Battle for the spa gardens

“Idyllic Waldhof Park must be preserved”

Local residents collect signatures for the preservation of the small park, which belongs to the Südbahnhotel and is to be built on.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Doris Seebacher, ZVG)

While Südbahnhotel owner Christian Zeller is making big plans for his hotel (as reported in the "Krone"), locals and residents fear for the beloved Kurpark, which belongs to the hotel and is - still - open to the public. A petition has been launched to prevent the rededication.

The small park is already 130 years old. According to the Südbahnhotel's current conversion plans, it is to make way for two new park villas and a new guest house. The petition "Save the Waldhofpark" now aims to prevent this. "It is the last spa park here in Semmering," say the residents of the Waldhof, a building complex that used to belong to the Südbahnhotel. "Now everything around it is to be built on." They were all promised by the Zeller Group in 2022 that the park would be restored in accordance with its designation as a 'green space park'. "We don't want green space to be converted into building land and a lot of money to be made from it," they say.

Two villas and an extension for rooms and apartments are planned between the Waldhof apartments (left) and the Südbahnhotel (right) - including underground parking.(Bild: Doris_SEEBACHER)

The park is still open to the public. It is privately owned by the Südbahnhotel.(Bild: Doris_SEEBACHER)

Local residents love the little hidden spots in the park with a view of the Südbahnhotel.(Bild: Doris_SEEBACHER)

The residents of the Waldhof are also worried that the planned underground parking garage could lead to landslides or damage to their homes. There are many other questions and fears from local residents and other hotel owners: "How are 500 to 700 cars a day supposed to drive to the hotel via the narrow elevated road? Why doesn't the Hotel Panhans reopen first?" And the most important question: "How is the multi-million euro project to be financed at all?" The spokespersons for the Waldhof residents emphasize: "We are not trying to stop the project, but the spa gardens must be preserved."

The bone of contention: the southern extension, which is to be built on the slope between the Waldhof and the hotel, including a three-storey underground car park and two park villas planned in the current spa park.(Bild: BWM Designers & Architects)

Link to the petition https://www.change.org/p/rettet-den-waldhofpark-am-semmering

Information and historical memories about the Waldhofpark and the Südbahnhotel am Semmering:

https://www.sommerfrische-alt-semmering-neu.info/