Our bees at the Austria Classic Hotel Vienna
My name is Ingeborg Seitz, and I’ve been working at the Austria Classic Hotel Vienna for nearly 35 years. Today, we’d like to introduce our newest guests: 40,000 bees on the roof
The project bee
Bees don’t have it easy in these times of global warming. They think it’s warm far too early, leave their hives in search of food, and find no flowers. They return hungry and die of exhaustion. This is what our trusted beekeeper, Mr. Krottendorfer, told me during one of our many preliminary discussions. We had decided quite some time ago that we wanted to give bee colonies a home in Vienna, and a few days ago the time had finally come: Around 40,000 little bees have arrived here and are living on our unused terrace all the way up on the 4th floor.
The beekeeper
We found Mr. Krottendorfer on Google. He is the president of the Vienna Regional Beekeeping Association, and we liked him right away. His enthusiasm won us over, and we have now rented four beehives from him. He takes care of the maintenance and the honey harvest, and will check on our little charges every 10 to 14 days. After the harvest, Mr. Krottendorfer will supply us with delicious honey from our own bees. It won’t be enough to serve to our guests at breakfast, but we’ll have small jars filled and give them to our guests as gifts.
The arrival of our bees
Oh, it was so exciting when the little bees moved in. We set up concrete blocks on the terrace, placed wooden beams on top, and put the empty beehives there. Then the bees arrived in transport boxes. Unfortunately, it was still too cold for the little creatures, and only a few scout bees could be seen cautiously exploring the new surroundings around the hive. Now we’re hoping it warms up soon so our “guests” can fly out. They fly up to 3 km and will likely be buzzing around the Prater. Over the course of the season, each hive will quadruple in size. So we’ll have about 160,000 bees here.
Any concerns?
Of course, we also talked beforehand about whether it might be dangerous to have so many bees living with us. The answer was: no! Bees aren’t interested in human food (unlike those pesky wasps we all know). Mr. Krottendorfer gave me a beekeeper’s outfit. But he said that if you stay calm, approach the hives slowly, and don’t wave your arms around wildly, you don’t even need to wear it. He knows what he’s talking about—he has numerous beehives of his own in Vienna’s 22nd district that he tends to. We’re all very excited about our new guests and wish them a wonderful life on the roof with plenty of sunshine and safe outings to the beautiful Prater. Please always come back safely and make yourselves at home with us.
Buzz Buzz Buzz
Yours, Ingeborg Seitz
Frequently Asked Questions
Through this project, the hotel aims to provide a home for bee colonies in the city and thereby make a small contribution to bee conservation.
About 40,000 bees have moved in to start with. As the season progresses, the number per hive can increase significantly.
The bees live on a previously unused terrace on the 4th floor of the hotel.
An experienced beekeeper looks after the bee colonies, tends to them, checks the hives regularly, and later handles the honey harvest.
No, according to beekeepers, bees aren't interested in human food and are generally peaceful as long as you stay calm around them.