A Small Austrian Town Called ‘Fucking’ Got Sick Of All Our Shit And Officially Changed Its Name
There is no way to talk about this delicately, which is probably one of many issues residents must deal with when living in a town that is literally called Fucking.
Fucking, population 100, is located in the Innviertel region of western upper Austria, 33 kilometres north of Salzburg near the German border. Fucking has also been the butt of the world’s joke for many, many years. Tired of incessant mocking and English-speaking idiots stealing the town sign, they’ve absolutely had enough of this shit and decided to rebrand.
Obviously, when a town name has an identical spelling to one of the best English swear words – and there’s a sign to prove it – you know there are going to be issues.
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According to Lonely Planet, the small village has grown in popularity, with people travelling to snap the sign as a gag. But with an increase in people, there’s been reports of antisocial behaviour and theft.
“While amusing to some, the name has caused problems, with media reports stating that the town has had its sign stolen multiple times, leading to special concrete being installed,” explains Lonely Planet. Ultimately, local authorities had to put up a replacement sign at a 2m height and embed it in theft-resistant concrete.
Looks like people got a little creative, too.
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Local legend has it that this town’s colourful moniker was bestowed as far back as 1070, being named after a sixth century gentleman called Focko. Um, guys, side note, but why didn’t you call your town Focko?
The townspeople actually got together in the past to vote on whether to ditch the name and they decided against it. Might have something to do with the fact the town title is literally 950 years old (!!) and it’s the rest of the world who are behaving like children.
However, that’s all changing now. The Guardian published minutes from a recent municipal council meeting where the village has finally had it with people’s antics, opting to change its name to Fugging from January 1, 2021 onwards. New year, new Fucking!
The villagers, known as Fuckingers, “had enough of visitors and their bad jokes”, confirms Austrian daily Die Prese.
There is one other bit of housekeeping, though – and that’s renaming certain main roads leading into the town. Fugging hell.
(Lead Image: Instagram / @ghestigray)
