It goes forward at Ottenhofen Castle

The building committee of the Ottenhofen municipal council is now taking decisive action: A preliminary building request for a replacement of the municipality-owned part of the castle complex should clarify what is possible on the site and what is not.

Ottenhofen - So far, the municipality has repeatedly accused the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments: The municipality is not allowed to have excavations carried out to determine whether there are archaeologically interesting findings in the ground. Only a concrete project allows such permission to be obtained. This specific project is now on the table with the preliminary building request.

And it's not just any preliminary inquiry. The multi-family house with twelve residential units that the municipality is presenting here corresponds to the previous designs. In the past electoral period, after intensive studies of the proposals, the municipal council preferred this variant, which is based on the historical model.

The catch: 30 parking spaces have to be built. The council and mayor agree that this works most elegantly with an underground car park. But that is exactly where the ground monuments could be. But because you don't know that, clarity has to be created. The councils do not want the free space to be parked up and thus ultimately spoiled.

How the underground car park should actually be approached will only be clarified in the further process, said Mayor Nicole Schley (SPD) when asked. The basis is the development plan, which is currently in the process of being changed. That makes the whole thing a bit more complicated, because it can only be approved if the municipality, as the builder, sticks to the plans it has developed itself.

These provide - not only for the community's plans - large construction windows in which buildings can be moved - in the event that ground monuments come to light. There are a lot of rumors circulating around the site about the cost of these excavations, including that it could be in the seven-figure range. Schley reacted to this in astonishment and corrected it: It was about selective explorations, not a complete archaeological excavation, she explained and estimated the expenditure on the basis of previous experience at a mid four-digit amount. The administration has not yet received any offers.

The castle will keep the local council busy for a while, as reported that the owner of the area that is attached to the community-owned part is insolvent. When asked by the local newspaper, Schley was unable to provide any new status. As reported, the insolvency administrator is trying to market the building in order to be able to at least partially satisfy the creditors.

Klaus Kuhn