exhibition - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 1966 - 3 Shilling

The International Welser Messe, which takes place for the first time under this name, is probably the most striking example of the organic growth and becoming of an event of European rank. The idea of ​​holding an exhibition of agricultural and commercial nature was first taken up in the seventies of the last century. Welser farmers and tradesmen organized a showcase that always took place at the same time as the Welser Volkfest, which today is the largest in Austria. The pairing of business and entertainment successfully anticipated the concept of today's trade fairs. Thus, in 1938, the visitor record of 400,000 visitors did not seem to increase any more. But this upward trend continued after the war. In 1955, 1434 exhibitors were counted, 353 of them from abroad. 500 exhibitors had to be rejected because of lack of space. The Welser Messe had thus become an important economic factor in Austria. With the onset of intensive international advertising, it continued to grow rapidly and is now the largest agricultural trade fair in the Free Trade Area and the third largest event of its kind in the European Economic Community area. The brand image shows the main building of the exhibition grounds with the flower clock in the foreground.