Sölden mayor Ernst Schöpf leaves office after 40 years

Sölden Mayor Ernst Schöpf resigned on Monday after 40 years in office, ORF reported. He led Austria’s largest municipality by area through a career marked by political successes, disputes and major tragedies.

Sölden covers almost 467 square kilometres, making it larger than Vienna, which covers about 415 square kilometres. Schöpf became Austria’s youngest mayor in 1986 at the age of 25, when the municipality was an emerging tourism destination.

Ötzi, the prehistoric mummy, was also found during his time in office. It was later established that the discovery site was not in Tyrol but a few metres across the border in South Tyrol.

Schöpf’s tenure also included several serious accidents. In 2001, a car carrying a family of four was buried on the road to Obergurgl, which had not been closed. All four occupants died. Schöpf, who headed the avalanche commissions, and others were later acquitted of negligent homicide charges.

In 2005, a concrete bucket fell from a helicopter onto a fully occupied cable car cabin, causing it to crash. Nine people, most of them young, died.

Schöpf also repeatedly clashed with his own party during his political career. He became a member of the Tyrolean state parliament under Governor Wendelin Weingartner and was even seen by some as a possible future governor. A position in the state government was prevented by coalition arrangements within the Austrian People’s Party.

As the long-serving president of the municipal association, Schöpf ultimately lost his position over Gemnova. The organisation was founded unanimously in 2010 but became insolvent 13 years later. The public prosecutor’s office is still investigating. Schöpf eventually stepped down as association president and later left the Austrian People’s Party.