Sometimes you walk into a place and then it says: nothing. The disappearance of place-name signs – those yellow signs that announce the arrival of a municipal boundary – is a phenomenon in Bavaria that particularly affects places with bizarre names. From this point of view, it is extremely dangerous to live in Pups (part of Feldkirchen-Westerham) or Katzenhirn (Mindelheim); But even harmless-sounding places are not spared. Last year, the police in Franconia investigated a few young people who are said to have robbed Bullach, Laipersdorf and Pegnitz of their signs on a regular basis.
And so to Berg, part of Fischen im Allgäu, where until recently travelers were also greeted by nothing. So far, so expected – if it weren’t for the fact that the salvagers have dismantled themselves. A few weeks ago, a delegation from Fischen went to Brussels to set up a maypole in front of the Bavarian representation. In order to mark its origin, the “Berger Maibommbüebe” also brought their town sign from Federal Highway 19 with them.
But an empty frame at the entrance to town? Difficult. Because little creates a feeling of home more than the sight of the familiar letters on the side of the road. Maybe that’s why Unknown quickly filled the gap with a blackboard. Anyone who has been coming to Berg for a few days will go to “Little Gaul – Center of the European Union”. A location that brings to mind the indomitable Gauls from “Asterix”. The public order office, although more of a Roman camp that people like to hit everywhere, also takes it with humor. The residents of Berg are not rebels, it says Allgäu newspaperbut peaceful people – and a new sign has already been ordered.
Soon everything will be back in order in Berg. At best. Because there is a model for “Little Gaul” in Swabia. In 2016, pranksters renamed the Wertingen district of Prettelshofen – and the following year they left behind a rock weighing several tons, as you can read in the newspaper archives. A menhir for New Little Gaul? The public order office should now make sure that no one ships anything from Belgium back to Berg.