Heiligenblut

Mountain railroads will not hand over Heiligenblut

(Bild: Elisa Aschbacher)

Now it's fixed: the Großglockner Bergbahnen will continue to run the ski area themselves. 

The wait for a decision from the mountain railroads is over. The Heiligenblut ski area will remain in their hands. Franz Xaver Gruber, spokesman for the owner families Schröcksnadel and Schmidl, announced this on Thursday: "Without direct and personal discussions with the potential new investors and without knowing the framework conditions for the sale and the references and plans of the new investors, the owners will not sell the mountain railroads to anyone."

A slap in the face
A slap in the face for the state and the municipality. After all, the cable cars only want to continue operating in a limited form. "It's the worst option for tourism and irresponsible to close the Fleissalm," says an annoyed Sebastian Schuschnig, Provincial Councillor for Tourism. For Mayor Martin Lackner, Heiligenblut is no longer the same without Fleiss. "This lift leads to the highest slopes in Carinthia and must not be closed!"

State and municipality continue to fight
However, the last word has not yet been spoken in this regard. Because according to the state, you can't simply shut down a lift. "There is an obligation to operate, and only if the corresponding decision is revoked can a restriction come into force - and we won't allow that," they want to fight against it.

Interested parties still want talks
The regional investor group is not satisfied with the decision of the mountain railroads. "The interested parties have signaled to me that they will still approach the owners," leaks Lackner, head of the municipality.

However, the operators would also like to invest in the future of Heiligenblut themselves. "We know that there is a lack of modern accommodation options. We also have a project in the drawer," says Gruber and hopes for cooperation with the municipality.

One piece of good news at the end: the employees of the mountain railroads can breathe a sigh of relief. The announced 20 redundancies have been withdrawn.