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Austrian village of 'Fucking' decides to change its name

November 26, 2020

The long-suffering residents of the small Austrian village of Fucking have confirmed that, from January 1, the town will be known as Fugging. Fans of unusual place-names will mourn the loss.

The town of Fucking will rename
Image: Volker Preufler/imago images

The small Austrian village of Fucking will get rid of the unfortunate name that has seen a brisk tourism trade and frequent thefts of the town sign, the town council announced Thursday.

Mayor Andrea Holzner told Austrian broadcaster Oe24 that the name would be changed to Fugging from January 1, 2021.

The small community in Upper Austria of around 100 people has been pushing for a name change for years, the German Press Agency reported. The name of the town, which lies north of Salzburg near the German border, has no meaning in German.

Locals have grown frustrated by the thefts of the town signs by tourists and of people photographing the sign.

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Malta to reopen to tourists from June

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Tourism slumps worldwide

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Germany extends global travel warning

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Compulsory COVID-19 tests on entry into Germany

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Setback for cruise holidays

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Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/R. Stoltz Bertinussen
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Activists use 'Fucking' for good

The small village largely escaped the notice of the wider world until the birth of the internet, when it was frequently included on lists of the funniest or most explicit place names.

Last year, some local residents used the unusual name to help in their activism, for example, by putting signs above and below the sign to read message like "Our climate is — Fucking — important!"

Fugging apparently better reflects the pronunciation of the town by locals. It is unclear what will happen to the current town signs.

No news has yet emerged about possible name changes to the nearby hamlets of Oberfucking and Unterfucking.

The town has been known as Fucking for around 1,000 years.

10 reasons to visit Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg is one of the best-preserved timber-framed towns in Germany. In its more than 1000-year history, it has seen kings and emperors, survived threatening decay and been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994.

Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Collegiate church and castle

Quedlinburg's center and roots are on the hill with its castle and collegiate church. The chapter of secular canonesses was founded by the future emperor Otto I to commemorate his late father, Henry I, and provide for his widow Mathilde and unmarried daughters of the nobility. The town that resulted remained an important temporary residence for the itinerant rulers for two centuries.

Image: picture-alliance/dpa/dpaweb

A crypt for the royal couple

1,100 years ago, in the year 919, Henry the Fowler, duke of Saxony, was appointed the first German king. According to legend, he was on a bird hunt in Quedlinburg when it happened. In the crypt of the Collegiate Church of St Servatius, Mathilde and Henry, the first German royal couple, are buried. With its simplicity and round arches of early Romanesque architecture, the room is very impressive.

Image: Norbert Perner

Royal residence

Every year a historical Easter procession commemorates Quedlinburg's tradition as a residence for itinerant emperors and kings in the Middle Ages. There were temporary palaces all over Germany, about a day's ride from each other, but Quedlinburg was the preferred destination when it came to celebrating the important Easter festival.

Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Gerig

Medieval monument

Quedlinburg remained largely unscathed in the Second World War, and because in communist East Germany plans for demolition and rebuilding were not implemented, the town is one of the best-preserved half-timbered ensembles in Germany. Since the 1990s many buildings that threatened to collapse have been restored. In 1994 UNESCO declared the Old Town area a World Heritage site.

Image: picture alliance / Bildagentur Huber

Market square

The market square was remodelled in about 2013. It lies in the so-called New Town, which is actually quite old, as it was founded in the 12th century. In the late Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became an economic power through its cloth traders and merchants, among other things, as a member of the Hanseatic League.

Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Gerig

Town Hall

Parts of this Gothic stone building date back to the 14th century, and it's one of the oldest town halls in central Germany. Not only did the building house the city administration; it also served as a venue for special events, from theological debates after the Protestant reformation to unusual presentations. In 1645, for instance, one source reports the exhibition of a lion from Egypt.

Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Vennemann

The Ständerbau

The 1,200 historically listed buildings in Quedlinburg include timber-framed houses from 6 centuries. One of the oldest of these, a post structure with tall, vertical struts (Ständerbau), dates from the 14th century. It houses the town's Museum of Half-timbered Architecture, which provides information about the history of this method of building.

Image: picture-alliance/ZB/H. Wiedl

Lyonel Feininger Gallery

This gallery exhibits works by the German-American Bauhaus artist Lyonel Feininger, who lived in Germany until 1937. Shortly before he returned to the US, Feininger left a large number of his works to a friend of his in Quedlinburg, who saved them from destruction by the Nazis. The gallery is the only museum in Europe devoted to Feininger.

Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Bein

Christmas Market

Of course, such an inviting backdrop can't be without a Christmas market. This one has already been honored twice as the most beautiful in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. In addition, for "Advent in the Courtyards," usually closed historical inner courtyards are opened to the public, offering visitors everything from handicrafts to cuisine.

Harz Narrow Gauge Railway

The Harz Narrow Gauge Railway is the perfect way to travel to and from Quedlinburg. That's partly because parking space for buses and cars is limited in the town, and also because the steam train fits so perfectly in this historical setting.

Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Naupold
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Elliot Douglas Elliot Douglas is a video, audio and online journalist based in Berlin.
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