"A win for the district": Gisela Hölscher on the FW application for the protection of sensory cultural assets

Created: 05/16/2022, 10:00 am

By: Christian Masengarb

Gisela Hölscher FW District Chairwoman © Archive/MM

In an interview with our newspaper, Free Voter District Chairwoman Gisela Hölscher comments on her party's application for protection for noises and smells.

District – The Free Voters (FW) have proposed an amendment to the Federal Immission Control Act in the state parliament, which takes up many district issues: Cowbell ringing, the smell of pretzels and other “local noises and smells of rural areas” should in future be treated as “sensory cultural assets” before local residents complain to be protected.

A good idea, says FW district chairwoman Gisela Hölscher (56).

Ms. Hölscher, the FW parliamentary group wants to protect noise and smells in rural areas and justifies this with examples from the district.

How come?

Were the district volunteers involved in the application?

Gisela Hölscher:

We always passed on the problems in the district to the parliamentary group: the Holzkirchner cow bell dispute, the dispute over the smell of pretzels from the bakery in Rottach-Egern.

We said to the parliamentary group: What can you do for us so that we can solve these problems in the district?

These inquiries have accumulated, also from other regions.

This is where the application came from.

Does the move have a chance of success?

In the federal government, the free voters have little influence.

Are Hamburgers and Berliners still interested in Holzkirchner cowbells?

Gisela Hölscher:

Each region has its own identity.

There are no cowbells in Hamburg, but other unique scents and sounds.

I can't complain if I don't like the smell of the fish shop.

We say: We want to preserve these characteristics.

We can talk about anything, but the way some of it happens is worrying.

And do people in Hamburg see it that way too?

Gisela Hölscher:

Yes.

Right now people want to live in peace.

But a single troublemaker is enough to upset the whole community, for example by suing the baker.

We want to say: there are more important things;

the courts have better things to do.

That can convince people all over Germany.

Critics say the move would be a window application.

Gisela Hölscher:

There are good shop windows and bad ones.

Some are worth looking at again.

This is one of them.

The application is a win for our district.

It strengthens and protects our tradition, our businesses and our farmers.

Christian Masengarb conducted the interview.

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