One of the issues dividing residents and politicians in Salzburg, Austria, is a little unconventional. It’s unrelated to crime, pollution, or any issues commonly found on a ballot. Instead, it involves a Porsche heir and a plan to dig a tunnel through a mountain that’s classified as public land. Why? So Wolfgang Porsche, the grandson of Porsche founder Ferdinand Porsche, can build and access a garage under his mansion.
Ferdinand Porsche purchased his property for about $9 million in 2020, according to the Wall Street Journal. Built in the 17th century, it was once owned by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, and it’s one of a handful of buildings on the Kapuzinerberg, which is a wooded hill that overlooks downtown Salzburg. It’s also near landmarks made famous by Mozart, and surrounded by homes where people take originality and history quite seriously. Currently, getting up there requires driving up a narrow, winding road. Porsche has a radical solution to this problem: Build a 12-car, cross-shaped garage under the house, and dig a big tunnel through the mountain so it’s accessible from downtown.
Things initially went smoothly. Salzburg’s former mayor approved the Batcave-like project in 2024, but the green light drew sharp criticism after the mayor’s office shifted from the political right to the political left after an election. “I think what amazes people is that a private individual can dig into the mountain,” Ingeborg Haller, the Green Party official who is leading the opposition, told the Wall Street Journal.
Digging the tunnel would require making a change to the city’s zoning plan, so the council needs to vote on it. The vote is expected to take place next month, and it’s still too early to tell exactly which way the council’s opinion will swing. Porsche has offered a few concessions to make the project, which could cost as much as €10 million (about $11.3 million), more palatable. He’s open to letting the public visit part of the villa, which is currently being renovated. He’s also floated the possibility of letting his neighbors use his private tunnel to get home.
The political tussle has permeated daily life in Salzburg. Critics argue Porsche got permission to dig a tunnel through public land because he has a shitload of money. They add that he got permission almost immediately, while public tunnel projects for things like transportation take ages to materialize (assuming they get anywhere). Another point of contention is the relationship between the 81-year-old Porsche heir and Bernhard Auinger, the mayor of Salzburg. Auinger used to sit on the board of Porsche’s holding company as a labor representative, according to the Wall Street Journal. He hasn’t decided which side he’s on yet, and may abstain to avoid creating a conflict of interest.
However, not everyone is against the tunnel project. Some are in favor of it, while others simply don’t care. “It’s the politics of envy. It is so embarrassing in Salzburg when there are serious and important problems to solve,” said Hans Peter Reitter, a retired bank manager, in the report.
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