Energy costs hit churches hard – salzburg.ORF.at
Business
The Christian churches are also struggling with increasing financial difficulties due to the sharp rise in heating and electricity costs. Salzburg’s Catholic archdiocese alone has to spend two and a half million euros on energy this year – a lot of money that it doesn’t even have, as the finance department of the church administration emphasizes.
The cathedral is the largest church in Salzburg. Thousands of people find their place in the monumental structure. But even smaller churches in the country have to heat large volumes of space.
“We have to develop new concepts”
In this energy crisis, all of this has long since been fatal, emphasizes Cornelius Inama, director of the finance chamber of the Catholic archdiocese of Salzburg: “These additional 2.5 million euros per year hit us massively, including the parishes in the towns. The task now is to develop new energy concepts. For example, you could heat a parish hall nicely and use another less. Here, too, we are working hard to reduce costs.”
Shortage of money after extensive renovation
The pilgrimage church in Arnsdorf near Lamprechtshausen (Flachgau) was renovated just a few years ago. That costs 2.4 million euros. If the energy prices continue to rise, then the parish will be particularly hard hit by empty coffers, says Mesner Josef Hufnagl: “We used around 10,000 kilowatt hours in the first year. Now let’s see how things can continue.”
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Switching costs are added
Roland Kerschbaum is the diocese’s conservator and monument protector: “We are creating our own pot so that the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources can be promoted. This switch also adds to the problems.”
Abbot of St. Peter rather pessimistic
Salzburg’s clergy and church people groan under the high energy costs, even a prosperous monastery like St. Peter’s in Salzburg’s old town, as its abbot Korbinian Birnbacher describes: “If things continue linearly like this, then I have great concerns. If these fixed costs continue in the long run, then it will not be manageable.”
“Photovoltaics often not possible”
According to the abbot, alternative energy sources such as photovoltaics are only partially suitable for churches: “Of course we have a lot of roof areas. But when you stand on the fortress and look at the city, you don’t want to see the reflective, smooth surfaces.”
The clergy are no different than private households. However, heating the churches of the diocese is much more complex because there is hardly any insulation and because of the often huge areas or the fact that they are often only used for an hour or so.
