Magnificent boulevard looks different – the median of the boulevard Unter den Linden is overgrown with weeds Photo: Ralf Drescher
By Johannes Malinowski and Stefan Peter
Magnificent boulevard, living room of the capital – that was once! Unter den Linden degenerates into a withered meadow of weeds.
The median of the nearly 1.5-kilometer-long road has been giving a sad picture for weeks. The rest of the lawn has dried up, mugwort is growing meters high, nettles are growing rampantly under the benches. This summer’s drought put an end to the planting.
One reason is the lack of staff in the Roads and Parks Department. Watering vehicles like at Tauentzien and Kudamm: None!
nettles under the benches Photo: Ralf Drescher
“Extreme heat and drought are real stress for urban nature,” says City Councilor Almut Neumann (Greens). “The employees of the Roads and Parks Office are doing everything they can to counteract this and to water and care for it enough”.
Sometimes there is a lack of money and staff to do all the work. The picture on Karl-Marx-Allee and the meadow at the Foreign Office is similar. And this despite the fact that the staff and budget for green maintenance has been increased. In addition to watering, the employees are also out and about in the park when it comes to waste disposal.
Neumann: “Our green spaces are the green lungs in the center of Berlin, which we have to take good care of in times of the climate crisis.”