Drive-In Cinemas in Austria

Drive-In Cinemas in Austria

Austria has one drive-in cinema: the Autokino Wien near Vienna. It is a seasonal venue, operating from May through October. Opened in 1967, it went bankrupt in 2015, closed, and was dramatically revived during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Autokino Wien

Austria’s only permanent drive-in opened on August 2, 1967 in Gross-Enzersdorf, a municipality in Lower Austria just east of Vienna. It started with a single screen and expanded to three screens (Kino A, B, and C) in 1990. At peak capacity, the venue holds up to 1,000 cars across over 500 square meters of screen surface.

The operator went bankrupt in 2015 and the venue closed.

COVID Revival

On May 15, 2020, at 00:01, the Autokino Wien reopened — one of the first entertainment venues to resume operations under Austria’s COVID restrictions. Drive-in cinemas were granted exemptions from closure orders because social distancing is inherent to the format. The midnight reopening became a symbolic moment for Austria’s cultural sector.

Temporary COVID Venues

The pandemic brought pop-up drive-in screenings to Austrian cities:

• Graz hosted screenings on the roof parking deck of Citypark shopping center, in cooperation with the Dieselkino chain, following trial runs in 2018 and 2019.
• St. Polten, Messe Wels, and Urfahraner Markt Linz hosted pop-up events.
• Olympiaworld Innsbruck and Bludenz in Vorarlberg also staged screenings.

A second permanent Autokino had operated briefly in Pasching near Linz in the early 1970s, near the Plus-Kaufpark shopping center. The site later became the Megaplex Pasching indoor cinema.

None of the 2020 pop-up venues became permanent.

Visiting Tips

Autokino Wien in Gross-Enzersdorf operates seasonally from May through October. Three screens accommodate large crowds, but popular films sell out. Audio is via FM radio — bring a portable radio as backup.

The venue is about 15 minutes east of central Vienna by car. Sessions begin at dusk. Check autokino.at for current programming.

Sources

• autokino.at — Autokino Wien official site
• de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autokino_Wien — German-language history of the venue
• ORF.at — Austrian public broadcaster coverage of the 2020 midnight reopening

More Countries

Browse the full country directory to find drive-in cinemas across Europe.