On June 30, 2023, the last copy of the Austrian state newspaper Wiener Zeitung, which had been published continuously for 320 years, since 1703, reached readers. The Wiener Zeitung was the world’s oldest newspaper still in print.

As stated in the first column of the last issue, the Wiener Zeitung was published for 116,840 days, or 3,839 months, or 320 years and survived 10 Kaisers, 12 Presidents and 2 Republics.

The Wiener Zeitung was first published under the name Wienerisches Diarium on August 8, 1703. At the time, the newspaper intended to present a sober view of the news “without any oratorical or poetic gloss.”

The Wiener Zeitung is now owned by the Austrian government, but is editorially independent. It is the official publication used by the government of the Republic of Austria for legal notices such as company registration, and until 2004 was the official printed authority for laws and ordinances. Roughly speaking, it is an analogue of the Ukrainian “Government Courier”.

The newspaper suffered a sharp drop in revenue after a recently passed law abolished the requirement for Austrian companies to pay for publishing changes to the commercial register in print.

Wiener Zeitung will continue to be published online, and the editors intend to publish a monthly print edition.