Dirt and leaves

Minigolf course in Salzburg’s Volksgarten is wasting away

The course in the Volksgarten is less than three years old.(Bild: zVg)

No sign of fun and games: the City of Salzburg's mini-golf course in the popular park is filthy and deserted. The remedy? A new broom for the courses.

 Leaves, cigarette butts and chocolate bar wrappers litter the course. A hole-in-one could be difficult on this course. The minigolf course in Salzburg's Volksgarten has seen better days. Yet it is less than four years old.

18 holes are standard for minigolf. There are only twelve in the Volksgarten and they are barely playable.(Bild: zVg)

After endless back and forth about the demolition of the Volksgarten sauna, including the salt pool and minigolf course, the new Volksgarten was officially opened in 2021. The city spent more than two million euros on the extensive redesign of the park, including the construction of a new kiosk. However, there was apparently not much left over for the new mini golf course. Instead of 18 holes, there were only twelve. The slabs around the individual holes were not laid either.

Only one open-air course in the entire city
Since its opening, the course in the Volksgarten has increasingly withered away. Soon, at least a broom is to be installed to make better use of the lanes.

"We deliberately opted for a consumer-free concept," says Christian Stadler, head of the city gardens. Anyone can play on the course and doesn't have to pay anything. If the kiosk is open, you can borrow a racket and ball for a deposit. "We clean the courses regularly," says Stadler. Miniature golf fans in the provincial capital remain long-suffering. After all, Leopoldskron is currently home to the only open-air miniature golf course in the entire city.