Project number: 639 Project acronym: trAILs Project title: Alpine Industrial Landscapes Transformation DELIVERABLE D.T1.3.2 Pilot profile Styrian Iron Route Work package: T1 Activity: T1.3.2 Organization: Registered association Styrian Iron Route (VESTE) Deliverable date: Nov 2018 Version: final Dissemination level: Dissemination target: This project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg Alpine Space programme CONTENT 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................3 1.1 REGIONAL PPS AND LOCAL STAKEHOLDER NETWORK .............................................................................................. 3 1.2 OVERVIEW OF THE REGION ......................................................................................................................................... 4 2 REGIONAL PROFILE .......................................................................................................................6 2.1 NATURAL CONDITIONS AND LANDSCAPE .................................................................................................................. 6 2.2 TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRAFFIC ............................................................................................................ 12 2.3 SPATIAL STRUCTURE AND SETTLEMENTS .................................................................................................................. 13 2.4 POPULATION AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE .......................................................................................................... 14 2.5 ECONOMIC SITUATION .............................................................................................................................................. 18 2.6 ACTORS AND NETWORKS .......................................................................................................................................... 20 2.7 CULTURAL ASPECTS ................................................................................................................................................... 20 3 SITE PROFILE .............................................................................................................................. 21 3.1 OLD BLAST FURNACE SITE MÜNICHTAL / EISENERZ ................................................................................................ 21 3.2 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................................ 27 4 CHALLENGES AND EXPECTATIONS .......................................................................................... 29 4.1 PRESENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION ........................................................ 29 4.2 PRESENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE............................................................... 32 5 ANNEX 1: MAP OF SITE ............................................................................................................. 34 6 ANNEX 2: SWOT ANALYSIS STYRIAN IRON ROUTE / STEIRISCHE EISENSTRASSE ............... 35 Page | 2 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 REGIONAL PPS AND LOCAL STAKEHOLDER NETWORK The NGO “Registered association Styrian Iron Route” (Verein Steirische Eisenstrasse / VESTE) is a development agency comprising 18 municipalities in the industrial & mining district Leoben in the Alpine part of the Austrian state of Styria. As a key player for regional development it can build on more than 30 years of experience. The topics covered are urban revitalization, industrial culture & heritage and economic development. In the past decades more than 20 million of euros for regional development investments have been undertaken triggered by VESTE. The members of VESTE are the region´s municipalities (including Leoben, Styria´s second biggest town) and the state of Styria. Chairman is Mario Abl, the mayor of the city of Trofaiach. This constellation provides a good backup for all activities (including involvement of stakeholders, funding for implementation of the outcome of studies + knowledge transfer). The main stakeholders are therefor on one hand the municipalities and their mayors. Second the cultural players are important partners (e.g. the museum association Styrian Iron Route / “Museumsverbund Steirische Eisenstrasse”, led by Susanne Leitner-Böchzelt / Leoben, which is a cooperation of 13 regional industrial-heritage-related museums). Touristically the touristic association “Hochsteiermark”, managed by Claudia Flatscher, is responsible for bundling the activities in the whole region Upper Styria East. It is supported by regional/local touristic associations such as “Erzberg-Leoben”. Last