Eisenstadt opens wine festival with crowning of Austria’s new queen

Eisenstadt’s annual Wine and Culinary Festival opened on Wednesday evening with the crowning of Austria’s new wine queen, ORF reported. The event will run through Sunday in the city centre, with thousands of visitors expected along the main street.

Maria Liegenfeld from Donnerskirchen is Austria’s new wine queen and will represent Burgenland’s wine region. Wine and regional cuisine will be the focus of the five-day festival.

More than 37,000 people attended last year’s five-day event. Organisers expect at least a similar number this year.

“This is the 15th time we have held it in the city centre, making it a traditional festival for the people of Eisenstadt and our guests,” Mayor Thomas Steiner said. He added that such an event was also an important signal for the global economy in difficult times.

The festival has 52 exhibitors from across Europe. The focus is on Burgenland, but exhibitors also come from neighbouring Austrian states, Sopron and Eisenstadt’s partner municipality of Bad Kissingen in Germany, according to Michael Freismuth of the Association for the Promotion of Culture, Tourism and the Economy in Eisenstadt.

The festival has been held in its current form in the city centre since 2011. It replaced the former Festival of 1,000 Wines. Admission is free, and the event continues until Sunday.