Salzburg wins first-round crematorium legal dispute

Salzburg has won a first-instance legal dispute over the crematorium at the city’s municipal cemetery, ORF reported. The court ruled that the city does not have to return the crematorium’s furnaces and other equipment to Wiener Verein.

The company, a subsidiary of Wiener Städtische Versicherung specialising in funeral planning and death insurance, had demanded 1.7 million euros. Salzburg paid 35,900 euros in compensation.

Dispute over transfer of crematorium

Operations at the crematorium passed from Wiener Verein to the city in October 2024, after almost 100 years. Wiener Städtische Versicherung had built the cremation facility at the municipal cemetery in 1930 under a building-rights agreement. The agreement was not renewed.

According to the city, the costs of operating the facility had most recently exceeded the fixed compensation set out in the operating agreement. Wiener Verein rejected the 35,900-euro payment as insufficient and sued the city, seeking the return of the equipment.

Salzburg city councillor Andrea Brandner said the court had broadly confirmed the city’s legal position, including that the two furnace lines had become the city’s property when they were handed over.

The ruling is not final. Wiener Verein can appeal to the Higher Regional Court in Linz. The crematorium at the municipal cemetery is the only one in Salzburg province and carries out about 3,500 cremations each year.