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Traffic jams, crowded parking lots and sledding and hiking close together – the rush through snowy areas doesn’t stop at the weekend. Sometimes there were reports of violations of protection measures.
In many places it was so crowded in the morning that the traffic collapsed: Numerous hikers did not let the Corona Lockdown prevent them from visiting the Harz Mountains and other snow-capped mountain areas in Germany.
Harz: tons of slides and hikers
“We have chaos at the power of three, everything is collapsing,” a spokesman for the Goslar police station said at noon. “Almost nothing happens, some cars have broken down. Too much is happening.” The masses frolicked in the toboggan mountains like the Hexenritt descent in the Wurmberg, and people ran very close on the hiking trails.
Authorities and police had previously repeatedly asked not to make trips to the mountains in the crown blockade; however, there was another avalanche of slides and hikers.
Long lines of cars and traffic jams formed in the snow-covered cities. Already in the morning, the Goslar police tweeted that the parking spaces were practically full and that a long traffic jam was forming on the B4. The large Torfhaus parking lot was packed. The masses flowed down the Goetheweg from Torfhaus to Brocken. A lot happened in Braunlage too. In Lower Saxony there are no restrictions for day tourists: the hikers came not only from the region, but also from Berlin and Hamburg.
Sauerland: reports of violations of protection measures
The situation is similar in Sauerland: Police and regulatory authorities wrote announcements of numerous violations of the crown’s protective measures, as a spokeswoman for the city of Winterberg said. Because actually the lifts and slopes, as well as the restaurants and cabins, are closed until at least January 10.
The operators of the winter sports field and the ski lift carousel in Winterberg point out on their website that there are therefore no toilets or warm-up opportunities for hikers, and that there are no rescuers on site. “We love our mountains,” it says there. “But in these times we have to let this love rest, because the onslaught leads to traffic jams and crowds. Clogged streets, lack of parking spaces and many potential contacts. Who wants that?”
Taunus and Rhön: rush to get closer to the summit
The onslaught of hikers yearning for snow also continued at Großer Feldberg in Hesse. Around the highest peak of the Taunus it is “as chaotic as the last few days,” said a police spokesman in Koenigstein. Many hikers are away from home despite closed access to the summit, the streets of the villages around Feldberg are blocked. According to the spokesman, the police were responsible for on-site checks and directing traffic. Officials again appealed to avoid the region for a winter excursion.
Also on the Rhön, on the first Saturday of the year, many people were drawn to the outside and to the Wasserkuppe, the highest mountain in Hesse. “It is full,” said a police spokesman in Fulda. In recent days, cars had been stuck for miles at some excursion destinations.
The German Weather Service has not announced any sun, but the police have not yet expected the number of visitors to decrease. “I think Sunday will be the same as today,” feared a police spokesman in the Harz region.
