New Year's Day in Austria
About
January 1 is a national public holiday across Austria. In Salzburg the new year is rung in by the famous Vienna-broadcast New Year's Concert tradition, fireworks over the fortress, and the lingering Christmas markets.
Highlights
- National non-working day to start the year
- New Year fireworks over the Hohensalzburg Fortress
- Salzburg's Christmas market runs to about Jan 1
Practical tips
- Shops and most attractions close; public transport runs a holiday timetable
- The Christmas market on Dom- and Residenzplatz typically has its final day around Jan 1
- Restaurants book up for New Year's Eve dinner — reserve ahead
Sources
Other upcoming events
Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele)
The world's foremost festival of opera, drama and classical music takes over Salzburg's great houses and squares for around six weeks every summer, anchored by the open-air 'Jedermann' on Domplatz in front of the cathedral.
Assumption Day (Mariä Himmelfahrt) in Austria
August 15 is a national public holiday across Austria honouring the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, with herb-bundle blessings (Kräuterweihe) in churches and a quiet midsummer day off.
Almabtrieb at Gruberalm, Hintersee 2026 (Cattle Drive)
A classic SalzburgerLand autumn tradition: at the Gruberalm above Hintersee, herders decorate the cattle with ornate flower-and-mirror headdresses and drive them down from the alpine pasture to the valley, with music, schnapps and farm stalls marking the end of the mountain summer.