New Year’s celebrations exuberant, “quiet” for the Red Cross
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The turn of the year 2022/23 was left out in Salzburg and mostly celebrated peacefully. Especially in the city of Salzburg, numerous locals and tourists came to the center to watch the big fireworks. The Red Cross speaks nationwide of a “quiet” night.
According to the Red Cross control center, there were “no extraordinary events”. Across the country, the rescue team had to be called out by 6:00 a.m. on 222 missions – seven of them after injuries caused by fire or fireworks. 25 people are called to be cared for because of alcohol consumption, the remaining 190 cases are repeated due to other emergencies or illnesses. A total of 180 Red Cross employees were on duty during the night, 70 of them in the city of Salzburg.
Lots of onlookers
Nevertheless, the celebrations at night were extensive and exuberant: the traditional fireworks display over Hohensalzburg Fortress attracted numerous onlookers who watched it from the old town squares, the city mountains, the bridges or the banks of the Salzach.
There was also a party on the Kapitelplatz in the city center: a stage was set up there – the music program there drew the revelers until 1:00 a.m. in the morning. The Christmas market on Domplatz and Residenzplatz was also open until 1 a.m.
Reports of scuffles, damage to property
According to the police, there were a total of 14 reports of property damage on New Year’s Eve in the city of Salzburg. In the early hours of the morning, the officers had to intervene in some scuffles in the city center – these were quickly ended by the “presence of the police forces”, according to the State Police Directorate. There were five reports and one arrest.