After the flood disaster in many parts of the country, the Bavarian state government wants to double the aid package that has been planned so far. The amount will be increased from 100 to 200 million euros, said Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting in Munich. He pointed out that he had already said at the beginning that “100 million plus X” would be made available – and that is what is now being done. Payments have already started. “The aid is underway,” said Söder. “The money is flowing.”
Private households, commercial enterprises, the self-employed, and farmers and foresters can benefit from the aid package. Private households can receive up to 5,000 euros in emergency aid, and up to 10,000 euros for oil damage to residential buildings – with insurance payments being offset against this at the end. If there is a threat to the existence of the company, up to 100 percent would be reimbursed, Söder announced. Companies and tradespeople can claim up to 200,000 euros in emergency aid. If the damage could have been insured, the amounts will be reduced.
Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, which were also affected by the recent floods, are once again calling on the federal government to keep its promises and participate in flood relief. Söder reported that he and his counterpart Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) have just written a letter to the federal government to this effect.
The centrepiece is an emergency container for cultural assets
Cultural assets in Bavaria are to be better protected from disasters such as floods or storms in the future with the help of a state-wide emergency network. The centerpiece is an emergency container in which valuable paintings can be safely stored. The container will be delivered in mid-2025 and is part of a nationwide networked emergency infrastructure for the protection of cultural assets, said Minister of Arts Markus Blume (CSU) to the German Press Agency in Munich. There are supposed to be a total of ten of these so-called roll-off containers for cultural property protection throughout Germany.
According to Blume, the Free State’s container will be deposited in the depot of the State Archives in the Freising district. Affected locations can then request it via the integrated fire department control center. “In an emergency, the association’s experts will advise and accompany the fire department when using the container. Working hand in hand with the emergency services, this will guarantee quick, safe and precise protection of our cultural treasures,” explained Blume.
The container is to be purchased with funds from the 2021 reconstruction aid, which was approved after the floods three years ago. According to Blume, the agreement for the emergency network is to be signed on June 27 in Munich.
The first signatories included larger institutions with their own workshops that preserve cultural assets, such as the State Painting Collections, the State Archives and the Bavarian National Museum. The State Office for Non-State Museums, the archives of the Archdioceses of Munich and Freising as well as Bamberg, the State Archaeological Collection and the Equalization of Burdens Archive of the Federal Archives in Bayreuth are also involved.
Other supporters include the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, the State Fire Brigade Association and the Bavarian fire brigades. The association is intended to complement existing regional associations, which, according to Blume, exist at all state archive locations. Additional local associations are being established.