Stanz im Mürtzal

Stanz im Mürztal is located in a rural area in the province of Styria in Austria. It has a total population of 1 844 inhabitants and a surface area of 70 km2. The region is industrial and has been affected by economic structural change in recent decades. As in many European regions, people tend to move into metropolitan areas, which is one reason for depopulation. The economy is small-scaled, which is reflected in the high percentage of people who commute from the municipality. Our village decided to search for new ways to deal with these challenges. Therefore, we started a ‘Local Agenda 21’ process in 2016 to enable an integrated development of the village with the knowledge and support of the inhabitants. Since then, about 80 active residents deliver ’hands on’ on the development of a local strategy and implementation of measures in different areas with great commitment.

Lighthouse in Renewable Energy

Within the framework of the FFG project "Stanz+", essential preliminary work for an energy-autonomous village centre and for the foundation of a renewable energy community according to the Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG 2021) was carried out. The "Local Agenda 21" programme of the Province of Styria, supported the community engagement process with regard to the setting up of the Renewable Energy Community. The Stanzertal Energy Community was founded in February 2022 and now consists of more than 60 members. Within the framework of the Smart Rural 21 project a feasibility study was carried out on implementing an energy based local currency based on blockchain technology. The outcome of the feasibility assessment is summarised in the Report on ‘Stanz Token: Examining opportunities to combine a digital local currency with a renewable energy community in Stanz im Mürztal’. The token engineering study considered the legal, technical, economic and ethical aspects in order to create a merger of the energy token and existing voucher systems. The conclusion of the feasibility study has been to focus on the implementation of aa token-based management of the energy supply within the renewable energy community without combining it with the existing voucher-system.

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Factsheet of Stanz im Mürtzal

Country

Austria

Type

inner peripheries, mountains, remote

Degree of urbanization

rural

population of 1855

Check out the village strategy:

Smart Village Strategy of Stanz im Mürtzal

Village Solutions

Stanz+

The first goal is to increase the supply of renewable energy sources, which is currently around 30%, to 100%. This is combined with multiplicable, innovative business and cooperation models for the financing and flexible use of these energy sources in a structurally weak community like Stanz, as well as being implemented on a pilot basis during the project duration. At the same time, the optimization and expansion of the local energy networks (heat and electricity) in the village centre as well as solutions for their intelligent use.
The second goal is to reorganize and revitalize the town centre.

Environment

Strengthening the village centre

Vacant buildings in the centre of the village have been sustainably renovated and a densification has been achieved by a new building in wooden construction. This has created a new multifunctional centre. This includes apartments for young and elderly people, a shop for products and food with a focus on regional products, two service facilities and the new administration building of the municipality to provide better municipal administration for the people. A new public space will be created on the forecourt and it is planned to initiate measures to reduce traffic by creating a shared space. All in all, this is a good practice to strengthen village centres and sustainable settlement and economic development in rural areas

Living

Contact Information

Municipality of Stanz, buergermeister@stanz.at

http://www.stanz.at/

Pichler Fritz, buergermeister@stanz.at