Encounters
In Austria, if you are a nude hiker or sportsman in the great outdoors, you first have contact with the police, if at all. However, this only happens, if some ignorant person has called the police, because he or she is not familiar with nude hiking or nude sports and develops some kind of unfounded fantasies. Therefore, we will first report an encounter with Austrian police.
Police law
In Austria, police law may address the legal classification of nude activities such as hiking in the buff. There are two separate apects of police law:
- Austrian-wide valid police law concerning public order
- Security police law in federal states concerning public security
Both contain clauses, which concern:
- “Öffentliche Ordnung” [en: “Public order”],
- “Begründete Ärgernisse” [en: “Reasoned disturbances”],
- “Öffentlichen Anstand” [en: “Public decency”], and
- “Unzumutbare Belästigungen” [en: “Unacceptable annoyances”].
Penal law
Also in Austria, penal law declares sexually oriented deeds as criminal offences, but not simple nudity. Penal law can therefore not be applied to naturist activities.
Property right
As a third legal construct, property right also gives the owner of a property extensive power of disposal in Austria:
Sole ownership excludes others from using and disposing of the item. The owner alone decides how to use the property.
Nudity and property right: Königsbergalm 2018 – group photo with the couple running the alm
