Europe · Central Europe · Sovereign state
Current time in Austria
A single time zone at UTC+02:00. Currently observing daylight saving time.
Friday, June 5, 2026
About Austria's time
A single time zone.
Austria keeps things simple with a single timezone, Europe/Vienna, switching between CET (UTC+1) in winter and CEST (UTC+2) in summer, in line with the EU daylight saving schedule.
Next clock change
2026 Sunday · clocks fall back
Clocks fall back by one hour · in 5 months.
Daylight saving schedule
Major cities
Cities of Austria.
History
How Austria keeps time.
Austria first adopted Central European Time (CET) in 1891 under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which standardized time across a vast multi-ethnic empire. Vienna, as the imperial capital, became the reference point, and the CET (UTC+1:00) system served railway schedules and telegraph networks across the empire. In 1920, after the formation of the Republic of Austria, the new nation retained CET as its official standard time.
Austria briefly observed daylight saving time during World War I but it was not consistently applied and was abandoned in the interwar period. DST was repealed in 1920 across Austria, as in most European countries, though economic recovery and the need for standardized time across institutions like railroads led to a patchwork of local mean times and unofficial daylight saving measures. It wasn't until 1981 that Austria reintroduced daylight saving time, aligning with the European Union’s harmonized schedule, switching between CET in winter and CEST in summer.
Did you know?
Things about Austria's time.
Despite spanning from the western border near Bregenz to the eastern outskirts of Vienna, Austria fits comfortably within a single time zone, with only about 20 minutes of solar time difference from one end of the country to the other, so the single zone causes no major daily-life friction. However, Austria’s central longitude (roughly 14°E) is somewhat west of the ideal meridian for CET (15°E), so clocks run slightly ahead of solar noon in the west and behind in the east. Some Viennese commuters, especially those traveling to Hungary or Slovakia for work, experience the oddity of crossing into a different UTC+1 country with a very similar clock time but a shifted solar rhythm. Austria’s strict adherence to EU-wide DST transitions means that twice a year, the whole country experiences the same clock-shift ritual as 400+ million other Europeans, and although there’s occasional debate about abolishing DST changes, no serious political push has been made.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Austria's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- Does Austria observe daylight saving time?
- Yes. Austria switches to Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+2) from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October, in line with EU rules.
- Is all of Austria in the same time zone?
- Yes. Austria uses a single time zone: Europe/Vienna (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).
- What is the time difference between Austria and London?
- During winter (CET), Austria is 1 hour ahead of London (UTC+1 vs UTC+0). During summer (CEST and BST), Austria is still 1 hour ahead (UTC+2 vs UTC+1).
- Does Austria’s time zone change for any regions or states?
- No. All nine Austrian states, including mountainous regions and border areas, follow the same Europe/Vienna time zone.
- What’s the best time to schedule calls with Vienna for someone in New York?
- Vienna is normally 6 hours ahead of New York. A good overlap for business calls is mid-morning in Vienna (9–11 AM CET/CEST), which is early morning in New York (3–5 AM EST/EDT).
- Will Austria ever stop changing clocks for DST?
- The EU has debated ending seasonal clock changes, but no binding decision has been made. If abolished, Austria would need to choose permanent standard or summer time, likely in coordination with neighboring countries.
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