Hallein

City leases – entrepreneur gets rid of forest garden

Klaus Weickl loses the Forstgarten. From next year, the municipality will lease a large part of the area in the middle of Hallein's old town.(Bild: zVg)

Lots of greenery, lots of idyll, lots of controversy! Until now, a businessman from Tennengau leased the picturesque forest garden in the middle of Hallein's old town. But now everything is different. . 

Almost 10,000 square meters in size, in the middle of the old town, lots of greenery: Hallein's Forstgarten is a jewel. The idyllic spot belongs to the Federal Forestry Office and was previously leased to the entrepreneur and neo-politician Klaus Weickl. This is now over!

Mayor Alexander Stangassinger (SPÖ) has repeatedly sought talks with the Federal Forestry Office - as reported by the "Krone" - and wanted to make the garden accessible to the public. "The municipality will lease almost 4,000 square meters of the area from 1 January 2025. It will finally be a garden for everyone in Hallein," he says happily. According to reports, Weickl has only paid an annual rent of 500 euros so far. "It certainly won't be much more than that," says Stangassinger.

What will happen to the large green space in future? "That's for the residents to decide. We will start a participation process, many things are possible," says the city boss.

Klaus Weickl himself expressed his disappointment at the latest developments to the "Krone" newspaper. "The whole thing came as something of a surprise. I will now seek talks with the mayor," he says. After all, the "Halleiner Stadtwurzler" association has planted a vegetable and herb patch in the forest garden. "I will do everything I can to ensure that the association can continue."

The Forstgarten issue recently flared up in the run-up to the municipal elections this spring. Weickl stood as a candidate with the newly founded citizens' list and brought out the big guns against Mayor Stangassinger. The latter countered with the promise to open the Forstgarten to everyone. "Promise kept" laughs the head of the town.