As of: February 16, 2024, 12:20 p.m
By: Martin Becker
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This is what the spruce tree looked like in June 2023: According to the report, the vital appearance from back then is deceptive - there was a lot of dead wood hidden under the ivy growth.
© Municipality of Unterhaching
The community had a 20 meter high spruce tree felled on Katharinenstrasse in Unterhaching.
Neighbors are horrified and fear tree damage.
But appearances are deceiving.
Unterhaching
- When the couple looked out of the window on Rose Monday, Peter and Christine Baumstieger from Katharinenstrasse in Unterhaching couldn't believe their eyes: a spruce tree over 20 meters high had been felled on the neighboring property opposite.
The Baumstiegers have written an open letter to the community, the media and the Association for Nature Conservation.
The “magnificent spruce” was a “healthy tree without any damage” and was home to squirrels and a nesting place for birds.
“So the horror, anger and helplessness of the residents and neighbors is very understandable when the chainsaws suddenly scream on Shrove Monday and this gem disappears irretrievably in a few hours,” write the Baumstiegers.
“A bad carnival joke?” Instead of Humba-Humba-Täterä, they felt more like mourning music like the famous song by the pop singer Alexandra: “My friend the tree is dead, it fell in the early morning red”.
17 critical questions for the community
In their open letter, the Baumstiegers formulate a catalog of a total of 17 questions about the felling operation on Katharinenstrasse.
Essentially, they are concerned with why: Was the tree demonstrably diseased and could it have been rehabilitated?
Is the growth of ivy “recently a reason for felling”?
They also asked with skepticism whether the municipality had even requested an independent report or whether “subjective fears and fears of individual owners” would be sufficient.
Was their motivation even to get rid of “unwelcome shadows”?
The remains of the tree rise about five meters high - they serve as a habitat for insects and birds.
© Martin Becker
The report revealed: The tree was dead inside
When asked by the Münchner Merkur, town hall spokesman Simon Hötzl tried to provide the “detailed explanation” requested by the neighbors.
“Public and private interests were weighed against each other here.
Under no circumstances was there any mischief – there was an expert report that resulted in the tree felling notice of June 1, 2023,” says Hötzl.
The on-site inspection showed “that the tree with the ivy surrounding it looks incredibly idyllic, but is already dead inside and hardly has any needles.”
The spruce “could no longer be saved,” said Hötzl.
And: “The risk of this shallow-rooted tree falling over in a storm and causing considerable damage due to its size was too high.”
Tree trunk is intended to serve as a habitat for birds and insects
At least, according to the agreement, about five meters of the tree trunk remained as a habitat for birds and insects.
The owners now have a year to plant a replacement - a so-called second-order tree is required, which means a trunk circumference of 16 to 20 centimeters.
Hardly any consolation for the Baumstiegers, who point to the “value of such specimens” such as the felled spruce tree when it comes to climate and heat protection.