Surprising turnaround

Declining asylum numbers: “Haus Semmering” closes its doors

The "Haus Semmering" in the Steinhaus district of Spital

(Bild: Juergen Radspieler)

A big bang in Upper Styria: after ten years of problematic operation, the refugee home "Haus Semmering" in the Styrian municipality of Spital closes its doors unexpectedly. The reason is declining numbers of asylum seekers.

The last major cause for concern was inadequate fire safety precautions, which led to the home being evacuated for a period of time last February. Since then, things have been quiet - until Tuesday. The Federal Care Agency (BBU) announced the immediate closure together with the mayor of Spital, Maria Fischer (SPÖ).

Most recently 29 refugees in huge accommodation
The home, which was originally designed for 390 people, has been empty since last week. This was not made public until a week later, partly in order to inform BBU employees in good time.

The last asylum seekers have already left the building.

(Bild: Erwin Scheriau / KRONE)

After the fuss about fire protection and the initial measures that followed, "Haus Semmering" would have been approved for 200 people in the past few months - "would have been", as there were only 29 people housed there at the last time, as Mayor Fischer told the "Krone" newspaper.

BBU: Decommissioning, not closure
The BBU also justifies the move with declining demand. "The number of arrivals is low, the capacity is no longer needed," said spokesperson Thomas Fussenegger to the "Krone". Fewer locations also mean less tax money. However, "Haus Semmering" is being decommissioned for the time being, not closed. The property is therefore being kept in reserve for possible new waves of refugees.

Even though the local population only found out about the developments at the press conference on Tuesday, Mayor Fischer is certain that the news will be received positively in the community. After all, there have been repeated disputes since the opening in 2014.