Styria municipal structural reform

The Styria municipal structural reform (German: Steiermärkische Gemeindestrukturreform) is a local government reform in Styria, Austria, which merged small towns in 2015, among 542 municipalities into 287, to reduce costs and ease election of new town officials. It became effective on January 1, 2015 and is now complete. Its basis is the Styrian municipality Structural Reform Act (StGsrG). This law was adopted on December 17, 2013 Landtag Steiermark and promulgated on April 2, 2014.

As a result of the reform, the number of municipalities in Styria was reduced from 542 by 255 to 287 municipalities (including Graz). On 1 January 2013, there was already the union of former Gemeinde (municipalities), Buch-Geiseldorf and Sankt Magdalena am Lemberg into the new community Buch-St. Magdalena, likewise the incorporation of the former municipalities of Hafning bei Trofaiach and Gai into the municipality Trofaiach, done even before the introduction of the actual reform, had reduced to 539 the number of municipalities in Styria.

In total there were 385 of the Reform communities affected (by inclusion of other municipalities or parts of municipalities, territorial changes or resolution), 157 municipalities remained unchanged. An originally thought incorporation of surrounding municipalities of the City of Graz for this did not take place. Afterward, 251 old community names remained, even if held by many incorporations. The names of Kirchbach in der Steiermark and Neumarkt in der Steiermark merely received the definite article "der" added. There were many names, in some cases shortened, entered new names, often consisting of compositions. With Sankt Barbara im Mürztal, as named after the Patron Saint of Miners, a completely new name for the concentration of three roughly equal-sized places has been created.

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