To the Hinterlehen estate

“GDR farmer” must justify himself today

Parts of the estate have already been demolished.

(Bild: Photographer: Anna Pirato)

The Salzburg Land Transfer Commission is considering reopening the proceedings surrounding the Hinterlehen estate in Saalfelden. The file was examined in detail and some discrepancies came to light.

Whether the purchase of the Hinterlehen estate in Saalfelden has to be reversed could soon be decided. The German buyer has to appear before the Land Transfer Commission on Wednesday. The authority is re-examining whether the German should have been allowed to buy the agricultural property at all. As Krone readers know, land of this kind can only be bought by farmers. In this case, a former GDR fattening farm was to serve as proof.

The buyer's income is closely scrutinized
The main issue in the Pinzgau case is whether the information provided by the buyer was correct. "To be considered a part-time farmer, the income must be at least 25 percent from farming," explains Simon Heilig-Hofbauer (Greens), a member of parliament who has been involved with the estate for some time. "And the buyer has stated that he only has a pension of 1900 euros," he adds.

That could be a big lever for the authorities. His farmer's certificate from Germany is also disputed. This was allegedly issued by the association "Familienbetriebe Land und Forst Sachsen und Thüringen", which, according to its own statements, is not authorized to do so.

The fattening farm in the former GDR was partly converted into commercial space by the buyer. The rest was leased to a sheep farmer. The German himself was mainly active in the real estate business.