Tally-ho in the Hofburg

A hunter’s ball through Lower Austria

A magnificent opening: the young ladies and gentlemen at the 102nd Green Cross Ball, which this year was held under the patronage of the federal state of Lower Austria.

(Bild: Alexander Tuma)

From "old hands" to new faces - art, culture, politics and business celebrated in the magnificent halls of the Vienna Hofburg at the 102nd edition of the coveted Jägerball.

No, you didn't see any lederhosen that weren't at least knee-length at the 102nd Green Cross Ball in the Vienna Hofburg on Monday. It couldn't have happened to Federal Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (he raced, sorry, arrived late from Brussels).

"On the prowl through four quarters"
And certainly not his offspring, as it was one of his daughters who (together with her brother) stood in the front row of the Jägerball to open the ball together with the other debutants - under the not so strict eyes of the pope of etiquette, Thomas Schäfer-Elmayer.

"This year we are celebrating under the patronage of the federal state of Lower Austria, motto: 'On the prowl through four quarters' - we wanted to do justice to the host state," said ball president Christa Kummer, who danced in a Hanna costume this year and was once again delighted with the proceeds from the charity ball.

The Green Cross Association is committed to direct, uncomplicated communication and rapid assistance.

The people of Lower Austria know how to celebrate
The colorful hustle and bustle was practically a home game for Lower Austria's Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner. "And they know how to party", as the group around actress and Berndorf director Kristina Sprenger told us. The latter, a Tyrolean and self-confessed Lower Austrian by choice, also took on an official role on this evening as wine patron.

A grand tally
The President of the National Council Walter Rosenkranz, Ministers Klaudia Tanner, Gerhard Karner, Norbert Totschnig, State Secretary Claudia Plakolm, the heads of the provinces of Salzburg and Upper Austria Wilfried Haslauer and Thomas Stelzer as well as the provincial hunting masters Josef Pröll and Franz Mayr-Melnhof-Saurau also sounded the grand tally. 

Top restaurateurs Mario Plachutta and Toni Mörwald, "Krone" publisher Christoph Dichand, cathedral priest Toni Faber, artists Lidia Baich, Clemens Unterreiner and Herbert Lippert, top managers Robert Zadrazil and Hanno Soravia and ORF stars Nadja Bernhard and Claudia Reiterer also joined in the celebrations.