Even the fact that it should be five meters lower and even be painted green did not save it from its fate: the second version of a mobile phone mast in the middle of the mountain forest near Schloss Elmau also clearly failed in the Mittenwald town hall.
Mittenwald/Elmau
– At least since the two G7 summits in 2015 and 2022, everyone in the district and far beyond has known: prominent and high-ranking personalities stay at Schloss Elmau at regular intervals.
And of course they need a perfect mobile network “with the highest data rates, good voice quality and good availability” – at least according to the Vodafone group.
After the summer of 2020, the company applied for the second time to the market town of Mittenwald for the construction of a transmission mast in the immediate vicinity of the luxury resort.
"The background to this supply request are the events that occasionally take place there with special safety requirements and public interest with media representatives on site," says the letter that market builder Ralf Bues presented to the building and environmental committee of the Mittenwald municipal council on Monday evening.
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Radio mast at Lautersee: Somehow this clashes with the picturesque Maria Queen chapel and the Karwendel panorama.
© Josef Hornsteiner
And as in October 2020, almost without exception, the nine-member committee gave a clear rejection of the project on the so-called lower stroke with a vote of 8:1.
The only one who once again supported the mobile phone offensive in the tranquil Elmauer valley is Michael Schwind (CSU).
"The thing is not on the top of four, but on a slope," argued the graduate engineer (FH).
Once again Schwind broke a lance for Schloss Elmau - one of "the leading companies in the Alpenwelt Karwendel".
In the same breath, the CSU municipal council recalled the transmission masts that were installed in 2014 in the run-up to the first G7 summit in Schloss Elmau on the Burgberg and at the Lautersee chapel Maria König.
These two steel constructions can also be found in the midst of untouched nature or at an architectural gem.
The thing is not on the top of four, but on a slope.
Councilor Michael Schwind
Contrary to the original plan from 2020, this time the radio mast should be five meters lower than the previous model (40 meters).
Basically, like on the castle hill, only the tip of the steel colossus, which would then be painted green, would peek out of the treetops.
Since the area in question of the Bavarian State Forests is in the outer area, agreement must be reached with the responsible municipality, i.e. Mittenwald.
Because while the castle hotel is on Krüner Flur, the stroke is already in Mittenwald.
According to Vodafone, not only the five-star operation would benefit from the transmission mast.
"Beyond the immediate vicinity of the hotel, there will also be a further improvement in coverage as a side effect," the mobile communications giant explains.
"The data rates and also the voice supply in the extensive forests will improve, as will the coverage on the connecting road between the hotel and the Ferchensee and especially the first two kilometers on the road to Schachen."
The district office could not be convinced.
In this context, it criticizes “the disturbing visual relationship to the listed Elmau Castle”.
Not least because of this, it prompts a rejection of the application, which the building committee was more than happy to comply with.
Gerhard Schöner (CSU) speaks of a "senseless intervention in nature".
This urge for “total supply” bothers him.
"Can we ever go back to normal?" he asked the group.
Instead of constantly fiddling with their laptops, Elmau's first-class guests should rather relax and really slow down without a mobile phone in the "Cultural Hideaway".
Building officer Florian Lipp (free voters) asked a perfectly justified question: "Why don't they ask in Krün?" To continue the train of thought: After all, the small neighbors earn a decent amount from the trade tax at Schloss Elmau, a leading tourist operation.
