Austrian Embassy in Vilnius
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| State level | Federation | ||
| Position of the authority | Foreign mission : Embassy | ||
| At sight | Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs | ||
| founding | 1997 | ||
| Dissolved | Dec 2016 | ||
| Headquarters |
 Vilnius , Gaono gatvė 6 ⊙
|
||
| Authority management | ao. and bev. Ambassador: Johann Spitzer |
||
| Website | on bmeia.gv.at | ||
The Austrian embassy in Vilnius ( Wilna , Lithuanian Austrijos ambasada Vilniuje ) was the seat of the Austrian ambassador in Lithuania, the diplomatic representative of the Republic of Austria in the Republic of Lithuania ( Lietuvos Respublika ).
The embassy was dissolved in December 2016 as part of a restructuring. [outdated]
history
Until 1795 Lithuania was part of the aristocratic republic of Poland-Lithuania ( Rzeczpospolita ), then ( partitions of Poland ) until the First World War part of the Russian Empire . Diplomatic relations between Austria (and Austria-Hungary) were initially maintained by the embassy in Warsaw , later that in Saint Petersburg . After the October Revolution of 1917, under German occupation, independent Lithuania was proclaimed, which was accepted into the League of Nations in 1923 and recognized de jure by Austria on February 7, 1924.
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| State level | Federation | ||
| Position of the authority | Foreign mission : Consulate (1935 Consulate General ) | ||
| legal form | Honorary Consulate | ||
| At sight | Federal Chancellery , Foreign Affairs Section | ||
| founding | 1927 | ||
| Dissolved | 1938 | ||
| Headquarters |
.svg){kind=small} Kaunas
|
||
In 1927 an honorary consulate opened in Kaunas , the then provisional capital of Lithuania (Council of Ministers decision of April 29, 1927). In 1935 the rank was raised to an honorary consulate general (resolution May 24, 1927). In 1938, after the connection of Austria to the German Reich, the consulate was closed. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania, which had been occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940/41 and again since 1944, declared the restoration of its independence. On August 28, 1991 Austria recognized the independent Republic of Lithuania and diplomatic relations were established. From 1992 the Austrian ambassador in Copenhagen (Denmark) was also accredited in Vilnius . In 1994 the Lithuanian embassy opened in Vienna , and in October 1944 the Austrian library in Vilnius.
On June 19, 1997 the Austrian Embassy in Vilnius was opened. It was initially located on a makeshift basis in Didžioji gatvė. At the same time, there was an honorary consulate in Vilnius from 1997 to 2000 (Domaševičiaus 9). In autumn 2000, the embassy moved into a building in the old town of Vilnius , which had been renovated and converted according to plans by an Austrian architect, and which had served as a Jewish prayer house for eighty years until 1941 (German occupation of Lithuania). The ambassador's residence was also housed in it.
In 2015, the management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna announced the fundamental decision to open the embassy in Vilnius (as well as those in Riga and Tallinn). Diplomatic contact with Lithuania should nevertheless remain "bilaterally intensive".
Lithuanian-Austrian relations
Political relations between the two countries are good, but in individual cases they have been exposed to political stress. The economic relations can be expanded (2014 foreign trade volume between Austria and Lithuania: EUR 171 million export to EUR 86 million import). The cultural exchange is close : In 1970, on the initiative of the “Lithuanian Society for Friendship and Cultural Association with Foreign Countries” and the “Austrian-Soviet Society Salzburg”, a partnership was concluded between the then socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and the State of Salzburg. Since 1989 a twinning between Vilnius and Salzburg , 2009 Vilnius and were Linz common European cultural capitals . In addition to the Austria Library, artist exchange programs and cultural events, the memorial servants sent annually by the Austrian Memorial Service to the Vilnius Holocaust Museum since 1996 also make an important contribution to the bond between the two countries. Since 1999, a Vienna Ball has been held in Vilnius under the patronage of the respective Austrian ambassador.
In 2013, the dispatch of ambassador Dr. Johann Spitzer went to Lithuania, as this country is not very open to same-sex partnerships.
organization
The seat of the Austrian Embassy in Vilnius is the Lithuanian capital Vilnius , at Gaono gatvė No. 6 not far from the historic buildings of the Vilnius University in the old town ( Senamiestis ).
Other Austrian offices:
- Foreign Trade Office Vilnius (Gedimino prospektas, Senamiestis; is subordinate to the Foreign Trade Center Helsinki , where the Austrian Economic Council responsible for Lithuania resides).
- Austria Library Vilnius ( Austrų literatūros skaitykla ; housed in the Adomas Mickevičius Library )
- The Austrian defense attaché for Lithuania resides in Berlin
The embassy building
The embassy building is located in the former medieval Jewish quarter, in the Small Ghetto of Vilnius ( Mažasis getas in Lithuanian ), which was set up under German occupation in 1941 and comprised Stiklių gatvė, Gaono gatvė and Žydų gatvė. The old town of Vilnius has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994 and is gradually being revitalized.
