Sick of being a global laughing stock, village changes its name after 1,000 years

Tired of tourists sniggering and taking photos in front of the town sign, the long-suffering residents of a small Austrian village have decided to change its name.

The village of Fucking will be known as Fugging from January 1, 2021.



Mayor Andrea Holzner told Austrian broadcaster Oe24 that the small community in Upper Austria had been pushing for a name change for years, the German Press Agency reported.

The name of the town, which lies north of Salzburg near the German border, has no meaning in German.

Locals have grown frustrated by the thefts of the town signs by tourists and of milling groups of people photographing the sign.

The small village largely escaped the notice of the wider world until the birth of the internet, when it was frequently included on lists of the funniest or most explicit place names.

Fugging apparently better reflects the pronunciation of the town by locals. It is unclear what will happen to the current town signs.

No news has yet emerged about possible name changes to the nearby hamlets of Oberfucking and Unterfucking. The town has been known as Fucking for around 1,000 years.

No news yet on whether the Germany village of Wank will follow Fucking's lead.