After Berlin madness: ban on firecrackers in Munich?

Created: 01/03/2023, 09:00

By: Sascha Karowski

The New Year's fireworks over Munich.

© Lennart Preiss/dpa

After the events in Berlin on New Year's Eve, a ban on firecrackers is also being discussed in Munich.

Mayor Dieter Reiter names possible solutions.

Munich - On New Year's Eve, Munich really let it rip - after a two-year Corona break, fireworks were possible with almost no restrictions.

It was mostly peaceful in the Bavarian state capital.

Unlike in Berlin, where there were almost systematic attacks on the police, fire brigade and rescue workers - including with pyrotechnics.

That's why the first politicians are already calling for a ban on firecrackers: is the New Year's firecracker still festive?

Firecracker ban in Munich?

OB Reiter demands a change in the law because of New Year's Eve

In any case, Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) wants to continue to work to ensure that the municipalities have more room for maneuver.

"In 2019, I suggested that the federal government change the law in order to give urban areas in particular a better control instrument to protect the population from the excessive use of fireworks." However, this has not yet been implemented.

"I don't want a total ban on fireworks, but I urge the federal legislature to give us the legal options to decide for ourselves where we want to ban fireworks to protect people, animals and nature."

Apartment fire & tons of garbage

First comes the celebrations, then the sweeping: Street cleaning has removed a total of 47 tons (previous year: around 32 tons) of New Year's waste.

186 employees were deployed in the full connection area.

The fire brigade and police also had work to do: a 14-year-old from Munich fired a rocket at a residential building in Waldperlach around 10:50 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

The rocket exploded on the balcony, and the fire also spread through the apartment.

The resident was not at home at the time.

The damage is around 30,000 euros.

The current legal situation is only for individual areas of the city (e.g. within the Mittlerer Ring) - and there only for firecrackers - a handle under the explosives law.

Bavarian safety law only allows other fireworks to be banned under (even) stricter conditions and only for very narrowly defined areas such as Marienplatz and the pedestrian zone, in addition to firecrackers.

(Our Munich newsletter regularly informs you about all the important stories from the Isar metropolis. Register here.)

After Berlin madness: firecracker ban in Munich discussed

District administration officer Hanna Sammüller Gradl (Greens) announced yesterday that the existing ban on fireworks in parts of the old town and a ban on firecrackers within the environmental zones of the Mittlerer Ring will be evaluated in cooperation with the Munich police, the fire brigade and the experiences of the municipal field service.

Like the mayor, Sammüller-Gradl sees a need for improvement, even if New Year's Eve in Munich is not comparable to the conditions in Berlin.

"I strongly condemn how firecrackers and rockets were used against the police, fire brigade and rescue workers in Berlin," said Reiter to the

.

"I'm very happy that the people of Munich have shown that you can celebrate without rioting."

Also against the background that the celebrations in Munich were largely peaceful, CSU boss Manuel Pretzl rejects further restrictions.

“An extension of the ban zone is neither necessary nor proportionate.

Chaos and violent criminals must be prosecuted - but their behavior must not lead to all citizens being punished."