The judge would like to do without an on-site visit. On the one hand, the willingness of the parties to reach an agreement is noticeably low, which is why, in his estimation, the matter will end up before the Higher Regional Court next anyway. And on the other hand, this Saurüssselalm is “probably somewhere in the middle of nowhere”. But without prejudging the next instance: Of course, the judge does the actual scene of the dispute an injustice. After all, the aforesaid Alm adorns itself with the subtitle “am Tegernsee” and is only a short three-quarters of an hour’s walk from Bad Wiessee.
It used to be called Söllbachaualm and was used solely for agriculture. But since the Freising building contractor and Wiesseer landowner Franz Josef Haslberger had it pretzeled up to the more pithy “Saurüsselalm” a year ago and handed it over to Helmut Kohl’s former personal chef Martin Frühauf, the Alm has also been something for judges and other lawyers.
However, even medium-distance journeys are not for everyone, and so Haslberger did not appear in the Munich II district court on Thursday for a hearing because of his house ban against a local online medium. “The 200-euro fine won’t itch him now,” comments the judge. According to the current menu, there are either 20 Bavarian sausage salads or ten truffle pizzas for 200 euros at the Saurüsselalm. All employees of the local voice GmbH, and be it the cleaning staff, have to strengthen themselves elsewhere anyway.
This GmbH operates the online portal Tegernsee voice, which often works with particular dedication on Haslberger and his projects. Haslberger has therefore banned all of her employees from entering the premises, which is why the company has now sued him because it sees freedom of the press as a threat. Haslberger, on the other hand, according to his lawyer’s argument, is primarily concerned with preventing unsolicited photography on the Saurüsselalm and the publication of those photos.
Others diligently post pictures on social media. The Wiesseer CSU councilor Christoph von Preysing, for example, who spoils an often illustrious audience, who is often flown in by helicopter if necessary, with all kinds of fish and crustaceans in his “Fischerei Tegernsee”. On some of Preysing’s posts, locals want to have clearly recognized the ambience of the Saurüsssellm in the background of party people, lobster and champagne. One of the reasons why the Saurüsselalm is so controversial is the fear that instead of the advertised simple restaurant with typical alpine dishes, a Tegernsee-typical party location for a foreign luxury audience should arise in the once rather remote Söllbachtal.
Black buildings on the Alm
The Association for the Protection of the Mountain World filed a lawsuit a while ago against the approval notice with which the Miesbach District Office allowed the conversion and the new gastronomic use of the Alm. In the first instance before the administrative court, the association lost in June, but the judge also reprimanded a number of illegal buildings during the on-site visit to the Alm. A terrace, for example, has become a lot larger than approved, and the powerful awning instead of the sunshades was never requested.
Out of necessity, the district office demanded a subsequent building application, but a few hours before the building committee of the Bad Wiessee municipal council could discuss it in October, Haslberger appeared in person at the town hall and withdrew it. Both black buildings were up for debate again on Thursday evening, because the authorities had set a deadline for Haslberger and threatened a demolition order. According to the district office, he has now demolished an unauthorized dance floor himself, which has since been declared a bicycle parking area. The office wants to have this information checked by its building inspectors.
During an earlier visit, they also came across a two-storey goat shed with a kind of balcony. Because the ceiling between the ground floor and the first floor has now been removed, the building is now apparently considered by the agricultural office at least to be a one-story goat shelter that is useful for agriculture and thus legally erected.
There are enough points of contention
There are still enough points of contention. The shuttle service with minibuses, for example, which the district office itself had once suggested. The justification for the proposal is of course formulated more cautiously, but it boils down to the fact that a few buses are still better than a horde of drunken guests who wander through the forest down to the valley in the evening or even at night. However, the shuttles are only intended and approved for the descent, according to the district office – and not as a feeder that carts the closed companies up in the first place. But the community has to control what they reject.
In June, the administrative court also conceded the 15 extra events per year for closed companies that the district office and the municipality of Haslberger had allowed. Haslberger therefore wants to ensure that the Administrative Court allows an appeal against the verdict, and at least in this endeavor he is in agreement with the Association for the Protection of the Mountain World. A decision by the VGH can probably be expected sometime in 2023. His verdict on the house ban for the Tegernsee voice the judge wants to announce at the end of February.