The Styria municipal structural reform (German: Steiermärkische Gemeindestrukturreform) is a local government reform in Styria, Austria, which merged small towns in 2015, among 542 municipalities into 287, to reduce costs and ease election of new town officials. It became effective on January 1, 2015 and is now complete. Its basis is the Styrian municipality Structural Reform Act (StGsrG). This law was adopted on December 17, 2013 Landtag Steiermark and promulgated on April 2, 2014.
Contents
As a result of the reform, the number of municipalities in Styria was reduced from 542 by 255 to 287 municipalities (including Graz). On 1 January 2013, there was already the union of former Gemeinde (municipalities), Buch-Geiseldorf and Sankt Magdalena am Lemberg into the new community Buch-St. Magdalena, likewise the incorporation of the former municipalities of Hafning bei Trofaiach and Gai into the municipality Trofaiach, done even before the introduction of the actual reform, had reduced to 539 the number of municipalities in Styria.
In total there were 385 of the Reform communities affected (by inclusion of other municipalities or parts of municipalities, territorial changes or resolution), 157 municipalities remained unchanged. An originally thought incorporation of surrounding municipalities of the City of Graz for this did not take place. Afterward, 251 old community names remained, even if held by many incorporations. The names of Kirchbach in der Steiermark and Neumarkt in der Steiermark merely received the definite article "der" added. There were many names, in some cases shortened, entered new names, often consisting of compositions. With Sankt Barbara im Mürztal, as named after the Patron Saint of Miners, a completely new name for the concentration of three roughly equal-sized places has been created.
New names of municipalities
As of October 2016, the reform has created 36 new town names, which are not just the largest of the former towns in each merger. The new names of municipalities include:
Detailed list of the new municipalities
From the formerly 539 independent communities (as of December 2014), these 287 new municipalities were formed on 1 January 2015 (157 unchanged municipalities are highlighted as dark gray, while 251 community names that continue to exist exactly, are in bold) [52]
The five municipalities Kohlberg, Limbach bei Neudau, Oberstorcha, Schlag bei Thalberg and Stocking are listed in the left column in each case twice, because their territory has been divided in two municipalities. In the second column, the former entire population is shown, but only the relevant part was added into the new sum.
Gnas was reconstituted from most parts (9 municipalities + 1 local part), and furthermore only Feldbach and Neumarkt in der Steiermark, from 7 parts each.
The names of the new municipalities accept mostly only one name of those from which they originated. In 21 cases, two names (or parts of the name) joined with a hyphen, new names originated by rewording (Ehrenhausen an der Weinstraße, Leutschach an der Weinstraße, Pischelsdorf am Kulm, Sankt Georgen am Kreischberg, Sankt Veit in der Südsteiermark) or by simplifying (Aflenz, Krakau, Oberwölz, Schwarzautal, Sölk) from the core term of two. Kirchberg in der Steiermark and Neumarkt in der Steiermark were merely the product of inserting "der" in the name. For Feistritztal, Pölstal and St. Barbara in Mürztal entirely new names were chosen for the main part. For Hieflau and others, the district boundaries have been moved.