The patron of Aflenz

“Everyone is glad that Stefan Pierer came”

Günther Essenko is managing director of the Aflenzer Bürgeralm.(Bild: Jürgen Radspieler)

Stefan Pierer's motorcycle company KTM is insolvent. What does this mean for his Styrian home community of Aflenz, where he bought up half the town and the Bürgeralm ski resort as a benefactor? A search for clues.

A Pierer house on the left, a Pierer house on the right. Behind almost every newly renovated façade in the center of Aflenz Kurort is the billionaire who is currently making headlines due to the KTM insolvency: Stefan Pierer. 70 new apartments have been built in the Upper Styrian town over the past ten years. The houses in the first row have been renovated "pipifein", says Mayor Hubert Lenger (ÖVP) during a walk together, and new residential units and underground parking garages have been built behind them.