Fucking (the first vowel is pronounced similar to the “oo” in the word “look” for most English speakers; IPA: [?f?k??], SAMPA: [“fUkIN]) is a small settlement (population c. 150) in the Innviertel region of southwestern Upper Austria, located at 48 02? 60? N 12 50? 60? E, bordering Bavaria. It is near the city of Salzburg. The village is known to have existed as “Fucking” since at least 1070 and is named after a man from the 6th century called Focko.
The name, spelled identically to the gerund form of the English profanity “fuck”, is often found amusing by Anglophones.
The settlement’s only significant feature is a traffic sign with its name on it at which English-speaking tourists invariably stop to have their photograph taken. The sign is the most stolen street sign in Austria. A considerable portion of Fucking’s budget is spent on replacing the stolen signs.
In 2004, the residents voted on changing the name (owing to the stolen signs and embarrassment over the name), but decided against doing so.
Related Travel Information
Åmål is a Municipality in Västra Götaland County, in western Sweden. The municipality covers an area of 481.0 km². Of the total population of 12,840 (2000 estimate), 6,346 are male, and 6,494 are female. The population density of the community is 27 inhabitants per km². It received its city charter in 1643.
The movie Fucking Åmål is set there (but was actually shot in Trollhättan) and depicts it as a relatively boring and "normal" municipality.
Bad Ischl is a town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of the state of Upper Austria, in the area known as the Salzkammergut. The town has a population of 14,133 (2001) and an area of 162.85 km².
During the Austro-Hungarian Empire the town was the summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph.
Mürzzuschlag is a town in Styria, Austria, with a population of 9,569 (2001).
Krems an der Donau is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, at the end of Wachau valley.
See the German Wikipedia for more information.
Twin cities
Krems is twinned with the following cities:
with Ribe (Denmark). Since 1971
with Böblingen (Germany). Since 1971
with Beaune (France). Since 1973
with Passau (Germany). Since 1974
with Kremsier (Tschechien). Since 1994
with Grapevine (USA). Since 1999
Gmunden is a town in Upper Austria with 15,075 inhabitants. It lies on the lake Traunsee.
