Fugging, Upper Austria

---

title: "Fugging, Upper Austria" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cities-and-towns-in-braunau-district", "populated-places-established-in-the-6th-century", "tourism-in-austria", "naming-controversies", "controversies-in-austria"] description: "Village in Austria" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugging,_Upper_Austria" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in Austria ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
	name
native_name_lang
other_name	Fucking
settlement_type	Village
total_type
motto
image_skyline	File:Kapellenlinde, Fugging 27.1.2024.jpg
image_caption	Two linden trees with statuses of natural monuments, and a small chapel, in Fugging.
pushpin_map	Austria
pushpin_label_position
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Austria, 4 kilometers from the German border.
pushpin_mapsize
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Austria
subdivision_type1	State
subdivision_name1	Upper Austria
subdivision_type2	Region
subdivision_name2	Innviertel
subdivision_type3	Municipality
subdivision_name3	Tarsdorf
	area_magnitude
unit_pref	Imperial
area_total_km2
area_land_km2
area_water_km2
elevation_footnotes	tags--
elevation_m
population_as_of	2020
population_total	106
	timezone
utc_offset	+1
timezone_DST	CEST
utc_offset_DST	+2
coor_pinpoint
coordinates
postal_code_type	Postal code
postal_code	5121 Tarsdorf
area_code	07940
blank_name	Licence plate
blank_info	BR
::

| name = Fugging | native_name_lang = If there is more than one native name, in different languages, | other_name = Fucking | settlement_type = Village | total_type = | motto = | image_skyline = File:Kapellenlinde, Fugging 27.1.2024.jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = Two linden trees with statuses of natural monuments, and a small chapel, in Fugging. | dot_x = | dot_y = | pushpin_map = Austria | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Austria, 4 kilometers from the German border. | pushpin_mapsize = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Austria | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = Upper Austria | subdivision_type2 = Region | subdivision_name2 = Innviertel | subdivision_type3 = Municipality | subdivision_name3 = Tarsdorf | named_for = | area_magnitude = | unit_pref = Imperial | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | elevation_footnotes = tags-- | elevation_m = | population_as_of = 2020 | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 106

| timezone = CET | utc_offset = +1 | timezone_DST = CEST | utc_offset_DST = +2 | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates = | postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 5121 Tarsdorf | area_code = 07940 | blank_name = Licence plate | blank_info = BR | official_name =

Fugging (), spelt Fucking until 2021, is an Austrian village in the municipality of Tarsdorf, located in the Innviertel region of western Upper Austria. It is 33 km north of Salzburg and 4 km east of the Inn river, which forms part of the German border.

Despite a population of only 106 in 2020, the village has drawn attention in the English-speaking world for its former name, which was spelled the same as an inflected form of the vulgar English-language profanity "fuck". Its road signs were a popular visitor attraction and were often stolen by souvenir-hunting vandals until 2005, when they were modified to be theft-resistant. A campaign to change the village's name to Fugging was rejected in 2004 but succeeded in late 2020.

Former name and etymology

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/City_limit_sign_of_Fucking,_Austria.jpg" caption="The village of Fucking in August 2015, with the frequently-stolen traffic sign before the name change."] ::

The settlement is believed to have been founded in the 6th century AD by Focko, a Bavarian nobleman. The Austrian region during this century was mostly under the domain of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths and was populated by a mix of Christians and pagans. The existence of the village was documented for the first time in 1070, and historical records show that some 20 years later, the lord was recorded in Latin as Adalpertus de Fucingin. The spelling of the name, which is pronounced with the English language vowel oo as in book, evolved over the years; it is first recorded in historical sources as Vucchingen in 1070, as Fukching in 1303, as Fugkhing in 1532, and in the modern spelling Fucking in the 18th century. The ending -ing is an old Germanic suffix indicating the people belonging to the root word to which it is attached, thus Fucking means "(place of) Focko's people".

Demographics

The Austrian census of 2020 recorded that the village had a population of 106. The Age reported in 2005 that it had 104 inhabitants and 32 houses.