The building was probably built between 1600 and 1650. In 1669 it is mentioned in written sources that the house belonged to a goldsmith's guild. From the 19th century the house belonged to the Jewish community and later functioned as a Jewish prayer house . It had suffered badly during and after the Second World War, but was preserved in the complex.
After the Second World War, the house was nationalized and apartments and production rooms were set up in it. In the 1990s the building was not used and fell into disrepair.
The Republic of Austria acquired the building in 1998 for the purpose of establishing its embassy in the Republic of Lithuania. Between 1998 and 2000 it was reconstructed according to plans by the Salzburg architect Mag. Erich Wagner based on the original appearance of the renaissance / baroque period . The Lithuanian architect Mag. Sigitas Sparnaitis was in charge of the project. The project was named "Best Architectural Solution in Lithuania 2000" by the Lithuanian architecture magazine "Archiforma".
The building is two-story, eaves on the street, with an entrance gate and splendid window frames on the upper floor.
List of Austrian ambassadors (extract)
 Austria → Lithuania
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Surname | Term of office | Remarks | |
| Franz Wunderbaldinger | 1992-1994 |
Ambassador to Denmark , co-accredited to Lithuania and Iceland (resided in Copenhagen); before that ambassador to Romania , Turkey and the GDR |
|
| Florian Haug | 1997-2001 | first ambassador to reside in Vilnius | |
| Michael Schwarzinger | 2001-2006 | then ambassador to Romania | |
| Andrea Wicke | 2006-2009 | then ambassador to Malaysia | |
| Helmut Koller | 2009-2013 | then Consul General in Munich | |
| Johann Spitzer | 2013-2016 | before that deputy Head of the Permanent Mission of Austria to the UN in Geneva | |
See also
- List of Austrian ambassadors
- Lithuanian Embassy in Vienna
- History of the Jews in Lithuania (in relation to the former prayer house)
literature
- Judith Lewonig: Austria and Lithuania - 2500 years of relationship history. A chronological overview / Lietuva ir Austrija. 2500 metų santykių istorija. Chronologinė apžvalga. Savas Takas ir Ko, 2013, ISBN 978-609805809-3 .
Web links
- Official website of the embassy (on bmeia.gv.at; Lithuanian )
- Travel information: Lithuania (Republic of Lithuania) , Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Foreign trade - Lithuania , Austrian Chamber of Commerce
Individual evidence
-
↑ a b Embassies: From the Baltic States to Georgia. In: The press. online, June 26, 2015;
Austria closes embassies in the Baltic States. In: The Standard. online, June 26, 2015;
Briefly masons at savings. In: Wiener Zeitung. online, September 10, 2015. -
↑ a b Administrative reform - overview according to § 42 Abs. 4 BHG 2013. BMF, December 2015, structural reform (Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs). P. 17 ff (pdf, bmf.gv.at);
Inquiry from MP Dr. Johannes Huebner and another member of parliament to the Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs; concerns: structural reform of Austrian representation authorities inside and outside the EU. 7264 / J XXV. GP, received on November 26, 2015, question 3., 589-590 / JBA (parliamentary materials, (online) , parlament.gv.at) - ↑ a b c d e f g h Austrian-Lithuanian relations. ( Memento of March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) bmeia.gv.at → Foreign policy: Embassy Wilna ; accessed on February 22, 2016.
- ^ Bilateral relations with Austria. Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in the Republic of Austria (at.mfa.lt, accessed on February 24, 2016).
- ↑ a b Lithuania: Austria Library Vilnius. ( Memento from February 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) oesterreich-bibliotheken.at, accessed on February 26, 2016.
- ↑ Foreign policy report. Report of the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, 1997, p. 300.
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/OeBWilna/posts/931343670290300?comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22O%22%7D (link not available)
- ↑ Sebastian Kurz: Answer to question 2. (PDF) January 26, 2016, accessed on June 6, 2016 .
- ↑ bmeia.gv.at: Bilateral Relations: Economy. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 4, 2016 ; accessed on June 6, 2016 .
- ↑ bmeia.gv.at: Bilateral Relations: Culture. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 1, 2016 ; accessed on June 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Roland Floimair (ed.): Stations of a partnership - 40 years Salzburg-Lithuania and 20 years Baltic path . Series of publications by the State Press Office, No. 14 .
- ↑ Culture. (No longer available online.) BMEIA, archived from the original ; Retrieved May 3, 2016 .
- ↑ Irene Brickner: Austria's first gay ambassador. The standard, accessed May 3, 2016 .
- ^ Austria in Lithuania. advantageaustria.org, accessed on May 3, 2016 .
- ^ Austrian institutions in relation to the Nordic and Baltic countries. nordische-laender.at, accessed on May 3, 2016 .
- ^ Austrian Library Vilnius. Retrieved May 3, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Mažasis getas - Stiklių g., Gaono g., Žydų g. Retrieved May 3, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c R. Kucinskas: Brochure Architectural Office Atelier 14 .
