VIENNA (AP) — A flip of the switch, some oohs and ahhs from a crowd of onlookers, and a giant decorated Christmas tree went up in lights on Vienna’s town hall square as the Yuletide season got ...

They were reported to all be from the same family. A tree fell on the cable of the Acherkogelbahn in the Hochoetz skiing area of Tyrol province on Tuesday, the Austria Press Agency reported.

The tree cost the Eternal City almost 50,000 euros ($60,140; £44,330) to bring from near the Austrian border. Cynics said its decrepitude mirrored Rome's own state of disrepair in recent years.

This year Vienna upped the ante by decorating the tree with 2,000 LED lights and 1,000 Christmas baubles at the market, which drew 3.3 million visitors last year.