Austrian city puts up a fence after getting tired of tourist selfies

Residents of an Austrian mountain town known for its shimmering lakes, towering peaks and pretty church have taken action against swarms of selfie hunters who they say are disturbing their peace.

Lakeside Halstatt, in the north of the country, attracts more than a million tourists every year thanks to its picture-perfect scenery – but this week a fence was placed on its most famous viewpoint.

Search Instagram for the city’s name and there are over 33,000 posts devoted to its beauty – with many of the images featuring tourists posing in front of the Gram.

The Alpine landscape is believed to have been used as inspiration for the kingdom of Arendelle in the Disney movie Frozen, which is why it’s proving to be such a hit with visitors from around the world waving their smartphones.

However, locals living in their town say they are fed up with tourists posing on their quiet streets – and the mayor literally decided to block the view to stop them.

One resident, Andrea Zimmermann, told the country’s ORF TV network that her home just above the beauty spot was besieged by constant noise — to the point where her health suffered.

Mayor Alexander Scheutz ordered a “privacy screen” erected that blurred the horizon…but soon pulled it down after a social media outcry.

He told Upper Austrian News afterwards, “It was just a tryout. We discussed it in the city council. But the plan has now been rejected, there will be no such privacy screen in Hallstatt.’

He is not the first to start a war with tourists. In April, a small fishing village in Italy launched new anti-tourism measures with fines of €275 for loitering in selfie hotspots in a bid to end the “anarchist chaos”.

Portofino’s mayor introduced a no-loitering rule in two “red zones” where visitors often take photos and tourist groups gather, The Times reported.

The no-waiting zones were introduced during the Easter holiday tourism heyday, with around 1.7 million holidaymakers visiting Italian city centres, a 12 percent increase on last year.

Portofino’s newly enacted no waiting zone bans are active daily from morning to 6pm. The bans will remain in effect until October 15.

Mayor Matteo Viacava insists that the ban is not intended to make the city more “exclusive,” but to “allow everyone to enjoy our beauty” and “avoid dangerous situations due to overcrowding.”

He said the crowds of loitering tourists impede emergency access, which can be very dangerous.

The small fishing village, with a population of 369, is known for its seafood, luxury boutiques and pastel-colored houses.

The village is said to be popular with celebrities. Both Steven Spielberg and Rhianna were photographed vacationing in the hunting town.

But Mr Viacava claims there will be no favoritism towards stars in imposing fines for loitering.

“Portofino is nobody’s property, it belongs to everyone,” he said. “Everyone has to respect it.”

Several European cities have taken measures to discourage tourism and the negative behavior associated with it.

Tourist chiefs in Amsterdam warned British men to ‘stay away’ as part of a major new operation to clean up the city and rid it of rowdy and hedonistic behaviour.

The new campaign features a staged video showing a young man being arrested after being found stumbling through the city streets.

The video contains large red and white letters that read: ‘Come to Amsterdam for a messy night and get vandalized = €140 fine and a criminal record.’

It then shows the police officers taking the tourist to a prison cell and making him kneel in front of a bed in a bizarre scene.

The images are covered in red letters that read: ‘So coming to Amsterdam for a messy night? Stay out.’

Despite the fact that the campaign is deliberately aimed at young men from the UK, Dutch sex workers have spoken out in favor of male British tourists.

Hundreds protested the campaign in support of the British – who said they are no more associated with bad behavior than any other nationality – attacking the campaign as an attempt to gentrify the heart of the Dutch capital.

Similarly, Lanzarote’s president, Dolores Corujo, claimed last month that the island was saturated with British tourists and instead wanted to accommodate more ‘upper’ travelers from mainland Europe.

Ms Corujo claimed that the island would be ‘following a diversification strategy to reduce dependence on the UK market’.

But her comments drew backlash, including from the Lanzarote Tourism Federation (FTL), which reiterated that the island has “very strong ties” to British tourists and will continue to be “absolutely welcoming” to them.

The tourism board called on Ms Corujo to ‘clarify the situation’ and meet with representatives of the UK market to reiterate that ‘our island is open to receiving visitors from all parts of the world’.

The mayor of Siurana, a village in Catalonia, Spain, refused last year to include the town in an annual list of the country’s most beautiful villages. Siurana’s two car parks have a total capacity of 200.

As Mr Viacava said of Portofino, Mayor Salvador Salvadó declared ‘overcrowding’ a problem in Siurana and told The Times he wanted ‘the city not to become too crowded and the people arriving in Siurana to leave happy’.

Venice, the capital of the Veneto region of northern Italy, announced this year an entrance fee of €3 to €10 for all-day visitors aged six and over.