Later in this story there will be talk of a local resident who sees an Italian piazza in Mariahilfplatz – and of a man who calls the same place “absolutely desolate”. But Barbara Lackmann, who also lives in the Au and for whom the Mariahilfplatz tastes like bratwurst, should make the start. This is offered for sale at the grill stand at the weekly farmer’s market for 3.70 euros.
And as on so many Wednesdays, Barbara Lackmann got herself a bratwurst roll on this day before her shopping round, which she now chews with relish on one of the metal chairs that were recently set up here on the initiative of the Au-Haidhausen (BA) district committee, always in Groups of four chained to a tree.
With these additional seating options, they want to “create more quality of stay” – that’s how the officials and politicians always put it. When it comes to the question of what the quality of life is like on this central square in the district, the opinions of the residents of Auer are about as similar as the rents in the district are today and thirty years ago – the past few months have shown that.
So there were always heated debates in the meetings of the local politicians, initiated not least by the Greens faction, the majority of which advocates a revitalization of the Mariahilfplatz through more events and a redesign of the area. According to her, it needs more greenery instead of the ubiquitous mixture of gravel and asphalt – which could get in the way of the Auer Dult, which takes place on this course three times a year.
Not less than 350 people turned up for the residents’ meeting
On the other hand, in the district committee, it is primarily the CSU and SPD who reject excessive changes and too much hustle and bustle on Mariahilfplatz – out of consideration for the tradition of the Dult and the residents who are already noisy. In April, a residents’ meeting was held on the subject, which was attended by no fewer than 350 people in the Mariahilfkirche. The BA is currently developing a catalog of criteria that is intended to regulate the approval of events on the square, which is ultimately the responsibility of the city’s Department for Labor and Economics.
A citizens’ workshop on the future design of Mariahilfplatz is also planned. Barbara Lackmann, who has lived in the Au since 2019, has also followed the debate closely. “The chairs were a good first step,” she says between bratwurst and shopping. “Maybe you could set up a few simple things for children.” However, she rejects larger events such as concerts, a Christmas market or the Bavarian market, which is currently taking place on the square. “I don’t think that fits here – unlike the Dult.”
Could also be a provocative message: “The place is sleeping”.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger)
But does Mariahilfplatz need revitalization at all? Anyone who strolls through the farmer’s market on this Wednesday morning will spontaneously say no to this question. After all, there is a lot of activity, there are long queues in front of several of the almost two dozen stands, people stand together to chat, bite into sausage rolls or sit on the benches and chairs with a piece of cake. On the other hand, it is much more deserted on the south side of the massive brick church, whose tower is currently hidden behind tarpaulins, as is the entrance behind a wooden wall. A boy dribbles a lonely basketball here, which is no easy task on the bumpy gravel ground. Further back, a car rolls across the spacious parking lot, on which there are hardly two handfuls of vehicles this morning – and which a majority in the BA would rather ban today than tomorrow.
The sight of the parking lot only made Peter Klimesch shake his head slightly. Now the author and local historian sits at the foot of the church and says bluntly: “I find this whole place absolutely desolate.” His verdict is astonishing in that Klimesch is currently writing a book about Mariahilfplatz that is due to be published next year. It will not only show “pictures from the old Au”, but will also deal with the history of the area, which was called Maria-Rasenplatz until the first church was built there in the 18th century.
Peter Klimesch finds the Mariahilfplatz above all boring.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
When Peter Klimesch talks about the Au, his home for more than 35 years, he gets enthusiastic. “I live here like in a village, but I’m connected to the city. Birdsong wakes me up in the morning – and not the traffic noise. Where else in Munich can you get that?” The Mariahilfplatz alone does not go down well with the local historian. “It’s kind of a central square, but it doesn’t have any function.” Klimesch doesn’t think much of the Dult either: “It has become a small Oktoberfest. A huge hype where you hardly ever meet an Auer anymore.” In addition, the requirements of the Dult prevented a possible redesign of the square, criticizes the 82-year-old. It could definitely do with more greenery and additional trees. “And something for children, for example a fountain like the one at Stachus.”
Center and open space at the same time: Pastor Michael Schlosser lets nothing come to Mariahilfplatz.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
This devastating verdict on Mariahilfplatz does not at all fit with the sentences that were heard a stone’s throw away in the garden of the vicarage. There is also an ancient pear tree in the midst of magnificent greenery, which now has to be supported and, according to legend, is the one from the folk song “Drunt in der greana Au”, says Pastor Michael Schlosser. On this sunny afternoon he is within sight of the pear tree and next to Mesner Armin Ziegltrum and Elisabeth Nauerth, both of whom he invited to the conversation about Mariahilfplatz. Now the three are outdoing each other with their songs of praise for “one of the most-used places in Munich,” as the sacristan emphasizes. “I don’t think the Königsplatz can keep up with that.”
Meanwhile, Elisabeth Nauerth, who lives just a few blocks away, explains how she regularly comes here with her grandchildren to play. “The kids love it. You don’t have that much space anywhere else,” she says. “And the best part is that he’s always available.” Elisabeth Nauerth is correspondingly critical of any consideration of redesigning the square or opening it up for other events. “People go to Italy on vacation and then rave about the piazza, where life pulsates.
Freedom or insipidity? Piazza or Wasteland? Opinions differ
But here, where you have exactly such a place, you want to change that. I don’t understand it.” If the trio in the parish garden have their way – and also the majority of his parishioners, Michael Schlosser assures us – then there is no need for any changes at Mariahilfplatz. “People of all ages use this space in different ways,” says the pastor “He is a center and a free space, in the truest sense of the word.”
Freedom here, dullness there. Here piazza, there wasteland. Anyone who spends a Wednesday on Mariahilfplatz will see both. Because in the late afternoon you hardly see people lingering here, at most hurrying across the gravel surface. “In the evening the place is dead,” says Max Brandl, 52, who has lived in the Au for 14 years. He himself comes here regularly on Saturday mornings alone to shop at the weekly market and eat a piece of cake or a Baumstriezel. Otherwise, the Mariahilfplatz is not a meeting place for the people of Au – “which is a shame, because there is no such place here,” says Brandl. His wish would be a small kiosk with a café, ideally where the parking lot is currently. “I would like that,” says Max Brandl. “And I think that would be accepted.”
The fact that a café operator will one day actually set up his tables on Mariahilfplatz seems extremely unlikely. At least for the time being, visitors have to be content with the few benches – and with those new metal chairs on which Barbara Lackmann has meanwhile finished eating her sausage rolls. “You could do more with this place,” she says. Then she takes her shopping bag and goes over to the market.