Wolfgang Porsche Is Building A Private Car Tunnel Under A Historic Mountain - And Locals Are Mad

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Normally, talking astir a Porsche and a region of a small complete a 4th mile would impact celebratory, enthusiastic tones while extolling nan breathtaking thrust of, say, nan caller 2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S and its T-Hybrid system. Well, no, not today. This chat will alternatively attraction not connected a Porsche automobile, but a Porsche person, specifically Dr. Wolfgang Porsche. And nan region of 500 meters (1,640.42 feet, astir 320 feet past a 4th mile) doesn't respect an acceleration run, but alternatively a passageway Dr. Porsche wants to excavation into a upland successful Salzburg, Austria. 

Oh, this tunnel. Boy, is it making Salzburg residents furious. The upland successful mobility is nan Kapuzinerberg, which is location to nan Capuchin monastery, a location rich | successful belief and taste heritage. This tract is renowned for its postcard-worthy views, earthy beauty, and quiet, contemplative environments. 

So, naturally, nan 81-year-old Dr. Wolfgang Porsche is connected nan receiving extremity of a city's worthy of flack. He wants to drill a spread done nan Kapuzinerberg that will link his mansion (which isn't even his main residence) to a concealed car shed successful Salzburg. Protest signs and banners person sprung up astir nan city. Translated from German, 1 reads, "And Porsche said fto location beryllium a hole," and different reads, "a fewer crumbs for nan poor... 100,000€ per passageway travel for nan authorities treasury." Here's a banner you astir apt don't request translated, "Privater tunnel? Für Wolfgang Porsche? WTF!?"

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If location was ever immoderate goodwill to beryllium had, it seems that vessel has sailed. In April, Robb Report claimed Porsche was "willing to fto nan nationalist sojourn portion of his home, which is undergoing renovations. The heir is besides amenable to nan thought of allowing his neighbors to usage nan passageway to entree their homes." Then, successful October, Autoevolution wrote, "the assembly voted connected nan original licence early past month. Dr. Porsche will build his underground tunnel, and it will beryllium off-limits to nan public." At slightest Porsche is avoiding contention and generating nationalist harmony by getting into nan defense industry. Again.

This each started erstwhile Salzburg's erstwhile mayor, Harald Preuner, gave nan thumbs up to Porsche for his $11.3 cardinal upscale Andy Dufresne "Shawshank Redemption" flight tunnel, minus nan Raquel Welch poster. Those thumbs went up because Dr. Porsche paid 40,000€ for nan authorities to burrow said passageway successful a woody that's generating seething anger. Some of nan outrage comes from nan truth that nan metropolis assembly wasn't informed until nan woody was done. Criticism was besides levied astatine nan deficiency of nationalist consultation and zero announcement to nan section assembly. 

Now, there's been an predetermination since nan woody and Harald Preuner isn't politician anymore. He's a personnel of nan Austrian People's Party, which is considered conservative, but his successor, Bernhard Auinger, is simply a personnel of nan Social Democratic Party, which leans left. If you were wondering whether this would alteration anything, Auinger says nan task is excessively acold along, and he told nan media successful Salzburg, "No 1 will person to spot nan passageway aliases moreover beryllium alert it's there." It feels applicable to mention present that Auinger utilized to beryllium connected nan committee astatine Porsche and worked for nan automaker for 27 years. 

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The mansion Porsche wants to link to Salzburg is Zweig Villa, which he purchased for astir $10.5 cardinal successful 2019. It's called Zweig Villa because it was location to Jewish writer Stefan Zweig from 1917 to 1934. In lawsuit those dates and Zweig's Jewish ancestry aren't connecting capable dots, he sold nan location for half its worth because he fled to England to debar nan everything happening to his group astatine that clip successful that place. Before fleeing, Zweig endured an Austrian constabulary raid, his books were burned, and nan Richard Strauss opera featuring his libretto was forced to close. As you tin good imagine, nan truth that Porsche purchased Zweig's erstwhile location is causing nary extremity of consternation arsenic group excavation into nan Porsche family history, particularly erstwhile they publication astir institution laminitis Ferdinand Porsche, who he created nan Volkswagen Beetle for, and his, uh, let's opportunity "party affiliation." It rhymes pinch Yahtzee.

Even ignoring nan optics, nan mobility remains arsenic to really this task will impact nan situation astatine Kapuzinerberg mountain. Zweig's passion for nan mansion he renovated was tied inextricably to its remoteness, calling it "charming and impractical," and loved that it was "inaccessible by car." Dr. Wolfgang Porsche is unfathomably rich, pinch an estimated worthy of $26.1 billion. If nan winding roadworthy to Zwieg Villa is truthful treacherous, particularly successful winter, possibly there's different mansion nan 81-year-old Porsche could walk his remaining years commuting to? Does this gorgeous, historic, serene upland require a 1,640-foot-long void scooped out? As acold arsenic I tin tell, location hasn't been an biology effect appraisal (EIA) connected nan project, and Porsche's 2024 Annual and Sustainability Report doesn't mention tunnels. Perhaps I'm missing something.