As of: February 20, 2024, 7:17 p.m
By: Andreas Knobloch
Comments
Press
Split
In South Tyrol, a group of football fans caused a stir with a banner.
What lies behind the statement: “Kuane Piefke more”.
Meran - South Tyrol can be reached easily and quickly from Germany.
Northern Italy also offers everything your heart desires.
In winter you can go cross-country skiing, skiing or tobogganing, and in summer you can swim, mountaineer or relax.
No wonder that more and more people are drawn to hotspots like Merano and Bolzano.
But that's exactly what bothers some locals, who suffer when the city benefits from mass tourism.
Mass tourism in South Tyrol: “Kuane Piefke more?” - banner is also directed against the city of Meran
On February 14th, the fan scene from the Obermais football club “Curva Sud Obermais” held up a banner that caused a stir.
Again headlines from South Tyrol, where a dead man with bite wounds was recently found.
The banner read: “Merano doesn’t need a vigilante group, but rather more Piefke”.
Piefke is a derogatory term for Germans, especially in Austria and the German-speaking areas of Italy.
In southern Bavaria the term is also used for northern Germans, similar to “Preiß”.
But now the question arises, what have the Germans done to FC Obermais football?
The Germans are criticized indirectly, but are still part of the reason for the banner.
Hannes Schnitzer, the club's president, doesn't want to hype up the campaign so much, but responds to the query of the
Neue Südtiroler Tageszeitung
.
“Our fan club is independent and has often made a name for itself in the past with activities that I thought were good, but this time the text on the banner was worded a bit poorly.
In two weeks no one will be talking about it anymore.
The 'Piefke' actually have nothing to do with it,” says Schnitzer.
The background to the banner is actually the planned introduction of neighborhood control, i.e. the “vigilante group”, which is criticized by fans.
In a statement on Instagram, the followers said: “If you take a closer look at these or similar ideas, it becomes clear that under the pretext of security, the freedom of citizens is being restricted.
Control, mistrust and denunciation are fueled instead of relying on socialization and solidarity.”
Fans are worried about the “youth”: “They often turn their backs on the city”
And then why do you use the wording Piefke?
“Due to the ever-growing mass tourism in the spa town, the majority of Merano residents suffer from the heavy traffic and environmental pollution, excessively rising real estate prices and the fact that our city administration cares much more about the wishes and needs of wealthy guests than those of Merano residents “cares,” say the fans, who want more focus on the “real problems” and “youth,” because “young people no longer feel wanted in their own city and often turn their backs on it.” An evaluation by the
State Institute for Statistics ASTAT
shows the German popularity with an example: “The provisional number of guest arrivals in July 2023 is 1,114,849 and that of overnight stays 4,919,552.
The largest proportion of overnight stays comes from guests from Germany (41.1%) and Italy (37.5%).”
Affordable living space is also an issue in South Tyrol, in this particular case Merano.
Many Italian cities have struggled with mass tourism in recent years.
Venice recently introduced a day ticket, other tourist destinations are working with special methods to reduce or regulate the crowds.
There is also a beach fee.
“We want a city that is there for its people and doesn't incite each other.
We want a Meran where you can afford to live.
We want to have more places and rooms for young people and not be a place of second homes for rich tourists,” it says at the end of the fan statement.
My news
Daylight Saving Time 2024: Is the time change this weekend?
read
“There is no other way”: World cruise is faced with a dilemma
Cause of death of Andi Brehme: These are the symptoms of a sudden cardiac arrest
Persistent cough after respiratory infection is quite common
Huge trouble over German Alpine tourists in Tyrol: landlords and mountain rescue teams are almost at odds
Fees against beach rush: Italian coastal town now wants to charge holidaymakers read
Honorary President criticizes the banner: “Merano lives from tourism, we have built our prosperity on it”
A former member of the fan club told the
Neue Südtiroler Tageszeitung
that it was “not discriminatory” and that it was “just an exaggerated formulation.”
The fans wouldn't want more mass tourism, "but that doesn't mean that no German guests should live here," said the former member.
Obermais honorary president Richard Stampfl spoke more critically at the newspaper.
“Merano lives from tourism, we have built our prosperity on it.
The football field is not the right place for such messages,” said Stampfl.
There is also a lot of discussion in the comments section under the text on the page.
A reader writes: “What if the German newspapers publish this?”
Now we can see how the message from the fifth division fans (Eccellenza Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol) arrives here.
(ank)