Popularity and notoriety

Fugging is best known for the four traffic signs at the entrances to the village, beside which many English-speaking tourists have had their photograph taken because of its former name of "Fucking". British and United States soldiers based in nearby Salzburg noticed the name after World War II and began to travel to the village to have their photos taken beside the signs. The local residents were bemused, as they had not previously been aware of the meaning of their village's name in English. During the second half of the 20th century and the early 21st century, the number of tourists visiting the village increased, including the occasional tour bus. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Map_of_Fucking.svg" caption="Street map of Fugging"] ::

The village is especially popular with British tourists; as a local tour guide explained: "The Germans all want to see Mozart's house in Salzburg; the Americans want to see where The Sound of Music was filmed; the Japanese want Hitler's birthplace in Braunau; but for the British, it's all about Fucking." Augustina Lindlbauer, the manager of an area guesthouse, said that the area had lakes, forests, and vistas worth visiting, but there was an "obsession with Fucking", and she had to explain to a British tourist "that there were no Fucking postcards". The English meaning of its name also resulted in the village being the butt of jokes in popular media. The Grand Tour featured the village in the 2017 episode "[censored] to [censored]", as part of a road trip from Wank via Kissing, Petting, and Fucking to Wedding. In 2019, Norwegian broadcasting company NRK Sport produced a comedic tourism video on Fucking. Released on YouTube, the video consists of the reporter and the former Melodi Grand Prix Junior presenter Nicolay Ramm both advertising the village's attractions and listing off a large number of double entendres based on its name.

The road signs were commonly stolen as souvenirs, and cost some 300 euros to replace. In 2005, theft-resistant welded signs were installed, secured in concrete. The mayor of Tarsdorf said that tourists were still welcome, though the local police chief emphasised that "we will not stand for the Fucking signs being removed. It may be very amusing for you British, but Fucking is simply Fucking to us. What is this big Fucking joke? It is puerile." One resident set up a website selling T-shirts featuring the signs, with the slogan "I like Fucking in Austria", but shut it down after other residents disapproved.

In 2009, the village said it would install surveillance cameras to deter tourists from continuing to attempt to steal the road signs. Many methods were taken, which include screwing the signs to pedestals without much success. The mayor said that he would prefer not to see the village featured in the press anymore: "Just leave us alone".

In the same year, the European Union's Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market trademarks agency forbade a German brewery to market a beer called "Fucking Hell". The brewery successfully argued that "hell" in German means "pale" and that the beer is named after the town of Fucking; permission for the name was granted in January 2010. (The second part of the name is the German term for a pale lager, Hell.)

Name change

A 2004 vote on changing the village's name failed. "Everyone here knows what it means in English, but for us Fucking is Fuckingand it's going to stay Fucking," said the mayor as he pointed out that the name had been Fucking for 800 years. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Fugging_Town_Sign_-_2022.jpg" caption="The updated sign"] ::

In April 2012, rumours spread through international media that villagers had been thinking about changing the name of the village or had actually voted to change it. The satirical website The Spoof! published a story that was expanded in the British tabloid the Daily Mirror. The story was then reported elsewhere as news, including by The Guardian and The Huffington Post, who said that a vote had taken place to change the name to Fugging, but it was discovered that a village with that name already existed in the municipality of Obritzberg-Rust just west of Herzogenburg. The mayor denied these rumours.

The council of Tarsdorf voted in their 17 November 2020 session to have the village's name officially changed to Fugging, effective 1 January 2021. A video by Danish YouTuber , which drew attention to the village's peculiar name, was reportedly stated as being the reason for the name change. Around 28,673 people visited the village following the release of the video, disrupting local residents with the excessive filming and trespassing of local property, such as the village's elementary school and residents' homes. The following month, signs with the new name were vandalised to read "Fucking". One of the last remaining signs with the old name was given to the Haus der Geschichte Österreich in Vienna. In September 2021, village mayor Andrea Holzner stated that the disruptions had ceased, and that the name change had the intended effect.

According to The Guardian, the villagers were tired of mockery and being called "fuckingers" by the high amounts of tourists (mainly British); others said that they would miss their international fame that came from the offensive sign.