not least the regions´ companies are major stakeholders, starting with the steel processing plants of voestalpine/Böhler and the VA Erzberg, Central Europe´s last active iron ore mine. Page | 3 1.2 OVERVIEW OF THE REGION Facts & Figures Östliche Obersteiermark (Upper Styria East) + 6 Pilot region adjoining municipalities in the district of Liezen Country Austria Location North-Eastern part of the state of Styria Area (in sq. 3.963,6 sq. km km) Inhabitants 170.438 41; main towns: Leoben, Trofaiach, Eisenerz, Municipalities Bruck/Mur, Kapfenberg, Mürzzuschlag Heavy industry in the Mur-Mürz-Valley, which is also Characteristics the major settlement area, and beyond that thinly populated typical Alpine valleys Image 1: The region "Östliche Obersteiermark" is situated around the triangle Eisenerz - Leoben - Kapfenberg Page | 4 Image 2: The pilot area covers 41 municipalities (the municipalities of the districts Leoben and Bruck- Mürzzuschlag + some adjoining municipalities in the district of Liezen) The Styrian Iron Route (the Western part of “Östliche Obersteiermark”) has a 1300 year long history of mining. The “Erzberg” (“ore mountain”) in Eisenerz with its open-cast iron ore mine is one of the impressing remains. Over the centuries the mining led to a prospering and still on-going steel industry in the whole region Östliche Obersteiermark and beyond (as far as Upper Austria, and the upper Mur valley). The leading steel company voestalpine, with 10.000 employees in the region and 50.000 worldwide, has its roots in Eisenerz (former Alpine Montan Gesellschaft), and is centered in the Mur-Mürz-Valley (between Judenburg, Zeltweg, Leoben, Kapfenberg and Mürzzuschlag). voestalpine has also other outstanding further industrial global players such as AT&S and RHI in its wake. Mining & industry region also created a typical industrial & mining culture in the “cradle of Austria´s industrialisation”. Industrial monuments such as the extraordinary blast furnace museum Radwerk IV and the Erzbergbahn are of international reputation. The mining university of Leoben is nowadays one of the leading universities in the international ranking. Apart from the Erzberg the region offers rugged summit trails in the Eisenerzer Alps and the Hochschwab and gentle nature in the Vordernberg valley, the Palten-Liesing-valley and around Mariazell. The city of Leoben, being the capital of Upper Styria, has developed a highly attractive young and urban flair in recent decades. The Gösser brewery with more than 500 years of history is also an important industrial ambassador of the region. Page | 5 Image 3: Erzberg in Eisenerz - Austria´s cradle of industrialisation and the last iron ore mine in Central Europe Image 4: The metallurgic industry in the Mur-Mürz valley processes the ore from „Erzberg“ (picture: arial view of voestalpine steel plant in Leoben) 2 REGIONAL PROFILE 2.1 NATURAL CONDITIONS AND LANDSCAPE The west of “Östliche Obersteiermark” consists of the district of Leoben and some adjoining municipalities in the district of Liezen. The region is commonly known as Styrian Iron Route (“Steirische Page | 6 Eisenstrasse”), and forms a geographically, historically and economically homogeneous region. The region has a high proportion of forest areas (over 75%), with grassland use predominating in agricultural areas. The permanent settlement area is very low by comparison at 15 % (Styria: 30 %). The area can be roughly divided into following zones: . Leoben including Niklasdorf as the urban core zone along the main river Mur . The rural valleys Vordernberger Tal (capital: Trofaiach) and Palten-Liesingtal along the A9/Pyhrn highway; both situated on the southern side of the Eisenerzer Alps, gentle Alpine landscape with agriculture and extensive tourism . The region around the Erzberg in the centre of the steep Eisenerzer Alps and the Hochschwab mountain range . The "Eisenwurzen" in the northern Eisenstrasse, reaching as far as the Lower Austrian border, characterized by rugged gorges and white water. Image 5: View from Hochschwab to Eisenerz/Erzberg and Eisenerzer Alps Page | 7 Image 6: The gentle Vordernberger valley with Eisenerzer Alps in the background The district of Bruck/Mürzuschlag (Eastern part of “Östliche Obersteiermark”) is characterised by the rivers Mur and Mürz and by settlements in narrow valleys and basins. It´s northern part can be described as a peripheral rural development area, with Hochschwab as the major mountain range. The southern part of the region along the big rivers belongs to the old industrial areas of Austria and reaches from Bruck/Kapfenberg as far as the mountain pass Semmering, Styria´s natural boarder with the state of Lower Austria. Image 7: St. Marein in the central