Castle Park Remains Closed: Insight into the Delays in Reopening
The Hohenzieritz castle park, a picturesque green space in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, is currently undergoing extensive maintenance measures to ensure the safety and health of its trees and public areas. According to recent reports, a total of 800 maintenance measures are planned, with approximately 45 percent already completed. The park's beeches, a dominant tree species, are causing significant problems, but other tree species are also affected. One of the main issues is the presence of dry branches, some of which are over arm-thick and pose potential dangers. A closer inspection reveals the presence of white mushrooms growing on the trunks, which are actually oyster mushrooms, a parasite that prefers older, weakened beeches and birches. The honey fungus, another parasite, is causing white rot and disrupting the water supply lines, compromising the stability of the trees. This fungus is particularly harmful to older, weakened beeches and oaks, similar to how diseases affect older, weakened humans. Priority maintenance work has been focused on the public area between the small church and the castle, as well as the trees in the southwestern part of the park. On average, it takes about an hour per tree for maintenance work in Hohenzieritz. Climate change is making life difficult for the beeches, oaks, and lindens, the dominant tree species in Hohenzieritz. Over the years, there has been too little rain, and average temperatures have continuously increased over the past decades. As a result, some of the meter-thick beeches, infested with the honey fungus, may have to be felled. A more than 200-year-old hornbeam near the castle in the Hohenzieritz castle park is supported with a wooden frame to prevent any branches from breaking off. Unfortunately, more than 50 percent of the approximately 1500 trees in the park are damaged. The state, as the owner, is obliged to exclude hazards within the scope of its traffic safety obligation. A strong gust of wind can quickly cause the affected branches to break off and, in the worst case, fall on passersby. The cost of park maintenance in Hohenzieritz in 2024 was around 289,000 euros. For all the castle gardens together, it was nearly 2.7 million euros last year. The Hohenzieritz castle park is expected to reopen in 2026, likely as part of restoration or development efforts by the State Palaces, Gardens and Art Collections of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. However, the specific reasons for the park's reopening are not detailed in the available sources. A peculiarity in Hohenzieritz: Due to the slope, rainwater usually runs off quickly during heavy rain, without being stored in the soil and thus in the root area. This rapid runoff may contribute to the park's current challenges. Despite these challenges, the maintenance efforts underway in Hohenzieritz castle park are a testament to the commitment to preserving and revitalizing this historic green space for future generations to enjoy.
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