Graffiti wave in Purkersdorf: Unknowns do millions of damage!

Graffiti wave in Purkersdorf: Unknowns do millions of damage!

Purkersdorf, Niederösterreich, Österreich - In the Lower Austrian city of Purkersdorf, a number of graffiti vandal files have been coming since February 14, 2025, which lasted until March 10, 2025. Unknown perpetrators left their lettering all over Purkersdorf, including on Bahnhofstrasse, Fürstenberggasse and Speichberggasse. The most common sprays include names and terms such as "Most", "Semo Cap", "Arion", "Hocus", "Kaiser", "Seyr", "Traze", "Sigmar" and "Monster", which were discovered on walls, telephone booths, bus stops and even schools. The estimated damage moves in the middle five -digit range and affects both public and private property.

The police in Purkersdorf asks the population for help. Anyone who can provide information about the perpetrators or other affected locations is asked to report on 059133-3233. The municipality has presented this wave of vandalism with considerable challenges, since the cleaning of the affected surfaces is very cost-intensive.

economic stress by graffiti

The head of the building, Nikolaj Hlavka, emphasizes that the general public must pay for the repair. The annual costs for the elimination of graffiti amount to millions. In particular, expensive and environmentally friendly cleaning agents are required, which further increases the financial burden of the municipality. In addition, the effort for cleaning services is considerable, which leads to a seasonal increase in graffiti activities with the rising temperatures.

In the previous years, it was found that the graffiti incidents in Purkersdorf are not above average, but the number of unreported cases could not be higher. Popular crime scenes are station areas as well as underpasses and traffic signs that are used particularly often by sprayers.

Legal consequences and challenges in perpetrator research

The legal framework for spraying graffiti are clearly defined. It is property damage (§ 125 StGB) and possibly serious property damage (§ 126 StGB). The punishments can be enough from six months to five years of imprisonment. In addition, civil law lawsuits against the perpetrators can be financially stressful. In recent years, 71 and 72 cases have been registered in the Vienna area in 2014 and 2015, but the clarification rate was only 49.3% and 15.3%.

The challenge for the police is often that the frequent graffiti campaigns do not leave any traces and that many crime scenes are not monitored by video. This makes it significantly more difficult to identify the perpetrators.

graffiti as art or vandalism

The phenomenon graffiti is not only discussed in Purkersdorf, but also in other cities. A new special exhibition in the museum in the Steintor addresses the area of tension between art and vandalism in the context of graffiti. The exhibition shows photographs of graffiti and indicates that this form of expression can be both legal and illegal.

With works of art created by local artists, an awareness of the variety of graffiti, which is interpreted as a path of communication. The different perception of this topic ensures a lively discussion about the boundaries between creative expression and vandalism.

The city of Purkersdorf is now asking the population to actively contribute to improving the situation as a community in order to minimize the damage and the associated costs. The city authorities are determined to combat graffiti activities more effectively in the future and to protect public spaces.

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