Frankfurt station district: slum tourism is increasing
Created: 08/03/2022, 16:10
By: Oliver Teutsch
Bonjour tristesse in the Frankfurt train station district.
© Michael Schick
The situation in the station district is becoming more and more precarious and made even more difficult by construction sites and the nine-euro ticket.
Frankfurt – The woman screams, hits a cyclist with her handbag, staggers and falls lengthways onto the asphalt.
The man on the bike laughs, then dismounts and helps the woman, who is obviously stoned and leaning against a parked car, to get on.
It's Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. in Frankfurt's Moselstrasse.
The scene takes place directly in front of the "Hotel Mosel", where a person was shot during the night.
But the three police officers who guard the entrance take no notice of the woman and the cyclist, too ordinary.
"It's a different world," says a passer-by who observed the incident, as reported by fr.de.
Problem corner: homeless people use drugs in the Frankfurt train station district
Niddastraße, right around the corner, also belongs to the “other world”.
At the same time, about two dozen people vegetate there and are happy about the shade that is still available on the sidewalk.
They inject themselves, rummage around for food or drugs.
It's scenes like this that frighten the new Frankfurt police chief, Stefan Müller, and make him speak of "impoverishment" against which something urgently needs to be done.
The problems in Frankfurt's Bahnhofsviertel are certainly not new, but are becoming more and more visible, especially in the area between Taunusstrasse and Niddastrasse.
Klaus-Dieter Strittmatter knows them.
The former police officer is not only chairman of the Frankfurt Prevention Council, but also “Special Coordinator Bahnhofsviertel” since 2017.
Frankfurt's Bahnhofsviertel: "Life on the street is tough"
During rambles, he shows those responsible for the public order office and other bodies various problem areas.
On the one hand, there is “the construction site problem,” says Strittmatter.
Scaffolding is often perceived by the clientele as cozy enough to camp underneath or to go to the toilet.
However, the construction sites themselves would also be “misused”.
"The drug clientele has a high need for rest and is looking for areas of retreat."
To do this, she sometimes climbs a two-and-a-half meter high site fence.
"Life on the street is tough," says Strittmatter.
In other areas, however, the construction sites make the impoverishment even more visible.
Namely where the Deutsche Bahn has closed the exits to the B level and fenced them off with barbed wire, thus taking away the opportunity to hide a bit.
Lots of petty crime in the Frankfurt train station district
The station district was never a place of contemplative peacefulness, but now not a day goes by when it doesn't appear in the police report.
"First of all, there is a high degree of aggressiveness in the scene among each other," says Strittmatter.
But tourists, onlookers or casual passers-by can also quickly become victims.
Anyone who is out and about drunk in the evening or at night "is chosen as a victim of drug-related crime," says Strittmatter, but adds that the drug scene is not the only one responsible for the many robbery crimes.
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Other petty criminals are also looking for customers in the station district and usually find them.
Stritmatter creates the following scenario: Someone has been drinking in Sachsenhausen and wants to take the train home.
There is still a little time until departure.
Then you buy supplies in one of the "Spätis" in the station district and maybe a conversation is sought ...
Frankfurt station district: nine-euro ticket worsens the situation
The environment is also having an impact on the retail trade.
Photo: Michael Schick.
© Michael Schick
According to Strittmatter, the situation was made worse by the nine-euro train ticket.
This not only attracts clients who can now buy cheap drugs in Frankfurt without high travel costs, but also promotes disaster tourism.
"We're finding young people who feel motivated by the corresponding media coverage to take a look for themselves in the station district and post it on Instagram," says Strittmatter, recalling an incident in early July that particularly outraged him as a prevention expert .
A drunk is knocked out and robbed.
The robbery is filmed on a cell phone and posted online.
But none of the witnesses alerted the police.
She only found out about the incident days later through the video, after which the victim ended up in the hospital unconscious.
Crime increases around the Frankfurt train station district
The recent increase in robbery offenses in the station district cannot be denied, says Strittmatter.
In mid-August he has an on-site appointment with the new chief of police, in September the station district will also be a topic at a meeting of the Prevention Council.
The situation is now so bad that some members of the city police and fire brigade no longer want to work in Frankfurt and the FES only comes with uniformed reinforcements for the many bulky waste operations in the station district.
At noon, the police are still busy in front of the Hotel Mosel.
Incidentally, on the hotel booking portal booking.com it says: "Highlight of the accommodation: This hotel is located in the very heart of Frankfurt".
(Oliver German)
