IYPT - About Austria

General information about Austria

This section summarizes the most important general information about Austria. It is intended to help our guests from abroad.
More information will be published soon.

Weather

The weather in July is hard to predict. It can be very sunny and rather warm (up to 35 degress Celsius), but it could also be very rainy, windy, and rather cool (below 20 degrees Celsius) on certain days. In general we expect rather warm/hot weather, but it is definitely advisable to bring also some clothing for windy/rainy weather.

Currency

Banknotes and coins in Austria

The official currency in Austria is Euro, abbreviated EUR or €.
1 Euro = 100 Cent (abbr. "ct")

There are 8 different coins:
1 ct, 2 ct, 5 ct, 10 ct, 20 ct, 50 ct, 1 €, 2 €

There are 7 different bank notes:
5 €, 10 €, 20 €, 50 €, 100 €, 200 €, 500 €

ATMs

This sign will guide you to the next ATM

ATMs or "Bankomat" as they are called in Austria are extremely common and are accessible till midnight, some are 24 hours. You won't have any problem finding an ATM in Vienna, even smaller villages have at least one machine. You can spot them by looking for the sign with blue and green horizontal stripes. They are usually limited to daily withdrawals of €400 with credit and debit cards.

Electricity

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuko

Electric power plugs are operated at 230 Volt AC with a frequency of 50 Hertz. All plugs are European standard plugs.

Emergency phone numbers

In case of a serious emergency, the following emergency numbers can be dialed free of charge from any phone. For hardwired phones within in-house telephone systems it might be necessary to dial a "0" or a "*" first to get an exchange line. Usually such phones carry a sticker that details what to dial in case of an emergency.

112: Universal European Emergency Number. This number can be dialed in any case of emergency. The operator will either transfer you to another emergency organization (police, ambulance, fire brigade) or coordinate alarming them for you. Operators should be English-speaking.
122: Fire Brigade (in German: Feuerwehr)
133: Police (in German: Polizei)
144: Ambulance (in German: Rettung)

Information on law for the protection of the youth

Each federal state in Austria has its own law for the protection of the youth. The following section will sum up briefly the most important aspects of the relevant law for the protection of the youth of the state of Vienna. The organizing committee takes no responsibility for participants violating this law.
In Austria you must be older than 18 years to be considered a legal adult. People who are younger are restricted by the law as stated below.

Alcohol

In Vienna it is illegal to buy and/or consume alcoholic beverages if you are below the age of 16.

Tabacco

For buying/consuming cigarettes or other tobacco products you must be over the age of 16.

Night Time

Children and adolescents below the age of 14 are not allowed to be out on the streets without supervision by an authorised adult between 10.00pm and 05.00am. Between the age of 14 and the age of 16 the respective time is 01.00am to 05.00am.

Food and water

Austria is proud of its rich cuisine. We can only encourage you to try the famous Wiener Schnitzel, for example, or an Apfelstrudel. To get an impression on what Austrian dishes look like, please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_cuisine!

The tap water in Austria is of highest quality and there is no reason not to drink it.

Health and insurance

For EU citizens there is the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which was formally known as E111. This will cover you for all emergency medical care.

No special immunizations or medications are necessary for travel to Austria.