In the Waldviertel cadastral municipality of Saaß, a notice board informed residents and holidaymakers about events, shop opening times, which doctors were on duty and much more. The notice board was removed due to its poor structural condition. The responsible Litschau municipal office pointed out that it was being replaced by digital information sources such as whatsapp, Facebook and the municipal homepage. Mr B. therefore turned to the Austrian Ombudsman Board. In the ORF programme "Bürgeranwalt" from 11.4.2026, Ombudswoman Gaby Schwarz refers to the right to analogue information.
"That's not how it works! Why should citizens and holidaymakers have to join a WhatsApp group or be on Facebook just to get information that could previously simply be read off a notice board? I don't see the municipality understanding people's needs here. Digital communication channels are to be honoured, but the municipality must not assume that all citizens are digitally savvy," says Ombudswoman Gaby Schwarz. She describes the Whatsapp group that is currently run privately by the local mayor as "questionable in terms of data protection law". "I called on the municipality of Litschau to reinstall the notice board in Saaß and also to maintain the notice boards in eight other places it administers."
Noise pollution from manhole covers
Since the sewer system in the municipality of Mischendorf in southern Burgenland was renewed, Mrs G. has been complaining about noise pollution from the manhole cover on the country road in front of her house. She suspected that errors had been made in the design of the container under the manhole cover during the construction work and contacted the Ombudsman Board. The mayor pointed out that it was still a temporary solution as the work had not yet been completed. He also announced that he would work together with the construction company and the person affected to investigate the causes of any noise pollution. Ombudswoman Gaby Schwarz finds this approach very reasonable: "In principle, the municipality has not yet been at fault. I recommend calling in an expert and investigating the causes before the final surface layer is applied."
"Municipalities must not assume that all citizens are digitally savvy", Ombudswoman Gaby Schwarz.