Vorarlberg spruce arrives at Vienna City Hall Square

A 31-meter-tall high-altitude spruce from Damüls in the Bregenzerwald region has been erected at Vienna's Rathausplatz. The tree, which is over 200 years old, weighs approximately nine tons and has a trunk diameter exceeding 90 centimeters.

Growing at an altitude of 1,350 meters on a former alpine pasture, the spruce features characteristic downward-sloping branches, an adaptation to heavy snow in mountain environments. The tree will be decorated with roughly 1,000 red and gold ornaments and 2,000 lights.

The official illumination is scheduled for November 13, coinciding with the opening of the Vienna Christkindlmarkt. Since 1959, Austrian federal states have donated the Christmas tree for the Rathausplatz on a rotating basis; the last tree from Vorarlberg was provided in 2017.