# Roofing in Austria

> Austrian roofing: clay and concrete tiles, Alpine wooden shingles and sheet metal for heavy snow, regulated by nine state building codes and ÖNORM B 3419.

- URL: https://roof.wiki/roofing-in-austria/
- Topic: Roofing Around the World
- Also known as: Austrian roofing; Dachdeckung in Österreich
- Regions: Europe
- First published: 2026-11-02 · Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
- Cite as: "Roofing in Austria." roof.wiki. https://roof.wiki/roofing-in-austria/

## Key facts

- **Common materials today:** Clay and concrete tiles
- **Traditional materials:** Beaver-tail tile, wooden shingles, sheet metal
- **Climate driver:** Alpine snow and wind
- **Building codes:** Nine state codes, harmonised by OIB-Richtlinien 1-6
- **Roofing standard:** ÖNORM B 3419 (2018)
- **Landmark roof:** St Stephen's Cathedral, about 230,000 glazed tiles

Austria is a largely Alpine country, and much of its roofing is shaped by snow, wind and mountain building traditions. Clay tiles, including the flat beaver-tail, and concrete tiles cover most houses in the valleys and lowlands of the east; split wooden shingles remain part of the mountain landscape; and the sheet-metal trade of the *Spengler* has long been closely linked to roofing. Austria is also home to two of Europe's best-known roof tile businesses, Wienerberger and Bramac.

## Climate and hazards

Alpine regions receive heavy snow, and steep roofs, strong roof structures and secure fixing are needed against snow load and storms, while the eastern lowlands around Vienna and in Burgenland have a drier, more continental climate. The Austrian roofing standard ÖNORM B 3419 sets permitted roof pitches for each covering material and includes wind-load fastening calculations, reflecting how strongly climate drives detailing.

## Roofing history

The flat clay beaver-tail tile (*Biberschwanz*), which probably originated in the 14th century around Nuremberg, spread across southern Germany and the countries to its south and east, replacing earlier curved monk-and-nun tiles. It is laid in the overlapping double or crown patterns typical of southern Germany and Austria. In mountain areas, split wooden shingles (*Schindeln*) of spruce and larch roofed farmhouses, huts and chapels, and shingle facades and roofs are still typical of villages such as Lech in Vorarlberg.

Vienna's brick and tile industry began on an industrial scale in 1819, when Alois Miesbach started making bricks from clay deposits in the Wienerberg district south of the city; the firm became Wienerberger and has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1869. In 1966 Rudolf Braas and the Austrian firm Hofman & Maculan founded Bramac at Pöchlarn in Lower Austria to make concrete roof tiles, the name combining "Bra" and "Mac".

The most famous Austrian roof, that of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, was destroyed by fire in April 1945 and rebuilt after the war on a steel structure, under a pattern of some 230,000 glazed tiles.

## Traditional and vernacular roofs

- **Beaver-tail tiles**, often in double or crown lay, on town houses and farmhouses.
- **Wooden shingles**, split rather than sawn, on Alpine houses, chapels and huts, and as wall cladding.
- **Sheet metal**, worked by the Spengler, including copper, which is widespread on Central European roofs and weathers green to dark brown.
- **Glazed tiles** in decorative patterns on major churches, of which St Stephen's is the outstanding example.

## Roofing today

Clay and concrete tiles from manufacturers such as Wienerberger and Bramac are widely used on Austrian houses, and wooden shingles remain in use on heritage and mountain buildings. Flat roofs on commercial and apartment buildings use bituminous and synthetic membranes.

## Codes, standards and regulation

Building law in Austria is a matter for the nine federal states (*Bundesländer*), so there are nine different building codes. Since 2008, technical building rules have been progressively harmonised through the **OIB guidelines** (*OIB-Richtlinien*) 1 to 6 of the Austrian Institute of Construction Engineering, covering topics such as fire protection, safety in use and energy saving. The states have declared them binding in their building technology regulations, while allowing departures where an equivalent level of protection is shown; a seventh guideline on sustainable building is in development.

For roof coverings, **ÖNORM B 3419**, *Design and construction of roofings and wall coverings* (edition of 1 April 2018, current as of 2026), sets permitted pitches for each material, suitable substrates and wind-load fastening, with a simplified wind method for single- and double-shell roofs. It excludes metal roofing and non-ventilated coverings, and contract rules are in ÖNORM B 2219.

Roofers (*Dachdecker*) train through a three-year apprenticeship. A double apprenticeship (*Doppellehre*) combining roofing with the Spengler trade takes four years.

## Industry

Wienerberger, headquartered in Vienna, describes itself as the world's largest brick producer and is a major European roof tile maker; it bought the Austrian clay tile maker Tondach Gleinstätten in 2014. Bramac, headquartered in Pöchlarn, has a second plant at Gaspoltshofen in Upper Austria (1973) and expanded into Central and Eastern Europe from 1984; by 2010 it had about 900 employees and had produced more than 3.83 billion tiles. Wienerberger held half of Bramac from 1969 until 2011, when Monier, now part of BMI Group, became sole owner.

## Notable roofs

- **St Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna**: a roof 111 m (364 ft) long rising 38 m (125 ft) above the floor, covered with about 230,000 glazed tiles showing the double-headed eagle and the arms of Vienna and Austria.
- **Lech**, Vorarlberg, known for its shingled facades and roofs.

## Local roofing terms

- *Dachdecker*: roofer.
- *Spengler*: sheet-metal worker.
- *Schindel*: wooden shingle.
- *Biberschwanz*: beaver-tail tile.

## Sources and gaps

National data on roof materials and on Austrian vernacular roof types by region: published information is limited.

## Sources

1. Baurecht und Bauordnungen — oesterreich.gv.at. https://www.oesterreich.gv.at/de/themen/bauen_und_wohnen/bauen/Seite.2260200
2. ÖNORM B 3419:2018-04-01 — Austrian Standards International. https://www.austrian-standards.at/en/shop/onorm-b-3419-2018-04-01~p2371153
3. St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen%27s_Cathedral,_Vienna
4. Bramac — Wikipedia (German). https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bramac
5. Wienerberger — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wienerberger
6. Dachdecker — Wikipedia (German). https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachdecker
7. Biberschwanzziegel — Wikipedia (German). https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biberschwanzziegel
8. Wood shingle — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_shingle
9. Creaton — Wikipedia (German). https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creaton