Vienna’s giant bow dispute continues as buyers make offers

Dispute over the giant red Christmas bow on Vienna’s Kärntner Straße continues, with politicians calling for its return and several buyers making offers, ORF Wien reports.

The bow has been moved indoors to the display window of fashion house Popp & Kretschmer, where a sign reads “Free the bow”. It was not put up outside this year because of strict official requirements. Last year, crowds gathering to take selfies caused traffic disruption and police deployments.

The fashion house would have had to provide its own security service this year, a measure it considered too costly, said Sascha Trefelik of Popp & Kretschmer. He told ORF Wien that the business had received several offers to buy the bow, but said it had high sentimental value and would not be cheap.

Lower Austria’s governor, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, said the bow would be welcome in her state. An AI-generated image she shared on Facebook showed Christmas lights on the Landhaus building in St Pölten. Tourism State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner also called for the bow’s return, saying its absence would mean the loss of an attraction that had drawn attention worldwide and benefited tourism and Vienna’s city centre.

A large Christmas tree has recently been installed on the facade of the Hotel Sacher, opposite the fashion house. The hotel told the newspaper Der Standard that it had developed a security plan including stewards, but did not disclose the cost. Trefelik would have agreed to a steward service from Wednesday to Saturday, according to the report, but the authorities also required coverage on Sunday.

Popp & Kretschmer has also produced T-shirts featuring the bow and says more products are on the way.