Austrian Library opens in Nizhny Novgorod

The Austrian Library has recently opened in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod. The library, which is based in the building of the Higher School of Economics, has become one of Austria's largest cultural and educational center in Russia.

Dr. Margot Klestil Loeffler, Austria's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia and Belarus; Simon Mraz, the attache for culture of the Austrian Embassy in the Russian Federation and the director of the Austrian Cultural Forum; Austria's Honorary Consul in Nizhny Novgorod Yury Titov; Vice Consul of Austria's Honorary Consulate Office Natalia Perova; assistant to the presidential envoy of the Russian Federation in the Privolzhsky federal district Mikhail Kosoy, as well as spokespeople for the administrations of Nizhny Novgorod and Nizhny Novgorod region took part in the opening ceremony.

According to Margot Klestil Loeffler, Austria pays high priority to spreading its culture abroad. This is an important part of the state-run policy, she said. The official also pointed out the increased interest of the Russian people in the German language. The interest in the Russian language in Austria has increased too, the official said. The contribution of Nizhny Novgorod's Higher School of Economics in the development of this trend should not be overestimated. For the time being, there are three Austrian students studying at the Higher School of Economics. The same amount of Nizhny Novgorod students study at the Kepler University of Linz, Austria.

The ambassador described the cultural center, which opened at the Higher School of Economics as "unique space for university cooperation." The official wished the new Austrian Library to become a cultural exchange center over a short period of time.

According to Novy Nizhny website, there is an Austrian lecturer working at the library. Dr. Vera Ahamer works to assist in establishing academic and scientific ties between Nizhny Novgorod colleges and Austrian universities. The Austrian library will become the certified center for international exams held within the scope of the "Austrian Language Diploma" program.