Waldbach-Mönichwald is a municipality since 2015 in the
Hartberg-Fürstenfeld District of
Styria
Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
, Austria.
The municipality was created as part of the
Styria municipal structural reform
The Styria municipal structural reform (German: ''Steiermärkische Gemeindestrukturreform'') was a local government reform in the Austrian state of Styria, which was made effective January 1, 2015. The reform nearly halved the number of Styrian ...
,
at the end of 2014, by merging the former towns
Waldbach and
Mönichwald.
A petition against the merger, raised by the town Waldbach at the
constitutional court
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
, was not successful.
Geography
Municipality arrangement
The municipality territory includes the following six hamlets (populations as of January 2015):
* Arzberg (415)
* Breitenbrunn (81)
* Karnerviertel (567)
* Rieglerviertel (83)
* Schmiedviertel (303)
* Schrimpf (97)
The municipality consists of the five
Katastralgemeinden: Arzberg, Karnerviertl, Rieglerviertl, Schmiedviertl and Schrimpf.
Tourism
The municipality formed, together with Fischbach, Miesenbach, Ratten, Rettenegg, Strallegg, St. Kathrein am Hauenstein, St. Jakob im Walde, Birkfeld, Wenigzell and Vorau, the tourism agency "
Joglland-
Waldheimat". The base is in the town St. Jakob im Walde.
Politics
Mayor
In the election for the town council in April 2015, Stefan Hold (ÖVP) from Mönichwald was elected as the first mayor of the newly formed municipality.
[Gemeinde Waldbach-Mönichwald]
''Gemeinderat''
(accessed on 28 May 2015).
The municipal court also included deputy mayor Arrigo Kurz (ÖVP) and the town treasurer Martin Übelher (SPÖ), both from Waldbach.
Until 31 December 2014, Andreas Riegler (
ÖVP
The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria.
Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...
) in town
Waldbach and Josef Freiberger (ÖVP), in the town
Mönichwald, were the incumbent
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
s. In the merger of the municipalities, there was at first no mayor. Thereby in protest against the merger, none of the former town politicians were to be mayor, and from the Landesregierung Steiermark with Franz Schröck, a Mitarbeiter of the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld, was installed as interim commissioner. This had led to the resulting duties until the election of the mayor during the inaugural meeting of the Municipal Council.
[ Kleine Zeitung 30 December 2014]
''Beamter übernimmt Amt des Bürgermeisters''
(retrieved 19 April 2015)
Municipal council
The municipal council consists of 15 members. After the results of the 2015 election, the council convened with the following members:
* 8 Mandate
ÖVP
The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria.
Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...
,
* 4 Mandate
SPÖ
The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...
and
* 3 Mandate
FPÖ
The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five par ...
.
At the session of the town council, the groups of both former municipalities were there, with eight members from Waldbach and seven from Mönichwald.
The prior elections brought the following results:
Demographics
References
External links
* Gemeinde Waldbach-Mönichwald
''official Internet page''(accessed on 27 May 2015).
{{DEFAULTSORT:WaldbachMonichwald
Cities and towns in Hartberg-Fürstenfeld District