Bamberg (dpa / lby) – No party, but a beer garden: On the well-known lower bridge in Bamberg there could also be a beer garden in the coming year. The city council had commissioned the administration to prepare a tender, said a city hall spokesman on Thursday. A beer garden had already been installed there on a trial basis last summer. Reason: The party happening on the bridge in the middle of the historic old town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, got out of hand.
Especially at the height of the corona restrictions, the bridge had become a party hotspot, many people had met there to celebrate because pubs, clubs and cafés had closed. Residents felt disturbed by the noise and rubbish. There were also police operations, so the city had the bridge temporarily closed at night.
To defuse the situation, the beer garden project started on the bridge. This solution has repeatedly been criticized in Bamberg. Opponents of the beer garden, for example, have said it is a commercialization of public space.
The beer garden may now be continued – if an operator can be found. “This year, the temporary bridge beer garden was a temporary test run under easier conditions. That’s why we also have to prepare for the case that we couldn’t find an operator after a tender with changed conditions,” said Mayor Andreas Starke according to the announcement. The solution could be a municipal security service. “We must not risk falling back into the conditions from 2021,” emphasized Starke.
The previous beer garden was critically evaluated by the World Heritage Center and the monument protection: The previous appearance of the beer garden represents “an impairment of the effect of the traditional artistic appearance of the sensitive environment with the historic bridge town hall in the heart of the world heritage site,” it said in a statement.
