The horror is said to have written on his face when he was elected mayor of Gräfelfing in 1972. At that time Eberhard Reichert was 30 years old and surprisingly won the election. He remained in office for 30 years, became a passionate local politician and was represented in numerous committees, including a member of the executive committee of the German Association of Cities, chairman of the planning association for the outer economic area of Munich and district council. In 2002 he did not stand for election. Reichert is former mayor, bearer of the Federal Cross of Merit and honorary citizen of Gräfelfing. On the occasion of his 80th birthday on February 2nd, he looks at Graefelfingen topics that are as relevant today as they were then.
SZ: Mr. Reichert, except for your first election, you never had to go to a runoff again and in 30 years you knew that you had a large majority behind you. The office of mayor seemed tailor-made for you. Why were you scared on election night?
Reichert: That’s what Richard Naumann, SPD mayor of Planegg at the time, said: he had never seen anyone so frightened at an election. I was actually completely surprised because I thought I had no chance. I was a freshly qualified lawyer and managing director of the Southeast Europe Company, a semi-diplomatic job that was very exciting. I was persuaded to run for mayor for the then newly founded Garden City Graefelfing Interest Group (IGG). Fun turned serious. I knew South East Europe better than the region and local government.
They have developed a taste for the profession over the years. What’s so appealing about the mayor’s job?
The versatility and creative ability are the exciting things. One is constantly challenged to react to moods, needs and events. I’m more of a problem solver. And solving problems is the job of a mayor.
The IGG was founded as an independent citizens’ forum in 1970 and is committed to preserving the garden city. That has remained the mission to this day. To what extent was the garden city in danger at the time?
The construction of the A 96 motorway and the plan to build two high-rise buildings on the Würm, each with 14 and 17 floors, next to today’s St. Gisela nursing home, were the reason for founding the IGG. The quality of life in the garden city seemed in danger. The construction of the motorway could not be prevented, but the high-rise buildings were a hotly debated topic in the municipal council, and the atmosphere had boiled over. The IGG and the CSU were against the construction, the citizens’ association Gräfelfing-Lochham (BVGL) with its majority in favor. After the election, the construction could be prevented with the new majorities in the municipal council. This monster project was of course an expression of the enormous building pressure at that time.
It’s no different today. The Baudruck there is in Graefelfing to this day.
Exactly, one of the attractions of Gräfelfing is its proximity to Munich. However, this also entails the risk that construction pressure, but also traffic and noise, will spill over into the municipality. We have to counter this with our means.
During your term of office, the very special Gräfelfingen building law was anchored as a control instrument, which is almost unique in Germany and still applies today. In essence, it says that the right to build is restricted from a certain plot size. What did it achieve?
Gräfelfing grew more or less by accident. At that time there was no real town center, no structure. The building law was the instrument to channel the building pressure and to create a structure. It prevented Graefelfing from being completely paved over, that all the large plots of land were divided up and built over. Building rights are always contested. The devil comes in many forms. Sometimes there is a housing shortage, then unemployment – in all generations there are always reasons to undermine building rights. To prevent this from happening, the local council created a smooth, understandable structure that defines and preserves the garden city.
“If the building rights were even higher, the prices would be even higher.”
Land prices have exploded in Gräfelfing. Where is the community headed if only the rich can afford living space here?
Land prices have always been high in Gräfelfing. When I became mayor in 1972, a square meter cost 350 marks, that was horrendous. If the building rights were even higher, the prices would be even higher. But we don’t just have rich people here. Die Gemeindebau, the municipal housing company in Gräfelfing, (Reichert was chairman of the supervisory board for many years. editor) has created affordable housing. We have places in Gräfelfing that are quite densely populated, where we have apartment buildings. At the time, that was a way of counterbalancing a monoculture of single-family homes. Creating this balance is just as important today.
Where did you shape Gräfelfing the most as mayor?
Graefelfing didn’t have a real town center back then. With the community center and the station square in front of it, we have created a subsequent center. Building law as a design tool certainly shapes Graefelfing to this day. And of course the Würmufer are part of it. Over the entire length of my tenure, the community has repeatedly acquired land on the Würm in order to keep access to the river free. Around 90 percent of the land between the town limits of Planegg and Pasing belongs to the municipality or is in public hands. That’s the nice thing about a long term of office: You can stick to a topic and shape it.
When you look into Gräfelfing’s future, what do you see?
Traffic, noise, construction and housing will continue to be the issues that Gräfelfing will have to deal with in the future. My favorite image is that of a community in balance, where the interests of all groups in society are being explored. This balance is, of course, constantly in jeopardy. A church is alive as long as the weights are felt. Then something moves. It is the task of a municipal council to react here, to create solutions. I think that will remain the task in the future.