The construction of the oldest bobsleigh and toboggan run in the world in Schönau am Königssee in Bavaria is still on hold.
Even more than a year after the artificial ice rink was partially destroyed in heavy rain in July 2021, it is still unclear when the ice track will be renovated – and there are doubts as to whether the system should be renewed at all. This is reported by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
The local CSU member of the Bundestag and ex-Federal Minister Peter Ramsauer emphasized how important the railway is for the region in economic, sporting and tourist terms.
Deputy District Administrator Michael Koller (free voters) expressed the hope for the district as the owner of the railway that makeshift training operations for the youth would be possible in the winter.
But whether the 53 million euros to be provided by the federal government will be sufficient for the renovation of the ice channel is already considered unlikely.
resistance to reconstruction
In addition, the possible reconstruction is met with resistance. Criticism comes, among others, from the Ecological Democratic Party, which considers the entire railway to be “out of date” in view of climate change, lack of raw materials and the energy crisis. The district group of the Federal Nature Conservation Association has long since spoken out against the construction.
On the night of July 18, 2021, the upper part of the bobsleigh run was buried under rubble, boulders, wood and rootstocks that the Klingerbach had washed away from the adjacent Grünstein mountain after heavy rain.