History

The original motto - “comrades who never let you down, who are prepared to go above and beyond their line of duty, who keep their humor even in times when one could forget how to laugh” - still applies.

Maybe it took exactly these kinds of comrades who, 92 years ago, despite the dreadful life circumstances, were ready to found this society. It was a network for exchanging experiences and ideas, finding help when in need, and in doing so, seeking better ways leading into a very uncertain future. It was certainly also something like a refuge where you could withdraw and recall the good old times with service comrades.

But, is it any different today? No. And the ball event is the annual closure and restart of this never-ending exchange between “young” and “old”.

Since 1926 the officers of the Austrian Armed Forces have had the honor to invite guests to this ball event..

Organized by the Alt-Neustadt Society – an alumni association of the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt – it was held annually as “Ball der Neustädter Militärakademiker” in the ceremonial rooms of the Vienna Hofburg Palace, until 1938.

After Austria regained its sovereignty, the tradition of giving the Alt-Neustädter Ball was revived. As early as 1956 the Ministry of Defense together with the Alt-Neustadt Society organized a ball again. But this time in Vienna's “Sophiensäle”, a building that was originally constructed as a public bath and later converted into a dancing hall, giving many generations the pleasure of marvelous ball nights.

The steadily growing number of guests during the 1960s and ‘70s, partly due to intensified cooperation and new partnerships between military commands and units of the Austrian Armed Forces and the industry, the economy, and special interest groups, made it necessary to establish a separate ball committee in 1977 and to return the ball to the Vienna Hofburg Palace in 1981.

This ball committee, consisting of officers of the Ministry of Defense, the Military Command of Vienna and the Alt-Neustadt Society, is responsible for organizing the ball. Its tasks are steadily increasing, as the ball finds more and more national as well as international recognition. Today it is not only a meeting place for officers of the Austrian Armed Forces and Vienna’s society but also for representatives from the European political and economic sectors. Due to growing international cooperation with foreign armed forces, more and more members of these countries attend this splendid event, particularly because it has become customary that every year a specific neighboring country is invited to provide dancers for the opening dance.

These young people open the ball together with cadets of the Theresian Military Academy and young lady dancers from Elmayer-Vestenbrugg, Vienna’s most prestigious dancing school that is also responsible for the choreography of the opening waltz. Under the expert guidance of this dancing school the “Fledermausquadrille” is performed as a midnight special, which is not only great fun for the dancers themselves but also a great pleasure for the audience.

The musical frame is provided by nationally well known dance music and show bands as well as by the Great Salon Orchestra and the Guards’ Big Band who play in the Great Festival Hall.

It is always much too early, when in the early morning hours the bugle player of the Guards Battalion sounds the “Taps”, which is the sign that another marvelous night and unforgettable event, namely the Officers’ Ball, has come to an end.