Society 363 / 2013
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Diplomatie<br />
Welcome to Austria<br />
Fotos: Privat<br />
Highlights of WA<br />
This spring WA offered an amazing list of programmes<br />
and events, from art seminars to Cuisine,<br />
History and Music, as well as German conversation.<br />
Text: SOCIETY<br />
Castle Tour in the “Weinviertel”<br />
Welcome to Austria” is an international<br />
platform with<br />
the purpose of introducing<br />
foreign diplomats and international<br />
civil servants to<br />
Austrian history and culture past and present.<br />
•<br />
Castle Tour in Lower Austria<br />
One of the highlights of the past trimester was<br />
a day trip to Lower Austria with visits to privately<br />
owned castles in the “Weinviertel”. The first stop<br />
was Castle Loosdorf, which dates back to the 12 th<br />
century. It has been in possession of the Counts of<br />
Piatti since 1843. Countess Verena Piatti received<br />
“WA” for a guided tour through the famous collections<br />
of porcelain and tin soldiers. After that “WA”<br />
paid a visit to the Hermann Nitsch Museum in Mistelbach<br />
where a retrospective of the works of this<br />
highly controversial artist is being shown.<br />
An excellent luncheon at Restaurant “Linde” in<br />
Mistelbach delighted everyone. The second castle<br />
of the tour was Castle Ludwigstorff in Guntersdorf<br />
near Hollabrunn, also dating back to the 12 th century,<br />
since 1703 property of the Barons Ludwigstorff.<br />
Paulina, the owner’s daughter, gave a wonderful<br />
guided tour of the gardens and the house.<br />
In the afternoon “WA” visited Castle Seefeld,<br />
owned by Count Max Hardegg, which is famous<br />
for its vine yards. The tour participants thoroughly<br />
enjoyed the opportunity for a wine tasting which<br />
was very successful.<br />
•<br />
Special guided Art Tours<br />
Welcome to Austria offers its members special<br />
invitations to art seminars and shows normally<br />
not accessible to people outside the Association.<br />
Recently, two special guided tours were offered:<br />
“WA” had the chance to enjoy the very first preview<br />
of the Cabinet of Art and Curiosities, the<br />
“Kunstkammer”, at the Art History Museum,<br />
which is the most important collection of its kind<br />
in the world. It was recently opened in March after<br />
ten years of restoration.<br />
Likewise, members of “WA” had the chance to<br />
visit the newly opened Liechtenstein city palace as<br />
first group with an exclusive guided tour through<br />
the splendid rooms and the picture gallery with<br />
works of art of the Biedermeier from the Princely<br />
Collection. This was another highly informative<br />
“first look” at a great new Viennese attraction.<br />
•<br />
Cross-cultural Events<br />
“Welcome to Austria” always tries to highlight<br />
links between Austrian and foreign cultures. Thus,<br />
the Brazilian Ambassador, H.E. Evandro de Sanpaio<br />
Didonet, hosted a lecture at his Residence about Leopoldine,<br />
Princess of Austria and Empress of Brazil.<br />
The lecture was given by Gloria Kaiser, author of a<br />
book on Empress Leopoldine. Next day, there was<br />
a special viewing for “WA” of mineralogical and<br />
zoological objects from Brazil related to Leopoldine<br />
Habsburg at the Natural History Museum.<br />
An important cross-cultural event was hosted by<br />
H.E. Ambassador Peter van Wulffthen Palthe and<br />
his wife Sarah in the Residence of the Netherlands<br />
Embassy. There were two power point lectures on<br />
the botanist Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin,<br />
who was born in Leiden in 1727 and died in Vienna<br />
in 1817. This was followed by a tour through the Botanical<br />
Gardens and a luncheon in the garden of the<br />
residence, all accompanied by the charming music<br />
of two harpists.<br />
•<br />
Welcome<br />
to Austria<br />
WA “Welcome to Austria”<br />
was founded in 1997<br />
by Dr. Benita Ferrero-<br />
Waldner, who was then<br />
State Secretary for Foreign<br />
Affairs, with the<br />
overriding objective<br />
of introducing foreign<br />
diplomats and international<br />
civil servants<br />
assigned to Vienna and<br />
their spouses to the Austrian<br />
way of life. The aims of WA<br />
are to promote the awareness<br />
and understanding of<br />
Austria’s rich heritage of<br />
culture and history past and<br />
present. WA would welcome<br />
newly accredited diplomats<br />
and their spouses to join the<br />
club.<br />
•<br />
WA invites you to join:<br />
■ You will meet many<br />
interesting Austrians in a<br />
relaxed atmosphere and<br />
make new friends.<br />
■ You will be offered a<br />
wide choice of excellent<br />
programmes and learn<br />
a great deal about your<br />
host country.<br />
■ You will be invited to private<br />
homes and through<br />
WA events you will enjoy<br />
many things which you<br />
would not have access to<br />
outside our Association.<br />
•<br />
THE BOARD OF<br />
“WELCOME TO AUSTRIA”<br />
• Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner<br />
Founding President<br />
• Foreign Minister Dr.<br />
Michael Spindelegger –<br />
President<br />
• Ambassador Dr. Angelika<br />
Saupe – 1 st Vice President<br />
• Dr. Monika Türk – 2 nd Vice<br />
President<br />
• Gabrielle Schallenberg –<br />
Honorary Vice President<br />
• Mag. Stephan Hofstätter –<br />
Treasurer<br />
• Mag. Gertrud Tauchhammer<br />
– Publicity, “Schriftführerin”<br />
• Dr. Elisabeth Wolff – Music<br />
• Dr. Heidelore Almoslechner<br />
– German<br />
• Anne Thun-Hohenstein –<br />
History, Art<br />
• Dr. Stefanie Winkelbauer –<br />
Applied Arts, Cuisine<br />
• Mag. Adelaida Calligaris –<br />
Liaison Officer<br />
• Ellen Spallinger – Liaison<br />
Officer<br />
•<br />
OFFICE HOURS<br />
Mo-Tue-Wed: 2 a.m.–5 p.m.<br />
Thurs-Fri: 9 p.m.–12 p.m.<br />
Gabriela Znidaric, Secretary<br />
Hofburg, Stallburg, Reitschulgasse<br />
2, 1010 Vienna<br />
Phone: +43-(0)1-535 88 36,<br />
Fax: +43-(0)1-535 88 37<br />
office@welcome-to-austria.org<br />
www.welcome-to-austria.org<br />
Visit of Castle Loosdorf<br />
<strong>Society</strong> 1_<strong>2013</strong> | 99