Crop failure: Railway wants to demolish bridge: Farmers cannot mow meadows

The small bridge over the Paar River in Schrobenhausen , Upper Bavaria, has stood for more than a century. For generations, farmers have used the bridge to access their meadows. But now farmers Eduard Siegl and Anton Blöckl have a problem: Deutsche Bahn, the company responsible for the bridge, has closed it and announced its demolition without replacement.

The district office has temporarily halted the demolition, but whether and what kind of solution will be found remains to be seen. Bayerischer Rundfunk was the first to report on the issue.

The grass is already tall. If something isn't done soon, this year's grass clippings will be gone, says Blöckl. "We could have fed the grass to our animals . It's high-quality grass. You can see that it contains a lot of herbs." Siegl also says: "It's sad, because this year was the best grass in a long time." He estimates the value at around 1,000 euros if he could make three cuts.

In addition to providing fodder for the livestock, it's also about maintaining nature conservation areas, which the farmers look after and for which they also receive payment, as Blöckl explains. "It's not just the damage to us, but also to nature." The farmers are only allowed to mow the areas after the breeding season – if they don't mow, they lose the payments.

According to Blöckl, around 2.5 hectares of land are affected. If the undergrowth grows tall and becomes overgrown, the areas will no longer offer habitat for birds and other animals. "Nature conservation areas also need to be maintained." He has known the bridge since childhood: "My father and grandfather always drove over it."

According to the Schrobenhausen town hall, the bridge belongs to the railway. They delved into the archives and discovered that the bridge was built 150 years ago. "The documents show that the railway is the owner and built the bridge at that time to ensure continued access to the meadows for the owners," says Mayor Harald Reisner (Free Voters).

The railway embankment, built around 1875, cut off access to the agricultural land. The railway is said to have therefore agreed to build the bridge as compensation – which it now intends to demolish without replacement.

The railway, in turn, had only announced this on a note tacked to the bridge. "This isn't the kind of procedure you'd expect. I would imagine that they would talk to property owners beforehand," says Reisner.

According to the district office, there hasn't been an application for demolition yet – but this would be necessary because it's a landscape conservation area, as a spokesperson for the district office explained. "The railway simply put up the notice." For demolition, they now need to submit an application and site plans. A decision can then be made.

The railway's comment remains brief for now: "We are seeking dialogue with the city and the affected property owners," a spokeswoman said. "The goal is to find a joint solution. We ask for your understanding that we cannot anticipate the outcome of the discussions."

The problem began with the June floods last year. The bridge was damaged at that time. "During the last cut, we drove over it again. Then we contacted the city," says Blöckl. "The bridge is dilapidated due to the floods; a few components would have to be replaced." And: "In our opinion, repairing it would be relatively easy."

Without this bridge, Siegl says, "the property is worthless." "We're talking about one euro per square meter without the bridge and up to five or six euros with the bridge."

© dpa-infocom, dpa:250703-930-750085/1