Our managing director Laura Lebesmühlbacher met with the new mayor of Anthering, Alois Mühlbacher, and talked to him about our beautiful village.
One after the other
As is only right, Alois Mühlbacher starts his story at the beginning: born in 1970, he has spent his entire life in Anthering. He enjoyed a more than carefree childhood in his parents’ house, after which he ventured into working life at the Jell company. Here, Mr. Mühlbacher completed his apprenticeship as a carpenter and cabinetmaker and was able to gain his first experience of the working world.
Alois Mühlbacher, Mayor of Anthering
Even though he then continued his career outside of Anthering, he has always lived in Anthering, as our village is very close to his heart: “I maintain that I get homesick when I’m away from home. Anthering has always been my retreat to gather my strength for life’s challenges. My professional experience has always made me aware of the value of our village community and what it means to be embedded in a society.”
This emotional attachment to Anthering and the offer from the ÖVP (Anthering) parliamentary group to put him up as their top candidate finally persuaded him to run for the office of mayor. Nevertheless, Alois did not take the decision lightly, as he would be succeeding his brother Johann, who had previously been mayor, and he certainly saw political dynamite in this. Ultimately, there were only two options for him: Either to reject the candidacy and spend the last 10 years of his career in the professional comfort zone he had built up over 15 years. Or to take the risk and devote himself entirely to public relations and Anthering in particular after 39 years in the profession. For Alois, this was certainly the more interesting path. And although he knew that he would not be able to match the time and work of his predecessors, the thought of being able to make a contribution to our wonderful place, to our great society, ultimately only allowed a YES. A YES to Anthering, a YES to public relations and a YES to the unique Anthering community.
The development of Anthering
When asked what he thinks has changed in Anthering over the last 20 years, Alois Mühlbacher says that the town never sleeps, but is in a constant state of flux. Anthering is open-minded and welcomes new ideas. For example, the most recent event, the “Concerti Corti”, certainly evoked a certain extravagance, attracting an interesting audience to Anthering and thus bringing clear added value to the village. It is the same with the Long Night of Music, the concerts in the Rossstall, the circus in the village or the spring concert of the Anthering music band – they all bring deceleration, harmony and therefore quality of life.
“The “Sound of Juggling” in June was also very close to my heart during my short time as mayor. It’s wonderful to see the children’s eyes light up while the international acrobats do their best.”
Mayor Mühlbacher sees the biggest challenges for Anthering as being the same issues that a private household has to deal with: More services (expenditure), less money (income) and at the same time not getting into debt are in themselves three contradictions that hold dangerous potential in any balance sheet. As a “calculator”, Alois can say that the funds available for Anthering are used as effectively as possible and in a structured and orderly manner. It is important to him to know exactly what Anthering wants, what it needs and how these things can be allocated financially. His motto is: create the greatest possible benefit for the greatest possible number of people with the available resources. For him, this is the only sensible way to serve public society.
Plans for the future
In line with his election program, Alois Mühlbacher’s vision for our village includes the creation and maintenance of infrastructure and the division of expenditure into compulsory and discretionary. First and foremost is the construction of the new fire station. The old building was getting on in years and could no longer guarantee the capacity for high-quality work. Accordingly, our new mayor is delighted that he can now create a good basis for the voluntary work of his colleagues in the fire department’s general emergency services. “I cannot express my appreciation for their contribution in words when people get up at night in the spirit of their duty to help and offer their services to others – to society.”
Another major concern of his is to harmonize traffic in Anthering. Be it by supporting the expansion of the public transport network around the local railroad or by creating cycle paths. Alois is convinced that cycling is a very important and worthy means of transportation. The “Antheringer Au” European protection project has also revived the vision of creating the Anthering Surheim cycle path, which he believes will improve the quality of life for many Anthering residents. In the current construction phase, however, he is also endeavoring to safeguard the interests of all other stakeholders (farmers, hunters, servitude holders, water cooperative, etc.), as it is very unpleasant for him if there are also losers as a result of the development and despite the added value associated with it. However, he is positive that prudent planning can achieve the best possible goal for everyone.
The nature village of Anthering
“When I walk across the Antheringer Au in the evening, as dusk falls and the sun sets in the west, through the village in the direction of Sandgrube, then turn into Feldstraße in the direction of Anthering, I have the clearest view of Anthering from precisely this point. I see a tranquil village nestled in a hilly area, which has retained its charming appearance through controlled growth. With the right amount of sunlight approaching the village from the west, it feels almost surreally beautiful to me – a “natural village”.
If I can take on the role of a guest, as is the case with a customer journey, then I will very quickly perceive the village. I perceive that it is a quiet village where you can slow down and find your inner center. Be it through the gastronomy, cultural offerings, but also through the hospitality to be emphasized – I like the whole place and its life as a visitor. I perceive the right mix of value preservation and meaningful development. In these high-tech times, I have to ask myself – also as a tourism association – what I want from Anthering. When I visit Anthering, I basically want to find peace and quiet. First and foremost, I associate this with nature, but also with quality gastronomy, seminar opportunities and quick trips to the city of Salzburg when I need a change. In my youth, I was influenced by the slogan “Close to the city and yet in the countryside”, which in my opinion aptly sums up the identity of our town, and we should align future projects with this.”
As always, we conclude our interview by asking Alois Mühlbacher which places in Anthering he would describe as his favorites. Our mayor smiles and says that he naturally has to emphasize Haunsberg, as he grew up on his parents’ farm in Pomed. But the truth is that the whole of Anthering is his favorite place, because every part of the village has its beautiful sides. As proof of this, he mentions the “Ortsteile-Rap”, a particularly motivated teacher at Anthering elementary school who uses music to introduce her pupils to the 14 districts. After all, when you hear them sung enthusiastically by 2nd and 3rd grade children, you simply have to find them all beautiful, don’t you?
We are of the same opinion and thank you very much for the detailed and personal conversation!