The Paulownia plantation near Hadorf is an exotic feature in the district. Now, however, a legal battle has broken out over the property with the extremely rare trees in this country.
Update of June 2: Neither the defendant nor his lawyer appeared before the Munich Agricultural Court at the trial on Tuesday at 10.30 a.m. The plaintiff, a farmer from Gilching, reports this to Starnberg Mercury on request. Julia Burk, spokeswoman for the court, confirms the so-called default judgment. The plaintiff was right in all points, the other side now has 14 days to appeal. Gerd Voigt had announced to Starnberg Mercury that he would stay away from the trial because he was otherwise employed. He was surprised by the default judgment. His lawyer told him the trial had been postponed. She wasn't. But it only lasted a quarter of an hour.
Hadorf - In Japan they are called Kiri, in Austria imperial trees, in Germany colloquially also blue bell trees. We are talking about the Paulownia variety. The plants originally come from Southeast Asia. Their marketers praise the “ultra-light precious wood”, they speak of “aluminum among the woods”, which is particularly fire-resistant and grows at a record pace. MoreGerd Voigt, plant dealer and globetrotter, has been planting at Starnberg since 2000 as Paulownia. He crossed different species, the plantation, on which North American Sida grass also grows, became an experimental laboratory. And over the years it became an eye-catcher: the exotic trees actually grew quickly and bloomed wonderfully lilac-blue.
But now the career of the plantation between Söcking and Hadorf, near the Starnberg west bypass, is turning. Not only because arborists and species cruisers Voigt have realized that the conditions for trees in Germany are not optimal. But mainly because a legal dispute has arisen over the property. A farmer from Gilching, the new owner of the three hectares near Hadorf, has sued Voigt and insists on his ownership claims. Voigt in turn claims that he has a written right of use for the space with the deceased former owner. Over 20 years. The case will be heard before the agricultural court in Munich on Tuesday.
Sued: Plant dealer Gerd Voigt speaks of a 20-year usage license, the new owner sees it completely differently.
© Andrea Jaksch
Both sides don't speak well about each other. The statements often contradict each other. The Gilching farmer, who wants to remain anonymous, came to the property through the estate manager of the deceased owner. The rape field next door already belonged to him. Because of the construction of the bypass at Gilching and Starnberg, he had to give up space. He had invested in Hadorf, wherever he also had family relationships, in order to preserve the portfolio and to be able to pass it on to his children later. The farmer grows wheat, barley and maize among other things. According to his statement, the estate administrator initially offered the property for sale to Voigt. When he finally owned the area, he offered Voigt one or two years to find a new user for the plantation. "It's not true," says Voigt. "I have been betrayed." The property was sold behind his back.
Meanwhile, there is little interest in the Hadorfer Paulownia, whose wood is plagued by the mouse's bite, but is actually supposed to be ideal for the construction of airplanes, yachts or musical instruments. Gerd Voigt hasn't been to the plantation since November 2019. He doesn't want to cut down and sell the wood. "That doesn't work at the moment." The Paulownia would have to continue to grow and be looked after. But he doesn't want to do it himself. Voigt is more oriented towards Greece, where the trees grow better. The growing season is too short in Germany. "And they have to be taken care of," emphasizes Voigt again. But because of the legal dispute, it currently makes no sense for him to invest in care. According to him, about 100,000 euros are in the plantation.
Plaintiff: "Nobody wants the trees, not even free"
The plaintiff and property owner speaks of "outrageous moon prices almost in the six-figure range" when he thinks back to the exchange with Voigt. He did his own research and spoke to wood dealers and forest service providers. "But I can't find anyone who wants these trees - not even a gift." He is not concerned with flattening the Paulownia plantation. "I would like to clarify the legal relationships first."
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