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Unterpremstaetten is a suburb of Graz, Austria. Located in the southern part of Styria (also known as Unterpremstätten in Steiermark/Österreich). Information about the region is available at http://wikitravel.org/en/Graz.

Unterpremstaetten is a beautiful place with lakes, a large variety of sporting activities and centrally located within Austria - in fact a place, perfect to settle down with your family. Perfect to settle down? Read my following story and get your own opinion ...

How a pile of hidden garbage changed my life. Not only my life, but the life of all my family. My wife Irina, my 2 children Dominik and Daniela, also my dogs Amanda and Jerry Lee. In fact, it changed everything.

What am I talking about? A building site, which I bought in 2001 and where my family planned to build a home. Then it was discovered, when we started to dig the foundation, that the land was contaminated by a large amount of garbage (primarily leather scrap).

It was estimated that more than 12.000 m3 of leather and other garbage lay beneath the earth which according to the Austrian law cannot be removed and transported someplace else as it is toxic.

As this was a major investment for my family life ceased to be normal. What followed were years of lawsuits, legal defeats, and nationwide media reports all without victory against the unmovable Austrian bureaucracy. A legal tangle so stressful the previous owner, who also exhausted his life savings, filed for bankruptcy and finally killed himself. The local authorities, who granted the permit certifying that this land was suited for building a home, saw no reason take responsible for their mistake. The Austrian justice system determined it was our fault to buy land which was contaminated a fact we would have known if we were residents of Unterpremstaetten.

The story is not finished; it's only the start. In 2007 we are more wise, we are more educated by our justice system. We lost the first appeal against the decision and will start the second. However the costs regarding this pile of garbage have risen to 160.000 Euro (the money I planned to use to build my home) and soon will explode even further. I have nothing more to loose during my last stance but no financial weapons as well.

I open my archive looking for help on how to proceed. Here you will find:

• • all photos

  • all correspondence with the government "Marktgemeinde Unterpremstaetten"

  • all correspondence with my attorney

  • all media reports (newspaper, television)

  • and much much more ...

regarding this building site.

Regards,

Leopold Schmallegger

Irina Schmallegger

Dominik Schmallegger

Daniela Schmallegger

Questions? Comments? Feel free to write me at info@unterpremstaetten.com

Any type of contribution is welcomed and will be treated as support against this bureaucratic monster.