By Julian Loevenich
The devastating fire at Karl’s strawberry farm in Elstal, Brandenburg. Several buildings, a total of 400 square meters, were in full fire on Tuesday. How to proceed now?
The strawberry paradise near Wustermark in Havelland is particularly popular with families. Up to a million visitors come every year.
Among other things, a workshop, a sales outlet and a stable for goats and pigs were destroyed by the flames. Around 100 firefighters from several nearby communities responded and put out the fire.
View of the adventure park in Elstal in Brandenburg during the fire Photo: dpa
Robert Dahl (52), head of Karls Erdbeerhof, to BZ: “I’m grateful. Because so many people worked together so blatantly here. As a result, the damage actually stayed within limits.” According to an initial estimate, it should be in the six-figure range.
How to proceed now? “We have to secure the fire site with a fence. Tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. we open again. We can open about 95 percent of the adventure village.”
The roof truss of one of the burned out buildings Photo: Olaf Wagner
The farm cannot be opened, the animals have moved to another building. Dahl: “Tomorrow morning the vet will come again to check.” A small snack bar is also affected by the closure.
Dahl is optimistic about the future, says: “As soon as the police give us permission, we will reschedule. It will be better here than before.”
The strawberry paradise for families
Originating from a strawberry cultivation business, Karl’s adventure villages in northern and eastern Germany have now grown into amusement parks for families in the countryside. In addition to products related to strawberries, there are rides such as the “strawberry caterpillar track” or carousels such as the “strawberry hopper” or a tractor track.
According to the company, there are already seven locations with different offers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg and Schleswig-Holstein. There are also two manufacturing shops in Berlin. Four more locations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Saxony and Lower Saxony are under construction.