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A village near Salzburg in Austria is installing CCTV cameras to try to stop visitors from taking rude advantage of its name.

The problem is, you see – and there’s no way to put this politely – the place is called Fucking and it’s been plagued for years by people filming themselves in sexually explicit poses by the village sign.

“I’m sure they all think they’re the first to do it, but believe me they’re not,” said one exasperated resident of the tiny hamlet (population 104). “We’ve grown very tired of it and we’re doing something about it.”

It’s hoped the CCTV cameras will make people think twice about their actions and just pose for an innocent tourist snapshot instead.

The village’s name is believed to come from a sixth century noble called Lord Focko, with ‘ing’ being old German for ‘family of’.

In 2004, residents voted against changing the name, despite the rising costs of replacing the Fucking signs every time souvenir-hunting tourists stole them.

by Andy Moreton

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The latest character created by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen is about to hit the big screen … and Austrians are bracing themselves.

After Ali G and Borat comes Bruno, an outrageously camp fashion reporter who wants to be the ‘most famous Austrian since Hitler’. The movie is, according to one reviewer in the UK ‘deeply offensive and very funny’.

Austria, however, might not see the joke. There are fears that the country could have a similar experience to Kazakhstan, which is still recovering from the cruel satire directed at the nation by Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2005).

“Kazakhstan is still suffering enormous loss of identity… Austria could soon be going the same way,” says the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF). Other commentators there have labelled the film ‘dull’, ‘insulting’ and ‘a threat to the country’s world image and economy’.

by Andy Moreton

If you want to see the real Austria, check out Luxique’s selection of luxury hotels in Vienna, boutique hotels in Salzburg and great hotels in other Austrian cities.