Involuntary move

Campers reluctantly vacated the Kirtag meadow

A French Roma group camps out in Traun for the next three weeks(Bild: Einöder Horst)

The area around the Traun stadium has recently mutated into a hotspot for groups passing through, much to the displeasure of local residents. Another group of caravans arrived on Thursday. However, VP Mayor Karl-Heinz Koll intervened after the set-up work for the Traun Kirtag began on Monday. 

It's slowly becoming a routine - one that Traun's mayor Karl-Heinz Koll (ÖVP) would probably have preferred to do without.

Whenever he is informed that a group of Roma are setting up camp with their caravans at the Traun stadium, the head of the town always goes out in person to speak to the people passing through. "Although we haven't had any good experiences recently, I'm the last person to pre-judge anyone and therefore approach people in an open and friendly manner."

Campers block the Kirtag area
This was also the case on Thursday, when several caravans set up camp in Traun for the third time since July. "The spokesperson for the group told me that they wanted to stay for three weeks, whereupon I had to tell him that this wasn't possible because there was a folk festival coming up at our site, for which the set-up work would begin on Monday." Koll's interlocutor was unimpressed, refused to accept the alternative space offered and claimed the Kirtag area. In the end, it was agreed that the group would set up their "tents" at the other end of the meadow. "This means that nothing stands in the way of the construction work for our Kirtag. I also made it clear to the speaker what I expect from a proper stay with us," said the mayor.

A local inspection shows: The transit area in Pichling is spotlessly clean, but people passing through are more likely to shy away from the recent frequent checks carried out there by the financial police.(Bild: Dostal Harald)

Everything in Pichling is dirty and broken
When Koll asked why the Sinti & Roma transit area in Pichling was not used, the spokesperson is said to have replied that it was not nice there, but dirty and things were even broken. A sentence that must have felt like a slap in the face for the Linz AG employees who painstakingly clean up the site after each group.