Freiburg Splinters 2

Here is some news from Freiburg in the form of splinters.

Dreisam River

A recent photo of the newly built fish ladder. We had a warm winter, a summerly spring, and only a little rain. It's no wonder that the Dreisam River is practically dry. The months of July and August are announced to be hot, with temperatures well above 30°C. We do not expect much water to come from the skies. Will there be any water in the Dreisam at the end of summer?

Night of Light

Municipal Theater Freiburg (©BZ).

On Monday, 22, many buildings in Germany were glowing red.

A call for help: We need culture, and culture needs us.

While in some sectors, the economy it's taking up the pace, all those who earn their money depending on mass events (theaters, concerts in particular) are still out of work. The Freiburg theater will open on July 18, with a ballet Die sieben Todsünden (The Seven Deadly Sins) by Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weill. Red Baron will attend and report.

Old Merchant House on Minster Square (©BZ).

The red illumination is meant to be a reminder and a protest simultaneously. The future is dim for mass events as long as we do not have a vaccination.

Wikipedia

Last week the Freiburg Wikipedia Stammtisch met for the first time since March. The new normal consisted of only four people sitting in the vast garden of a Greek restaurant enjoying Gyros. 

On my way home, it was already late, I noted this eerie sunset while waiting for my streetcar. While tram 4 had just left ...

... number 2 is arriving one minute later to take me home

Alban Stolz

The reported statue destructions during the BLM demonstrations in our sister city Madison make no sense. Colonel Hans Christian Heg fought in the Union Army against the Confederates and fell in the Civil War.

The Konviktkirche is seen in the background (©BZ)

On the other hand, discussions about the fate of Alban Stolz's monument - certainly triggered by the iconoclasm in the States - suddenly entered a new phase. While the Catholic Church would like to have the "anti-Semite" bust removed ASAP, the Monument Regulatory Authority has cast its veto: The statue's removal would destroy the global view of the square in front of Konviktkirche.

Now the city intervened, and Mayor Ulrich von Kirchbach, responsible for Freiburg's social and cultural affairs, demanded the bust's removal. It is now very likely that the final decision on Stolz's fate will be taken at the level of Baden-Württemberg's state government.

Dietenbach

Red Baron reported on the success of the popular vote to create a new suburb called Dietenbach in February 2019.

An aerial view of the agricultural land for the future suburb Dietenbach.
To the right, you see the existing suburb of Rieselfeld.
The blue spot in the background is Dietenbach Lake.

Despite the Corona crisis, the planning of Freiburg's new quarter Dietenbach goes ahead, although not all plots of land still used for agriculture have been acquired. The administration has informed the municipal council about the preparation for the development of Dietenbach. The framework plan presented aims to create a suburb with a climate-neutral energy supply, an environmentally-friendly mobility concept, and barrier-free living space. There will be four quarters with their own neighborhood squares and municipal childcare facilities. The city council will vote on the framework plan on December 8.

Fessenheim, the Atom Dino

Beautiful nuclear plant Fessenheim
on the Rhine channel in neighboring France.

This is not a Freiburg splinter but rather a thorn in the flesh of most citizens (Red Baron reported).

The Fessenheim nuclear plant opened in 1977 and, in 2020, was already three years over its projected 40-year life span. Since its construction, it has always been a target for anti-nuclear campaigners in Freiburg, particularly after the catastrophic meltdown at Fukushima in Japan in 2011.

In the difficult times of Corona, there is not much joy except one.

Finally, France's oldest nuclear power plant shut down on Tuesday, June 30, to the delight of environmental activists but stoking worry for the local economy.

South Baden's District President Bärbel Schäfer expressed her satisfaction too,
"A new chapter of French-German cooperation has opened."

Wat dem einen sin Uhl, ist dem andern sin Nachtigall (One man's meat is another man's poison). "We hope, above all, to be the last victims of this witch hunt against nuclear energy," Fessenheim union representative Anne Laszlo said ahead of the closure, which will see about 150 families depart the tiny Alsatian community of 2,500 inhabitants this summer.

FMG Stammtisch

The Greiffenegg-Schlössle (Toni's place) during the Night of Light (©BZ).

Yesterday evening we had our first Stammtisch following the Corona-Beschränkungen (restrictions) of public life in the middle of March.

Beer under chestnut trees

The Freiburg-Madison Gesellschaft had invited its members to the Greiffenegg-Schlössle or, better, to the Biergarten. Recently, this so-called Kastaniengarten has been counted among Germany's ten most beautiful beer gardens.

Looking at the Black Forest in the background in a thunderstormy atmosphere

Auswandererlieder or the Sound of Freedom

The FMG should be prominently mentioned in the final text.

Here is the draft poster of an event our Committee member Herbert Schiffels has organized within Freiburg's 900th-anniversary program. In the 19th century, many Germans left their country for political or social-economic reasons. They sang songs of wanderlust, homesickness, and social criticism. These old texts are highly topical during the present refugee crisis.

With many events of Freiburg's 900th anniversary canceled or postponed, the Sound of Freedom would be one highlight at the end of October.

Beautiful Freiburg

Around 10 p.m., the party rose from the table. On my way home, I took some photos:

The Minster steeple in the clouds of the recent thunderstorm and ...

... already blue skies in the direction of the Schwabentor (Swabian Gate)

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