GTI meeting: The big party is history 🎥

The event had attracted a large number of car enthusiasts and spectators from all over the world to Lake Wörthersee every Ascension Day since 1982 (see a video of the 2018 meeting as a reminder). And the VW Group did not let itself be left behind either: They invited VIPs from the car scene to Carinthia and used the stage to present sophisticated vehicle studies. The GTI meeting was also a fixed date in the calendar of the late car titan Ferdinand Piëch (pictured center with his wife Ursula), who passed away in 2019.

Penalty for tuned vehicles

But the car festival also had its critics. While tourism and gastronomy benefited, some residents felt their garden peace had been disturbed. The police also took an increasingly restrictive approach over the years, searching for unregistered vehicle modifications and busily issuing penalty notices.

Markus Perdacher, Mayor of Maria Wörth: "The effects of climate change, the responsibility of political decision-makers for the preservation of eco-systems and the need to align actions at all levels with the principles of sustainability make it necessary to place the shaping of the future under new premises."

Local development program Reifnitz

In recent years, the municipality of Maria Wörth has carried out intensive conceptual and planning work to shape the future of the Reifnitz district and initiated a comprehensive transformation process. In the next few years, as part of the implementation of the local development program "Reifnitz 2030 | Nachhaltig leben am See" (Reifnitz 2030 | Sustainable Living by the Lake), some of the areas previously used for large events will be given a new purpose and new facilities will be created.

It is doubtful that the mayor's declaration will turn Lake Wörthersee into a GTI-free zone. Already in the past three years, in which no official event had been organized due to the Corona restrictions, numerous unofficial meetings had taken place.

Source: Car-Medienportal.net
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