The oldest newspaper in the world, with a printing history spanning over 3 decades, will close down.

“Wiener Zeitung”, the newspaper that wrote about Mozart 320 years ago, will stop printing by decision of the Austrian parliament.

In the earlier days, the newspaper was a state media and reported all events in Austria and Europe for more than 3 decades. The most important events, including the Habsburg history, is to be found in the archives of this newspaper.

The Austrian parliament had long been discussing closing the paper down. Arguments are related to low selling numbers, as well as concerns over environmental protection from the use of paper.

In its height, the paper sold around 50 thousand copies, whereas in later years, the number of sales decreased dramatically.

The newspaper, part of the history of Austria, will only be accessible online. Some 200 journalists of the paper have protested against the decision. However, the Austrian Chancellor, who’s also the de jure publisher according to law, supported the decision to cut off printing.

In 2021, former chancellor Sebastian Kurz declared that it was not a governmental duty to fund a daily newspaper.

Unions of journalists have spoken against closing the paper down. The new decision by the parliament foresees that the newspaper can be printed up to 10 times a year, depending on funding possibilities the government has.