“We started the application phase and thus the first phase of the European general planner competition on November 2nd,” said Lukas Crepaz, the Festival’s Commercial Director on Friday.

The investment costs for the major project, which are shared by the federal government, the state and the city of Salzburg, were still demands in 2019 before the corona pandemic. Since then, however, the construction cost index has increased. So far, there are no new calculation bases, said Crepaz on Friday at a press conference in Salzburg. Only in the second half of 2022 will it be possible to assess whether it will remain at this size.

Rabl-Stadler: “The schedule should hold up”

Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler, who will leave office at the end of 2021 after 27 years, did not want to speculate about the costs. She was optimistic that there would be no major delays and that the schedule for the major project in the Salzburg World Heritage Site would keep.

The festival places great emphasis on transparency, and all authorities and institutions such as the Federal Monuments Office, ICOMOS Austria, the Expert Commission on Old Town Preservation and the State Environmental Prosecutor are involved from the start. “You know what we are planning and what the situation is like.” All doors are open to your successor to participate intensively from the beginning of next year.

Hinterhäuser: “A project of the century”

The public can also find out about the alleged steps on the festival website. “We also need every support and empathy from the population for this project. We don’t hide anything, ”said Festival Director Markus Hinterhäuser. “We are facing a project of the century that is of the utmost urgency in order to maintain the artistic level and to bring the festival into a secure future.” The general renovation will also benefit all cultural institutions in Salzburg.

The application deadline for phase one of the general planner competition ends on December 3rd. The selection committee will then select a maximum of 15 applicants. According to Crepaz, they have until mid-April 2022 to submit their designs. The jury, consisting of international architects, meets in June. “We want to sign the contract with the general planner in August 2022.” After the planning phase, which will last until 2024, the execution of the project is to start in 2025.

Total usable area increases to 47,000 square meters

Due to the specific areas of competence, the mining planning for “cavity production” in Mönchsberg, where an additional usable area of ​​around 10,000 square meters is being created behind the festival halls, and the stage planning are being tendered separately from the general planning. These tenders will be prepared in December, outlined Crepaz.

The “Logistikspange” in Mönchsberg closes the festival district with the three buildings, the Großes Festspielhaus, the House for Mozart and the Felsenreitschule, from the rear. The adjoining Hofstallgasse and the old town are to be relieved and a security-relevant separation of public flows and delivery logistics is to be guaranteed. The total usable area will be expanded to around 47,000 square meters.

Festival fund as client

Rabl-Stadler and Hinterhäuser again emphasized on Friday how necessary the renovation and expansion of the largely outdated building fabric was. Parts of the building of the Felsenreitschule date from the 17th century. Workshops, artists’ cloakrooms, sanitary facilities, heating and air conditioning technology are no longer up to date. Security technology such as fire protection must also be modernized – to name just a few examples.

The client is the Salzburg Festival Fund. The project is led by the steering committee. This is sent by representatives of the federal government, the state of Salzburg, the city of Salzburg, the Federal Real Estate Company (BIG) and the Salzburg Festival Fund. The chairman of the steering committee is Lukas Crepaz as commercial director of the Salzburg Festival. The project is also accompanied by a sustainability advisory board.

Festival also owns the new building in the future

It is planned that after the completion of the major project, the Salzburg Festival will also become the economic owner of the new building in Mönchsberg and the expansion areas. The BIG is the owner of the Great Festival Hall. The house for Mozart, on the other hand, belongs to the city of Salzburg.