Culture and cuisine between tradition and modernity in Lower Austria’s state capital
Vienna (OTS) – Unpretentious, modest and largely underestimated, this is how Andi Fränzl, lead singer of the successful a cappella hip-hop band Bauchklang, describes his hometown in “Aufgetischt” on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 6:05 p.m. on ORF 2 is: St. Pölten is a young city with a fascinating area of tension between tradition and modernity. Only made a state capital a few decades ago, it has had its own city coat of arms for 500 years, and traces of settlement go back over 7,000 years. The euphemistic attribute “young” is due to the energy with which the locals use the space and the potential to open themselves curiously to the world and let off steam creatively.
The studied graphic artist, passionate musician and former frontman of the band Bauchklang Andreas Fränzl embodies the versatility and creativity of St. Pölten. In his studio, small-format works of art are created that are reminiscent of the works of Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Keith Haring. Even though he still occasionally jams or DJs, his active music career is currently in the background in favor of his work as a curator of various cultural projects and art festivals. In the Sonnenpark, the founder of the artist collective Lames and his colleagues have created a meeting place for art and nature. And its influence on the local cultural scene and beyond is also clearly noticeable at the Tangente festival for contemporary culture, which is taking place for the first time after St. Pölten’s failed application as Capital of Culture in 2024.
What Andi Fränzl is to the cultural scene in St. Pölten, chef Werner Punz is to the culinary arts. In the kitchen of the traditional Vinzenz Pauli inn at the Alpenbahnhof, he serves his guests Austrian traditions with a good pinch of innovation from regional organic products. The chard, which he brings to the table as a side dish with his vegetarian gram dumplings with Jerusalem artichoke filling, he personally gets by bike from the vegetable farmer he trusts in Maria Jeutendorf, on the northeastern city limits.
Michael Kiefahrer took the leap from event manager to farmer and now proudly runs his own vegetable farm in Maria Jeutendorf. The constant night and weekend work in the event industry drained him and he lost his purpose. By growing vegetables, he created space and time for his wife Verena, their two daughters and a balanced lifestyle. In the field behind his in-laws’ house, he now grows around 150 types of vegetables, produced in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.
The student Alina Harant spent most of her school career in St. Pölten, which she continued by studying data science at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences. Her hobbyhorse: artificial intelligence. In a group exercise, she and her fellow students teach the AI to independently drive a car around a given race track. It corrects every “misstep” made by the artificial intelligence by lifting the small car back onto the track every few meters. “AI will not be a threat to us for a long time,” she is convinced. Alina has also been involved with computers in her free time, or more precisely with game consoles since 1980. With her brother Maurice, she founded a gaming club where people gamble, gossip and discover things.
As a composer, performer and radio artist, Elisabeth Schimana creates fascinating sound worlds that touch the senses and inspire the imagination. She also collects the material for her performances on sound walks, during which she walks through the streets of St. Pölten with a recording device and headphones and captures the sounds of the state capital. With her innovative approach to music and sound art, she inspires people of all ages and creates unique cultural experiences. Their work in St. Pölten Cathedral and in the Sound Tower as part of the Tangente Festival is a homage to the creative diversity of St. Pölten.
Fish and pig farmer Michael Seiller-Tarbuk is passionately committed to sustainable and animal-friendly agriculture on his farm with fish ponds in Ochsenburg in southern St. Pölten. From entrepreneur to self-sufficient and back to entrepreneur. He and his wife Marie-Theres actually wanted to quit their working lives in order to support themselves with sheep, ducks, chickens, pigs and fish. But his friends and acquaintances were so enthusiastic about his products that he began to expand his own marketing. With his commitment to species-appropriate animal husbandry and organic farming methods, he is a pioneer for responsible agriculture. “Aufgetischt in St. Pölten” by Manfred Hoschek is a co-production of SATEL and ORF, supported by the state of Lower Austria and Fernsehenfonds Austria.