to another flat. If you move, please bring the new "Meldezettel” to the Program Manager. Registra- Registration for EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals have to register within the first four months of their tion for EU, EEA, arrival at the MA 35 – Einwanderung, Staatsbürgerschaft, Standesamt. For this regis- and tration the following documents are required: Swiss passport nationals certification of health insurance in Austria One of the most visited places in Vienna: Schönbrunn Palace, former home of the Habs- signed working contract Important address burg emperors (www.schoenbrunn.at) completed form at MA 35 – Einwanderung, www.wien.gv.at/verwaltung/personenwesen/rtf/an Staatsbürgerschaft, Standes- meldebescheinigung.rtf. amt Dresdner Straße 93, Block C MFPL Welcome Package – Living in Vienna 3 1200 Vienna06/08/2013 Visa and Visa and residence permit residence People who will work for more than 6 months in Austria need to apply for the resi- Did you know…? permit dence permit ("Aufenthaltsbewilligung") in their home country.