The sad face of the city showed itself in the Hofgarten on Wednesday.
A homeless man died there alone.
A search for clues among his friends.
Update from February 26, 2021:
He has certainly experienced many dark hours in his life.
Freezing, alone, with no money.
Angel S. lived on the street, most recently in the Hofgarten, where he died three weeks ago (see first report from February 6, 2021).
Wrapped in his blankets, he was asleep that cold winter night when his heart stopped beating.
At his funeral on Friday morning in the north cemetery, however, the spring sun was shining, crocuses and snowdrops lined the path of the pallbearers during the last convoy for one of the poorest in town.
"May angels accompany you to paradise", Father Toni Weber wishes the deceased at a prayer in the funeral hall.
He puts his hand on the simple, light wooden coffin and lights a small candle.
Weber (77) is Munich's unofficial pastor for the homeless.
For more than 30 years he has been taking care of those stranded on the edge of society.
Although he'd actually been retired for eight years.
And so he is now in priestly robes in front of the few mourners: Two homeless companions of the dead man and two employees of the homeless help on Schillerstrasse have come.
One of the two, Zhasmina Petrova, is filming the funeral - so Angels' relatives from Cyprus can watch the funeral service live.
Organizing a flight to Munich was not possible in such a short time.
Her sobs can be heard softly from the cell phone as the coffin is carried to the grave.
The brother would have taken Angel in with him in Cyprus, he is reported to have said, but Angel did not want to.
“We don't know much about Angel,” says Pastor Weber.
The 59-year-old came from Bulgaria, for many years he traveled through the country - Austria, Germany, France, he spoke four languages.
Ultimately, he chose to live on the streets.
Partly he lived in the accommodation at the Bayern barracks.
Nobody knows why he preferred his bed in the courtyard garden to the warm bed there in the end.
"We thank you for the love that you have given away in your life"
"We thank you for the love that you have given away in your life," says Pastor Weber.
Weeping, one of his friends takes a handful of earth and throws it on the coffin.
And the mourners sing softly about the "little mustard seed hope" that bears fruit, about the fire that strikes in all who are in darkness "...
The city of Munich has taken over the burial of the baptized Christian.
The health department announced on Friday that there were 1,514 registrations for ex officio burials last year.
It happens when nobody can pay the costs.
Of these registrations, relatives could be identified in 861 cases, and in 653 cases there was actually an ex officio burial.
With Angel S. this is still being clarified.
Even if his life may have been full of dark hours - his few mourners remember Angel as a “kind, good man” and as a “gentleman” who treated women with great respect.
A small wooden cross will remember him in his last home in Munich.
Lonely death in the courtyard garden - that's what the friends of the deceased say
Update from February 8, 2021:
Robert, Lukas, Vito and Blagoi are sitting on a park bench the day after the drama, opposite the arcades under which they have built their sleeping quarters.
They are all homeless like the deceased.
And they knew him: his name is Angel S. and he was one of them.
"He fell asleep and never woke up," they tell our reporter in a mixture of German, Bulgarian and English.
As reported, other homeless people asked passers-by on Thursday afternoon to call the emergency doctor because the man, a Bulgarian (59), no longer moved.
It was too late.
Group of homeless people: They are all from Bulgaria
The men between 29 and 58 years old are all from Bulgaria.
They came to Munich years ago on sometimes adventurous routes, sometimes on foot or by bike.
They were looking for work, they were looking for a better life.
They have not found happiness.
They get work sporadically, mostly on construction sites, they say.
"The boss promised me 20 euros for a day's work, he gave me 15." It is difficult to get jobs because they look so shabby - as "ugly" as they call it - the men admit .
Now they live on the street, sleep outside, even in winter.
Deceased homeless man Angel S ..: His friends don't know why he died
The late Angel S. was also part of their group.
They don't know why he died.
That should clarify an autopsy, say the police.
There is an organization in the city that takes care of homeless people like the men from the Hofgarten: "Schiller 25" helps homeless people from EU countries such as Bulgaria, offers them "overnight protection" in the accommodation at the former Bavarian barracks and advises them.
The street workers also come to the people on the street and are on the way with the heat bus, as Andreea Garlonta, facility manager at the Evangelical Relief Organization, explains.
“Our street workers also visited the men after they died.” The four of them know what offers of help are available for them.
"But you have decided not to use this."
No, they don't want to go to Bayernkaserne, say Robert, Lukas, Vito and Blagoi.
There is stolen, there are drug addicts.
“We want to stay here at the Hofgarten.” Here, under the arcades, wrapped in their blankets, they feel reasonably safe - even on a cold winter night.
Despite the city's offerings, many decide against accommodation
It is an offer that the Evangelical Relief Organization makes to the homeless - no one can force it.
"All people who come to us get a place to sleep in overnight protection," says Andreea Garlonta, facility manager at the Evangelical Aid Organization.
“Whether just for one night or longer - there are no limits.” In the accommodation in the former Bayern barracks, it used to be that people were only allowed to stay overnight.
"Since Corona, the facility has also been open during the day." Since Corona, the men have slept six in the twelve-bed rooms.
Even so, not everyone who lives on the street is comfortable with the property.
Many homeless people think they are stolen there, explains Garlonta.
But this concern is unfounded, after all, everyone can now lock up their belongings there.
Also the fear of being picked up as a fare dodger while driving to Bayernkaserne no longer needs to be felt.
The city pays for the trip to Bayernkaserne.
Still, many would choose not to stay - for different reasons.
For example, there are often arguments among men, some fear.
And some would rather not have any other people around them.
Garlonta knows: “You'd rather be to yourself.”
BY ANDREA STINGLWAGNER AND ACHIM SCHMIDT
News from February 6, 2021:
Munich - Munich is a city of contrasts.
Some of the wealthiest families in Germany live here, while others sleep on the street.
One of them died on Thursday in the middle of the city in the Hofgarten.
According to the police, it is a 59-year-old Bulgarian.
The other homeless people who regularly camp there for the night had asked a passer-by to call the emergency doctor in the early afternoon.
Ambulance service can only determine his death
At this point the man was already lying there motionless.
The emergency services could only determine his death.
The police arrived shortly after 1 p.m.
"So far there are no signs of a crime," says police spokesman Michael Marienwald.
The exact cause of death is currently unclear.
According to an estimate by the social department, around 550 people live on the streets in Munich *, and around 8,400 people are homeless.
Who was the man
What was his name
Why did he sleep on the street?
Unanswered questions, but one thing is certain: the fact that people die lonely in the megacity is not an isolated incident.
LAURA FELBINGER - * tz.de is part of the Ippen network.
