Werzers Season Opening 2024

“The lake rests still and rigid,” is a line in the popular Christmas classic – a situation that prevailed around Lake Wörthersee in the early 2000s – and not just in the cold season. Lake Wörthersee as a lifestyle stage, a meeting place for the jet set and a place of longing for all those who were looking for southern flair in the middle of Austria, fell into a deep Sleeping Beauty sleep almost at the same time as the successful series “A Castle on Lake Wörthersee” ended. Where world greats like Kirk Douglas, Ingrid Bergmann and Omar Sharif once romped, there was now silence.

“We wanted to send a sign of life for Lake Wörthersee and especially for the Werzers businesses,” explains Hans-Werner Frömmel, explaining the intention behind his and Rikki Vogel’s idea for the Werzers season opening. They developed a concept with which they could once again present the Wörthersee holiday destination in the media in order to initiate a renewed tourism boom for the entire region.

As is often the case with success stories, Werzer's season opening continued to develop over the years. Within around 20 years, the manageable opening event became a brilliant event, with around 450 guests coming together again this year. After the successful first-time collaboration last year, host Hans-Werner Frömmel once again brought PR professional, manager and author Clemens Trischler on board.

Celebrities such as Lady Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, who brought international glamor to the lake and flew in from Manchester, the German actress Mariella Ahrens, who traveled especially from Berlin to the event, star astrologer Gerda Rogers, the singers Jazz Gitti, Nik P and Waterloo, the actors Konstanze Breitebner, Michael Steinocher and Julian Waldner, the hit duo Simone Stelzer and Charly Brunner, cabaret artist Andrea Handel, opera singer Iva Schell, ex-TV presenter Max Schautzer, director Otto Retzer, racing expert Corinna Kamper , former figure skater Claudia Kristofics-Binder, award-winning chef Hubert Wallner, the ORF presenters Eva Pölzl, Christine Reiler and Norbert Oberhauser, top photographer Raphael Fasching and the entrepreneurs Brigitte Glock and Heribert Kasper, accepted the invitation to the Côte d'Azur Alps.

A fixed point that has been part of the Werzers season opening since 2011 is the presentation of the “Golden Werzers Award”. Year after year, Carinthians who stand up for Austria's southernmost federal state outside the state's borders, represent it and are therefore jointly responsible for the region's reputation, can look forward to this award. This year it went to the former ski racer and Olympic champion Fritz Strobl, who can join the list of well-known names such as Franz Klemm, Waltraut Haas, Hannes Jagerhofer and Uschi Glas.

As usual, the brilliant gala on March 22nd was moderated by audience favorite Alfons Haider.

Of course, the annual raffle couldn't be missed. With 10 euros per ticket, you not only had the chance to win a great prize - such as a week's holiday at the Werzers Hotel for two people or tickets for the Mörbisch Lake Festival - but at the same time you could do good for the “Moki Kärnten” association.

The celebration continued until the early hours of the morning, with the culinary finale at four in the morning being the traditional egg dish made from 150 organic eggs, prepared by the host Hans-Werner Frömmel himself.