The new building is in place, now there is still some work to be done around the building. © Dominik Bartl
There is still work to be done. But the new kindergarten in Ettal is taking shape. The parish thugs can slowly get a demolition calendar for the time until the opening.
Ettal – Vanessa Voit has already invited all visitors to the citizens' meeting: On 2 September, they were not supposed to do anything. Because on this day the new kindergarten will be opened. "I hope that we will celebrate this properly," said the mayor of Ettal. She sees the date as set. "We'll keep it." Even if there is still a lot to do until then.
The workers have just started with the outdoor facilities. "They're digging and shoveling, there's a lot going on," says Voit. It already looks good inside the building. Not too much is missing. Only the stairs and the floor, a second time is still whitewashed, some details are still being completed. The interior work is scheduled to be completed in July. Then it gets exciting: The moving boxes at Klosterstraße 15 are packed and brought to Klosterstraße 19. During the summer holidays, the entire parade is to take place so that the little parish thugs feel really comfortable from day one.
Optimal location
Since the 1960s, they have been housed in the main wing of the monastery. Not a suitable place. The building fabric is deteriorating, the railings and stairs are not suitable for children. Voit considers the new location near the monastery economy and the recycling center, which the monastery awarded on a leasehold, to be optimal. All around forest, meadow, agriculture - "perfect for children". Ideal especially for children in this institution that emphasizes nature-based pedagogy. "It's a really nice concept."
The expansion of the interior is scheduled to be completed in July. © Dominik Bartl
The road to the new building was a difficult and intensively discussed one. The planning was delayed, so that the project fell exactly into the Corona phase and the time of the cost explosion. What to do? The municipal council dealt intensively with this question before giving the go-ahead and the administration began with the tenders. They were faced with a "tricky situation": the funding procedures were underway, there was no time for manoeuvre. They also knew that the children would soon have to move out of their previous rooms. So they went through with the project. "We wanted to make it as good and beautiful as possible for the place and its children, that was the focus for us."
More expensive than planned
It was unavoidable that the final bill would be significantly higher than originally planned. The planners had assumed a total cost of 1.1 million euros in 2019. Some trades became massively more expensive. Now the municipality is expecting a sum of 1.8 million euros. "Of course, we didn't want it that way," Voit emphasizes. Fortunately, however, the municipality is in a good financial position. This year, she manages without borrowing. "We don't have to go into debt because of the kindergarten." Especially since the municipality does not have to shoulder the entire amount. It will receive grants from two sources, an estimated total of 726,000 euros. However, an application for additional funding in view of the price developments was rejected.
32 girls and boys can be accommodated in the new kindergarten under the auspices of the parish, of which up to ten are under three-year-olds. Everyone is cared for in a group – a special feature in Ettal. This was apparently born out of necessity.
Almost 20 years ago, the mayor estimates, the Ettal kindergarten was threatened with extinction. There were too few offspring. For this reason, those responsible considered taking in girls and boys under the age of three. A rescue operation. In Voit's eyes, this special model is proving to be a viable concept for the future in such a small municipality as Ettal with its almost 780 inhabitants. "Without the creativity of the people back then, kindergarten might not even exist today." And the community would have no reason to celebrate on September 2nd.
