In view of the energy crisis, Unterschleißheim is also restricting the Christmas lights in the streets. Only the town hall square should be illuminated with stars and a Christmas tree from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Christmas market will also take place there without restrictions on four weekends in Advent. On the other hand, if you want to do your Christmas shopping in the shops on the district road, you will have to do without the Advent atmosphere.
However, the decision was controversial – CSU faction leader Stefan Krimmer described it as an “downright frightening” idea to take away the hope-giving lights from people of all places. Krimmer warned against excluding people who could not afford to visit the Christmas market. The father of a family, who drives home from work on the street in the evening, doesn’t notice anything about Christmas. Krimmer even fears psychological consequences. In other words: the winter blues could be harder for many people.
In Ottobrunn and Neubiberg, the municipal councils have already decided to no longer have the town halls illuminated at night and to largely do without the usual Christmas illuminations. In Grünwald, at the request of Achim Zeppenfeld (SPD), a decision is to be made this Tuesday whether there will be no star lights in the streets this time and whether Christmas trees will be automatically switched off at 10 p.m.
Unterschleißheim is usually ambitious when it comes to Christmas lights. Even in the Corona winters, a boy lit hundreds of lights on the Christmas tree in front of the town hall with a symbolic push of a button and Mayor Christoph Böck (SPD) sent a pre-Christmas greeting to the city via video message. That should also be the case this year. The Christmas market should also take place regularly again after the Corona break. There are no restrictions. According to the town hall, the stand operators are dependent on the market after the failures due to the pandemic. And you need the light there. You can’t let thousands walk between the booths in the semidarkness.
There will be no shining stars hanging over the district road this year.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
Mayor Christoph Böck spoke of a difficult decision as to where and in what form one still wanted to allow oneself to shine like lights. He defended the restrictions. The city is appealing to each individual to withdraw. There is agreement with the other municipalities in the northern alliance – i.e. with Garching, Ismaning, Unterföhring, Oberschleißheim and Eching, Neufahrn and Hallbergmoos. It’s about “not everyone sitting in the dark in the end”. Thomas Breitenstein (SPD) thought it justified not to put up any lights on the streets, but to illuminate a meeting place like the town hall square for Christmas. Stefan Krimmer countered that people also came together on the district road.
The majority found the proposal from the town hall administration moderate and balanced. Not only does it not provide for lights on the district, main and avenue streets. There should also be no stars on other roads and on the Le Crès Bridge. Above all, the Greens praised, heating pyramids would be prohibited at the Christmas market.