As of: March 1, 2024, 2:07 p.m
By: Josef Hornsteiner
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Is bankrupt: The Hämmermoosalm, which is idyllically located in the Leutasch Gaistal, has filed for bankruptcy.
The gem is particularly popular with Isartal mountain bikers and hikers.
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The popular Hämmermoosalm in Tyrol reports bankruptcy.
A lack of snow, a plague of flies and an enormous electricity bill were fatal.
Now mountain lovers and mountain bikers are looking into an anxious future.
Leutasch - lack of snow, a summer plague of flies and, last but not least, a horrendous additional payment on the electricity bill: the tenants of the Leutasch Hämmermoosalm filed for bankruptcy on February 28th.
A message that will quickly make the rounds in the Isar Valley: After all, the picturesque gem in the Gaistal is the ultimate destination for mountain bikers and mountaineers thanks to its proximity to the Bavarian border.
The Innsbruck regional court has opened insolvency proceedings in the form of a “restructuring procedure without self-administration” regarding the assets of the operator Alpenlove Living GmbH, based in Seefeld.
The Alpine Creditors Association (akv) announces this on its homepage.
The shareholder is Mario Kaltschmid, who recently received a hefty additional electricity payment of over 68,000 euros.
The entrepreneur, who rents out several holiday apartments and a long-term apartment, used more than 180,000 kilowatt hours in the billing period from January to December 2023.
Since 2021, Kaltschmids Alpenlove Living GmbH has been leasing the Hämmermoosalm, which is one of the most popular in the entire region.
Liabilities amount to around 400,000 euros
According to akv, the company has a share capital of 35,000 euros.
The tenants had to struggle with numerous difficulties last year.
The lack of snow has meant that the popular and profitable tobogganing business has been canceled.
In the summer, the alpine pasture was plagued by such a plague of flies that they even had to temporarily stop operations.
And of course, the ever-increasing operating costs have put an enormous strain on business operations.
The final straw was the subsequent electricity billing of exactly 68,097 euros, which made the GmbH insolvent.
The liabilities amount to around 400,000 euros.
“I have now cleared the alpine pasture,” Kaltschmid told the Tiroler Tageszeitung.
The lease agreement has already been terminated by the landlord, the Gemeindegutsargrargemeinschaft (GAG) Hämmermoos.
An eviction notice followed at the beginning of the year.
According to the TT, the landlords wrote to the tenant that “by intervening with the network operator and correcting the annual bill, a reduction in electricity costs of 28,000 euros was achieved.”
For Kaltschmid, however, this is just “a mockery” because the “relationship no longer fits”.
Tenants and landlords are at loggerheads
This was preceded by a long and tough dispute between the tenant and the GAG, which even ended up in court: the GmbH had not fulfilled certain obligations that were in the contract, said substance manager Norbert Tanzer.
Specifically, it is about arrears in payments, violations of operating obligations and other things.
Among other things, shepherds should have slept in containers instead of in the alpine pasture building as agreed.
However, Kaltschmid described the situation differently to the Tiroler Tageszeitung.
He sees more “political power games” behind it.
For a long time now, both parties have only communicated through law firms.
The dispute has now culminated in insolvency proceedings.
It is unclear what will happen next with the Alm.
Akv announces that a restructuring plan proposal will soon be presented to the creditors.
It remains to be seen whether and when the Alm will open again.