Observation tower as an idea for the Gögerl: The Propach couple considers the recreation area

Created: 01/28/2022, 1:00 p.m

By: Stephanie Uehlein

Giselher and Monika Propach made the Gögerl the protagonist of a book.

The photo shows the couple at an orientation board that was designed by Monika Propach, who is also an artist.

© Ralf Ruder

Monika and Giselher Propach have grown fond of the Gögerl.

For many years they have been committed to the hill on the outskirts of town, which is sometimes referred to as Weilheim's local mountain.

Now the couple has published a book about the Gögerl.

This provides facts and stories.

And there's clearly a call for concern about the future of the popular recreation area.

Weilheim

– Giselher Propach (83) and Monika Propach-Voeste (85) focus on the future development of the Gögerl, especially at the very end of their book.

"Most of what is happening at the moment is to preserve what is already there," it says critically about the commitment to the area.

"Conscious design for the more beautiful and better" rarely plays a role.

And the couple also complains: "Unfortunately, the Gögerl is still in danger of becoming a traffic victim due to the construction of a bypass."

Before the authors admonish people to be careful with the local recreation area, they offer a colorful mixture of information in their book - geological as well as historical and botanical.

But does the Gögerl provide enough material for an entire book?

Definitely!

Also and precisely because the elongated hill, a product of the most recent ice age, is closely linked to Weilheim's history.

The book leads into the realm of legends

Giselher Propach, former chairman of the Bund-Naturschutz-Kreisgruppe Weilheim-Schongau and professor of mineralogy, for example, has put together some information about the two ramparts (the so-called castles) that once existed on the Gögerl.

But the book also leads into the realm of legends.

The reader learns something about the godfather, who is said to have been cursed by his sister and last seen as a ghost in 1822.

With many, partly historical photographs, the book then continues with the real: for example, with the ski jump, which was not a great success, and with the restaurant with an impressive view, the origins of which lie in the middle of the 19th century.

The district town's water supply is firmly connected to the Gögerl.

The book also makes that clear.

In addition, separate chapters are dedicated to the topics of “Early landscape design, tree planting”, “Forestry” and “Botany and nature conservation”.

The two sides of the Gögerl are illuminated: the west side with its park-like character, where there is also a protected part of the landscape, and the wooded east side.

Giselher Propach and his wife Monika, a former Green City Councilor, are experts in the area, for which they have been committed for a long time - also with care measures.

Authors have spectacular proposals

In 2007, the "framework plan for the maintenance and development of the Gögerlpark" was drawn up, which is intended to make the green zone even more attractive for recreational use. The Propachs ask, “What has happened since then?”—and their answer may already raise the next question in the reader: What is yet to happen in the future?

The authors then provide an answer to this in their outlook at the end of the book.

Two of their suggestions for the Gögerl are spectacular: create a sight line in the direction of Hardt and Deutenhausen and build an observation tower.

"With a panoramic view over the treetops, you could see five former monasteries of the Pfaffenwinkel, for example," write the Propachs about their tower idea.

For them, the Gögerl is "a treasure" and has "quite the quality of a local recreation park".

It's "time to take care of the Gögerl again," says the couple.

"Cautiously, with consideration for nature and monuments, for the benefit of the city and its citizens." The book can be an impetus for new commitment.

The book "Das Weilheimer Gögerl" (74 pages) is available

for 15 euros at the bookstores "Lesbar" and "Zauberberg" in the district town.

It was published in an edition of 120 copies.

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