National Day on October 26: Salzburg State Government Building Opens to the Public
October 26 is Austria's National Day, and the Chiemseehof in Salzburg opened its doors to the public, inviting citizens to visit the seat of the state government and state parliament. Opening hours were from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. that day; visitors could walk into the governor's office, meeting rooms and the parliament hall, with a guided tour every hour, welcomed by Brigitte Pallauf, President of the state parliament, who introduced the building's history and the workings of parliamentary democracy. A military band concert was also arranged at 10:00 a.m., while children could watch a performance by the Sindri Puppet Theatre. The history of the Chiemseehof dates back about two hundred years, when it was the residence of the Bishop of Chiemsee; today it houses the governor's office and government meeting rooms, retaining many historical furnishings inside, including a collection of prints from about 1750. Interestingly, the room where the 36 members of the Salzburg state parliament now meet was once a grain warehouse. The first freely elected Salzburg state parliament convened on April 6, 1861, and the first meeting in the currently used chamber was held in 1868. At the event site, the Austrian Armed Forces and the police also set up information booths: the military introduced national defense and career opportunities, the police provided safety advice including currently common fraud prevention knowledge, and the state volunteer service office answered questions about volunteering. Opening government buildings on National Day is a tradition followed in many parts of Austria, intended to bring the government closer to citizens.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 萨尔茨堡老城全景（资料图）。摄影：Uoaei1，CC BY-SA 4.0，取自 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Salzburg Old Town panorama (file photo). Credit: Uoaei1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
