Editing Shopping hours (section)

===Austria===
[[File:Das ist okay.JPG|thumb|220px|A [[convenience store]] at a [[Vienna]] train station selling ''Reiseproviant'' (travel provisions), the usual code for expanded opening hours]]
The situation in [[Austria]] is very similar to that in [[#Germany|Germany]], with most public holidays being based on Catholic holidays as the country is predominantly Roman Catholic. Until the 1990s, all shops closed around noon on Saturday and did not reopen until Monday morning. Entrepreneurs such as [[Richard Lugner]] lobbied for an expansion of shopping hours, and laws are gradually being changed, with more and more exceptions granted. Meanwhile, as in Germany, [[filling station]]s and train stations in big cities have taken on the role of ''Nahversorger'' ("local providers", supplying the local population with [[groceries]]) outside regular shopping hours.

Until very recently, shopping hours remained very restrictive. In 2008 Austria modified its 2003 ''Öffnungszeitengesetz'' ("opening times law"). The new regulations allow stores to open from 6:00&nbsp;a.m. until 9:00&nbsp;p.m. on weekdays, and on Saturday until 6:00&nbsp;p.m. but they are restricted to a total of 72 open hours per week. Bakeries can open 30 minutes earlier at 5:30&nbsp;a.m. Shops are closed on Sunday, but there are exceptions for tourist locations, train stations, airports, and the Christmas season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.german-way.com/travel-and-tourism/germany-for-tourists/shopping-in-germany/shopping-hours-in-germany/|title=Shopping Hours in Germany|website=The German Way & More}}</ref>