"No getting through"

Does the Adler market already have too many stallholders?

Bernd Prokes and his mother run the café of the same name on the square. The market is particularly busy on Friday and Saturday mornings and the piles of garbage are huge.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Gerhard Bartel, Bernd Prokes)

Wild crowds, piles of garbage, a local café owner even thinks that emergency services are being hindered in their work because there is no getting through at certain times. Is the Adler market already too crowded?

The Viktor Adler market in Favoriten. Popular with political parties during election campaigns. But also with the local population in search of fresh fruit, vegetables or a good cup of coffee. Perhaps it is already too popular.

Because the wild crowds, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, are taking on alarming proportions, says Bernd Prokes, who has run the café of the same name on the square with his mother for decades. "Even the emergency services can't get through. I've seen ambulances having to stay on the sidelines," says the restaurateur.

Regulars would get upset. They feel harassed by the hustle and bustle and can hardly get to the tables.

Proke's Kafffeehaus yellow in the background.

(Bild: Bartel Gerhard)

43 more stalls than before Corona
The misery began with the pandemic. The city allowed an additional 43 stalls onto the market square. The traders come in the morning and have to leave again at 1 pm. Corona is a thing of the past, the stalls remain. "That has worked well. Customers appreciate the wider range of products," explains market office spokesperson Alexander Hengl.

Can the emergency services get through by car?

(Bild: Bartel Gerhard)

Hengl denies that emergency vehicles are hindered: "The required passage width of three and a half meters is guaranteed everywhere." However, the mountains of garbage have grown.

Mountains of garbage at the market.

(Bild: Bernd Prokes)

Cardboard boxes, plastic containers, shriveled food and crates lie carelessly on the ground. "It's really bad," rages a Krone reader. Prokes says that other store owners have also complained - to no avail. Because the city makes money here: more stalls, more money. The market office spokesperson doesn't want to know anything about it: "I don't know of any other complaints."