The claim

A letter to the editor claims that the public order office in Altenburg expelled three pensioners from a park bench at the playground because these ladies were obviously over 14 years old and from the age of 14 you are only allowed to stay on such a place as an accompanying person.

Our conclusion

The claim is correct. The Altenburg city administration actually issued a statement on the incident and confirmed the process. However, with the comment that the public order office employee clearly overshot the mark here.

This is this letter to the editor, which was photographed and is currently making the rounds on the Internet. According to our research, this came from the KURIER-Altenburg (issue from September 24, 2022 / page 30)

Screenshot: Kurier Altenburg, issue September 24, 2022 / page 30 (source) Playground: “Are we still in Germany?”
Screenshot: Kurier Altenburg, issue September 24, 2022 / page 30 ( source )
Playground: “Are we still in Germany?”

What happened?

On sunny September 12, 2022, three pensioners sat on a park bench near playground equipment around 3 p.m. to take a quick breather on their shopping trip. A public order office employee saw this and expelled the three women from the park bench, even though the place was deserted. The reason: Only children up to the age of 14, including their accompanying adults, are allowed there. Since the pensioners had no children with them, they were “illegal”. As the letter to the editor put it, this would actually have meant a fine of 30 euros per person. However, the ladies were lucky because they only received a warning.

We at Mimikama asked the Altenburg city administration and the case was confirmed. So why were the ladies evicted?

The legal situation surrounding playgrounds:

In fact, in Altenburg - as in many other cities - there is a legal regulation that only children up to the age of 12 or 14 ( depending on the municipality ) and their accompanying persons are allowed to be in the playground.

Why is that? Well, playgrounds are for children . This regulation was intended to counteract possible space problems. On nice, sunny days there can be bottlenecks and parents and their children have priority. In addition, we want to prevent people who may be drunk from staying there and it should also protect children from possible pedophile attacks.

Is the city of Altenburg behind the eviction of the three pensioners?

No! The city administration informed us that the employee on duty in this case went far beyond the mark. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to understand the exact facts because the employee has resigned from his job with the city and therefore no further information can be used. However, in conversation with the other employees of the Altenburg public order office, it became clear that they would have reacted differently in the case of the three women. It would be possible, according to the city of Altenburg, that there would have been an indication that the ladies were actually not sitting optimally here and might have to move if parents and their children needed the space.

Are accompanying persons allowed on playground equipment?

Actually not. There is also an understandable reason behind this. Although play equipment is approved by TÜV, it is still designed for the weight of children. If someone with more weight sits on some play equipment, it could break and this poses a danger to the children. As nice as it is to see parents actively playing with their children, it is still not allowed. However, the Altenburg city administration would assume that the public order office employees will decide in such cases very individually and with common sense and will not immediately expel every adult who sits on a stable swing from the place with a fine.

30 euro fine for sitting on the “wrong” bench?

The city of Altenburg was unable to provide any further information on this. The public order office employees would not refer passers-by with a catalog of fines, but would simply forward the offense to the fines office. They would then decide on the amount of the fine. In Altenburg, administrative offenses would be punished with UP TO 5,000 euros. However, this large sum would only be e.g. B. can be used for repeated offenders.

Would someone e.g. For example, if you light fires several times in unmarked places and thereby potentially endanger other people, animals, buildings, forests, etc., then this could certainly lead to a high fine. Did you know that it is not allowed to feed feral pigeons in Altenburg? In fact, even this well-intentioned act could result in a fine. In addition, dogs have no place in the playground, as this is intended to prevent dogs from contaminating the sand on the playground, among other things.

How about playgrounds for young and old?

Children and older people often have the same motor level. There is often a lack of muscle strength or balance, especially on uneven surfaces. That's why Mr. Zahner, the founder of the Hopp-la Foundation, is of the opinion that it can be very beneficial to bring children and older people to the same playground to exercise together. That's why he launched a pilot project in Basel's Schützenmattpark (Switzerland), where young and old can develop together. ( Source )

There, older people are not only allowed to accompany younger people, but also, for example, For example, our three ladies from Altenburg can play actively even without “accompanying children” and use all the equipment and benches. On the one hand, it's about physical training, but on the other hand it's also about playing and having fun together.

The letter to the editor from Altenburg says: “Perhaps our city administration will be able to set up a few park benches there for us elderly pensioners. This way we could enjoy the colorful hustle and bustle together. “Shared participation is extremely important and enriching for the well-being of all of us. Young and old can learn from each other and draw positive energy and new insights from it.

A call to ALL city administrations!

Don't build children's playgrounds, build playgrounds for ALL of us. For big and small, for full and thin, for old and young, so that we can meet and enrich each other and all learn from each other together.

Author: Elke Haberl, Mimikama

Also read: No, there is no playground for children


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Notes:
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