Excitement in Innsbruck

Political celebrity clears city forest for green dream home

The 1,300 square meter plot is zoned as open land, but is built on. A contaminated site from the 1930s.(Bild: zVg)

A former mountain hut on the Hungerburg in Innsbruck is to be converted into a feudal main residence in the middle of the forest. The city and forestry authorities have fulfilled all the wishes of a political celebrity. Now it's apparently about to start: a clear-cutting in Innsbruck's city forest, a popular local recreation area at the gateway to the Karwendel Nature Park, is causing a stir among nature conservationists. 

"Is a new road being built here? For which cars? In any case, you'll need a decent SUV to drive up there," conservationists sound the alarm in the "Krone" newspaper after a hike at Gramartboden above Innsbruck and provide plenty of pictures of cleared forest areas.