Film

Bad Fucking, a 2011 satirical mystery novel by the Austrian director and novelist Kurt Palm, is set in a slightly renamed Fucking; it won the Friedrich Glauser Prize and was filmed in 2013 by Harald Sicheritz.

References

References

1. Parker, Quentin. (18 July 2010). "Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places". Adams Media.
2. Bain, Andrew. (2009). "1000 Ultimate Experiences". [[Lonely Planet]].
3. Etz, Albrecht. (1971). "Die Siedlungsnamen des Innviertels als lauthistorische Quellen". Notring.
4. (3 September 2005). "What's the F—ing joke?". [[The Age]].
5. Haines, Lester. (15 August 2005). "Brits steal carloads of F**king Austrian roadsigns". The Register.
6. link. (29 October 2021 Retrieved 13 September 2020.)
7. Mikkelson, David. (May 30, 2000). "Is Austria Home to a Town Named Fucking?". Snopes.com.
8. Harnden, Toby. (28 August 2005). "'No, there are no F***ing postcards'". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
9. Parsons, Tony. (29 August 2005). "This Town's A F****** Joke". [[The Daily Mirror]].
10. (28 August 2005). "Brits driving Austrians bonkers over rude village name".
11. (27 January 2017). "The Grand Tour: Series 1, Episode 12 – [Censored] to [Censored]". TopGearbox.
12. (24 February 2019). "Welcome To Fucking". NRK Sport.
13. "F***ing signs now theft-proof". [[Ananova]].
14. (23 August 2005). "Austrian town uses concrete to block cursed sign thefts". [[The Ottawa Citizen]].
15. (November 2006). "Austrians Not Amused". BanderasNews.com.
16. (5 August 2009). "Finger weg von Fucking!". Ärzte-Zeitung.
17. Schmidt, Axel. (25 March 2008). "Die Ortstafel als Souvenir". [[Augsburger Allgemeine]].
18. (21 January 2010). "Decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal in Case R 0385/2008-4 – Fucking Hell". The Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union.
19. (19 March 2010). "German beer can call itself F**king Hell". Radio Netherlands.
20. (2008). "Austria". Lonely Planet.
21. Bollocks, Sidney. (18 April 2012). "Fucking Village To Change Name". The Spoof!.
22. (18 April 2012). "No Fugging chance: Fucking village told they can't be renamed Fugging because name is already taken". Daily Mirror.
23. Meltzer, Tom. (25 April 2012). "Silly placenames: welcome to Dull, twinned with Boring". The Guardian.
24. Phillips, Tony. (6 December 2017). "Citizens Vote to Rename Austrian Town From F—ing to Fugging". Huffington Post.
25. Shields, Michael. (18 April 2012). "Nothing profane about our name Austrian hamlet says". Reuters.
26. Dallison, Paul. (26 November 2020). "Austrian village of Fucking to be renamed Fugging". Politico Europe.
27. (26 November 2020). "Fugging Hell: Tired Of Mockery, Austrian Village Changes Name". Barron's.
28. "Kundmachung Gemeinderatssitzung". [[Tarsdorf]].
29. Brunner, Lea. (13 November 2020). "Es war einmal ein kleines Örtchen namens 'Fucking'". Municipality of Tarsdorf.
30. (29 December 2020). "「Fucking」村改名「福敬」，有無不敬？".
31. Nagl, Lisa. (8 December 2020). "Unbekannte beschmierten Ortstafeln in Fugging".
32. (5 September 2021). ""Fucking" jetzt im Museum - Ortsschild heiß begehrt".
33. Oltermann, Philip. (2020-11-26). "Fugging hell: tired of mockery, Austrian village changes name". The Guardian.
34. Brown, Todd. (24 December 2013). "Austrian Cinemas Experience An Outbreak Of BAD FUCKING. Check A Quintet Of Teasers".
35. McNally, Frank. (20 July 2017). "At Swim-Two-Cultures – An Irishman's Diary about the Austrian director who filmed an unfilmable Flann O'Brien novel". Irish Times.

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