Clarification demanded

How dilapidated is the New Town Hall really now?

A "megastructure" in the spirit of the 1960s and 1970s - the outer facades of the five-storey reinforced concrete building consist of 6700 prefabricated concrete elements and 2120 windows.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

 After 39 years, the New Town Hall, built in 1985 in the style of a Mesopotamian sky mound, is no longer new. But is it really a worrying case of renovation? According to VP local councillor Thomas Fuchshuber, one could assume so. 

After all, according to him, more and more voices are being raised that the striking building on the banks of the Danube in Urfahr is so dilapidated that a normal working day for the 1000 or so employees will probably no longer be possible in the foreseeable future. There are also said to have already been concrete talks with large companies to enable employees to relocate to available properties in the event of extensive renovation measures.

"We want details" 
"More and more information is leaking out, but we are not talking openly. We want to know details about the apparently dilapidated state of the building, whether the employees will have to relocate temporarily - and, above all, how much public money has been budgeted for the refurbishment," says Fuchshuber, who intends to put a question about this to the acting Deputy Mayor and City Councillor for Planning Dietmar Prammer at the next municipal council meeting.

We owe it to the people of Linz on the one hand, and of course to the employees on the other, to finally get the facts on the table.

Thomas Fuchshuber, Linzer VP-Gemeinderat

"Talk of evacuation is nonsense"
The latter doesn't understand the excitement: "Yes, it's true that it rained in during the heavy rainfall recently - even in my office. And there have also been problems with some pipes in the past. But the talk of 'evacuating' and moving council staff out is complete nonsense."