Viennese flair at the heart of Ljubljana: waltz, sausage stands and excellent services of general interest

On 27 May 2025, the City of Vienna's International Office in Ljubljana held its traditional annual reception for partners and friends of Vienna. This year's event followed the motto "A Vienna Strauss Affair".

It was an afternoon dedicated to Viennese culture and esprit, top-quality services of general interest, and intensifying the cooperation between the two cities.

The reception's central theme was the 200^th anniversary of Johann Strauss, the composer of the world-famous Blue Danube Waltz. Today Vienna is equally famous for achieving excellence in services of general interest (as public services are called in the EU). Both Viennese waltz music and Viennese sausage stands have been recognised as intangible cultural heritage by the UNESCO - they are not only a form of living tradition, but a characteristic part of Viennese lifestyle and contribute significantly to the high quality of life the Austrian capital is known for.

Viennese cultural heritage

The reception proved yet again that Viennese culture goes far beyond concert halls and theatres. In Vienna, culture is engrained in public life - from education to the services of the city administration. To mark the Strauss anniversary in 2025, over 40 different local institutions have contributed to a varied programme of concerts, theatre performances, scientific events and art interventions, with event locations ranging from the public space to more unusual sites like Vienna Central Cemetery or Danube Island.

On 31 May, as a special highlight, a recording of the Blue Danube Waltz performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Wiener Symphoniker) was broadcast into outer space in cooperation with the European Space Agency. The waltz was programmed to reach NASA's Voyager 1 space probe and take its place among the stars.

The popular sausage stands ("Würstelstände") that have marked Vienna's street culture since the 19^th century may be more mundane than waltz music, but they are no less part of the city's heritage and were inscribed in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in 2024. One of the oldest stands still open today dates back to 1928. At the reception in Ljubljana, guests had a chance to taste traditional Viennese sausages and other Würstelstand specialties at the heart of the capital of Slovenia.

Celebrating successful cooperation

The event also marked over 25 years of successful partnership between Ljubljana and Vienna. The City of Vienna's International Office in Ljubljana aims to build bridges between the two capital cities, promoting mutual exchange between the municipalities and helping Slovenian institutions and media make contact with the Vienna City Administration. High-ranking guests present at the reception were the two Vice Mayors of Ljubljana, Boštjan Koritnik and Dejan Crnek, the Austrian ambassador to Slovenia, HE Konrad Bühler, and Deputy Head of Mission Kristof Grabmayer-Keri, as well as numerous representatives of Austrian organisations in Slovenia, of the Ljubljana City Administration, municipal enterprises and Slovenian media.