Vienna’s iconic (and very tangible) sausage stands are asking for a place on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage under the heading “Vienna Sausage Stand Culture.”
The stands, one of this writer’s favorite things about Vienna, can be found in many corners of the city, ready to serve up a variety of delicious grilled sausages, with a bun or bread and mustard. No need for a map: Follow your nose!
Patrick Tondl, a fourth-generation stand owner and a founder of the association formed to ask for listing, hails them as a feature of democracy: “At the sausage stand, everyone is the same… No matter if you’re a top banker who earns hundreds of thousands of euros or if you have to scrape together the last euros to buy a sausage… You meet here, you can talk to everyone. Tondl, whose stand is the city’s oldest, says “We want to create a kind of quality seal for Vienna sausage stands.”
There are about 180 of the stands operating in Vienna today, along with others selling kebabs, pizza and noodles. Changing tastes and populations have contributed to the diversity, with some stands even offering vegetarian sausages and added condiments including kimchi
