At the bathing place Birkenweg on Wörthsee there is already a lot going on early Tuesday afternoon. A dozen young people are playing beer balls in the meadow. Anyone who knocks over a bottle of beer with a ball is allowed to drink. A girl and a boy, looking less than 16 years old, go swimming, each with a bottle of beer in hand. After all: At the request of Generoso Aurigemma, leaseholder of “Il Kiosko”, they put the empty bottles on the bank.
The partying could now be over. On this Wednesday evening, the Wörthsee municipal council is advising on an alcohol ban for the facilities near the S-Bahn, for Birken- and Seglerweg and the park on Seestrasse. From 10 p.m. onwards, people should no longer drink there. Aurigemma, who cleans up the rubbish of the celebrants every morning with his employees, supports the ban.
SZ: Ban on alcohol at the lake: yes or no?
Generoso Aurigemma: Absolutely yes! The situation has escalated this year. It got worse and worse, the groups more and more. They come from Herrsching, Weßling, Seefeld, Munich, Steinebach. But the amount of young people is not the problem. Problem is what they leave behind. With a ban on alcohol we could take a deep breath.
What does the bathing place look like in the morning?
We collect between 100 and 200 bottles after every banquet. This also includes wine and liquor bottles. We already have a deposit of 25 euros in one day. The big problem is the broken pieces in the meadow and especially in the children’s playground. We all have to pick them up, but of course we can’t see everything either. Somebody can cut himself badly.
You are already putting empty beer trays, large boxes and rubbish bins in front of the kids. Will this offer not be accepted?
We have already tried everything. We ask the young people to dispose of their bottles and rubbish there. It works fine at the beginning, but when you are totally drunk it no longer works. We have already found funnels for drinking.
Nevertheless, you keep talking to the young people.
Yes always again. You have to. But if they are really drunk, that no longer works. Then they sometimes get snotty, even if they are otherwise very nice. I try it on the girls who are still sober and ask them to motivate the boys to clean up. Sometimes it works better, sometimes worse.
How long is the party?
It usually starts around 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and continues well into the night. The neighbors are already freaking out, complaining to me too and repeatedly calling the police about disturbance of the peace. But she can only ask to turn the music down. The police can only intervene if there is a ban on alcohol.
Are things also broken?
Oh yeah, recently a wall was smeared, doors are being taped, a chair is broken, but the damage is not my problem. It’s not the 50 euros, it’s the overall situation: I no longer have it under control.
Any idea how to limit the hustle and bustle?
I would ask the parents to take a look at it, in the evening when girls at 13 or 14 are stumbling around with the vodka bottle. Or at five o’clock in the morning, when the place is littered with garbage and the urgency behind the toilets has been relieved. Later they don’t see anything, because at this time we start tidying up so that the first bathers can find a clean place. Parents are welcome to call me. I am grateful for any help.
What does that do to you? Are you disappointed in the young people?
No, I’m just wondering what happens to them when they get so drunk at a young age. But I do not give up. We have to talk to each other.
Aurigemma does. He walks up to two girls, one with a bottle of wine in her hand. It’s not 3 p.m. yet. You are 16 years old, they say. “Why are you drinking?” Asks the landlord. Because school is over, they say. And anyway, they wouldn’t always drink, and their group always cleaned up too. Those are the others, the Herrschinger, who are sure to come. “It’s going to be another hot night,” suspects Aurigemma. With a lot of rubbish the next morning.