Greek Life: Salzburg Style

Q: Are there any fraternities or sororities in Salzburg? A: Kind of…

Joining a fraternity or sorority is what some consider a HUGE part of ones college experience in the United States. There are many positive sides to going Greek, as there are negative sides. The positive sides include: close friendships, community work, fundraisers, etc . . ., whereby the negative sides include: excessive drinking, failing courses due to ridiculous mounts of drinking, life-threatening accidents, etc . . .. Most people tend to associate fraternities and sororities with massive outlandish parties depicted in American movies (American Pie’s Beta House, The House Bunny, Animal House, Old School, etc . . .) and television (GREEK, MTv's Fraternity Life, etc . . .). Salzburg however, does not have anything to offer that resembles the Greek System in the States. In fact, no university in Austria offers anything close to one.

So how does Salzburg kind of have a fraternity/sorority system?

Salzburg has what are known as “Studenten Verbindungen”, loosely translated as “Student Societies” but are considered as the closest thing to a “fraternity/sorority”. The fraternities and sorority (there is only one)in Salzburg take on a different approach than the American ones; they have a religious (Catholic/Christian) and political infrastructure, which the American ones don’t have.

The main Fraternities and Sorority consist of:

K.ö.St.V Almgau

K.S.M.M.V Erentrudis (sorority)

K.S.H.V Lodronia

K.ö.H.V Rupertina

K.ö.H.V. Rheno Juvavia

The History of these fraternities and sorority is long and complicated and I wouldn’t be able to begin to explain how they work. [It has been my experience that very few of the actual members of these “Verbindungen” can explain the history themselves].

Here are all the terms one needs to learn if they join a fraternity or sorority in Salzburg:

English Version

German Version

What kind of a role do these fraternities and sorority have in Salzburg?

There are a few answers to this question: 1. None. They are a waste of time and just an excuse for people to act like they’re in kindergarten all over again and drink ridiculous amounts of alcohol (mainly beer). There is a plus side however, one can meet a lot of people, but that’s about it. 2. They offer a sense of “belonging”; literally anyone who is Austrian [unfortunately that is a key requirement, one cannot join without Austrian citizenship] and wants to join can do so. 3. They are a source of entertainment. When members of the different fraternities and sorority are dressed in their, "wichs”- a term used for the formal wear for formal representation of the "Student Society" (which includes a sword), they are definitely eye catching!

What does a fraternity/sorority structure in Salzburg look like?

When one signs the “member agreement” when joining a fraternity or sorority, one is signing away their soul and pledging allegiance to the four pillars, the heart of the fraternity/sorority. The four pillars are:

Religio—one must be of Roman-Catholic belief (rather, one can claim to be of Catholic belief for the sake of joining)

Amicitia—one must put value in life-long friendship

Scientia—one must put value into their studies whether still in highschool or studying at university

Patria—one must be Austrian

Next, one has to choose a “couleur” name, which is a code/nickname. The name can be completely random or meaningful, whatever one wishes.

Then there is a ceremony for the new “Fux”—term used for a new pledge.

[Fux: is a play on words for the German word for fox, Fuchs.]

During the ceremony the new pledge declares who they want their “LeibMädchen” or “LeibBursch" (a term used for “Big Sister” or “brother”) and then after chugging a half litre of beer they are the newest member. [Sounds just pleasant! Please note the sarcasm!]

The time needed to turn from a pledge into a brother or sister tends to take a while, on average it’s about 2-3 semesters.

Misconceptions:

There are many misconceptions about “studenten verbindungen” in not just Salzburg but in all of Austria and Germany, which has to do with the fact that they normally have a negative connotation due to brotherhoods (separate from the normal fraternities/sororities) called, “Burschenschaften” a.k.a “Schlagende Verbindungen” or “fighting/fencing societies”. These are fraternities with a Neo-Nazi view and tend to be very conservative in their political viewpoints. [In my opinion they are frightening really, but Salzburg not only has fraternities and the sorority, they have a brotherhood as well sadly, called, Burschenschaft Germania zur Salzburg.]

Personal Experience:

Back in the day, in 2006, when I was more or less a loner, a complete outsider in Salzburg, and I had no friends to call my own, an acquaintance of mine was able to convince me to join her sorority. I often feel like I want to kick myself in the head for ever having agreed to it. But at the time I was told I would meet a lot of new people and make a lot of friends, something I was in no position to refuse. I do dare say that I did meet A LOT of new people, and thought that I had made some friends for life- but I was eighteen years old at the time and naïve in that respect. I must say that I have not been involved in the sorority for over 2 ½ years now and the fact that I ever joined still haunts me.

However, a few things I am grateful for due to the sorority are: a few friendships that have lasted, having learned and being able to sing the "Gaudeamus Igitur”, and the knowledge that the fraternities/sorority in Salzburg aren’t all that bad. I do not wish to give the impression that the fraternities and sororities are awful and that no one should join them. They do have their upsides; everyone tends to have a different experience. For example: some people actually do find friends for life. [These are normally either very low-key, introverted members, or high maintenance members who get mixed up in or create unimaginable amounts of drama!]

I would not recommend joining a fraternity/sorority in Salzburg, (Although, I can’t speak for the fraternities) but I would recommend visiting one just to see what it’s like!

A last word for this post, deconstructing the inner webs of a fraternity/sorority here in Salzburg is like deconstructing the brain of a crazy person. No one really knows what’s going on.

TTFN- Ta Ta For Now