What’s in a name? Turns out, quite a lot, if you live in the Austrian village of F**king.
From January 1, the village will be renamed “Fugging,” after local residents grew tired of widespread international attention, CNN affiliate OE24 reported.
“The decision has already been made by the local council,” Andrea Holzner, mayor of the Tarsdorf municipality in western Upper Austria, told OE24.
The unusual name of the village, home to some 100 people, has made it something of a tourist attraction – crowds of visitors have descended upon the settlement to take selfies with its place name sign, OE24 reported.
The sign was also stolen regularly, forcing the local municipality to weld it and set it in concrete to keep it, OE24 said.
International headlines, television shows such as “The Grand Tour” and porn websites have all focused their coverage around the town’s name, according to CNN affiliate ORF.
F**king is not the only place trying to sever links with a controversial namesake. Last month, residents of the Canadian town of Asbestos, Quebec voted to rename it Val-des-Sources.
Close to half of the town’s 6,000 or so residents turned out for a parking lot-based “car vote” in mid-October.
