Nudity in the English Gardens

As seen in the SZ on 9.Dec.04:

Cordonned off fields, restrictions to naked bathing, and the enforcement of leashes for dogs are some of the suggestions for the English Garden being put to the Bavarian parliament next year. The park administrators, itself supported by the Ministry of Finance, is putting forward a new set of park rules to ward off peeping toms, disorderly cyclists and negligent dog-owners.

[img]http://www.toytowngermany.com/munich/nudity_english_gardens.jpg[/img]

However, 92 percent of the 403 people asked were against the new rules according to the 20 strong residents' initiative "Unser Englisher Garten" (Our English Garden) who are at present protesting against the changes. "We want to keep the flair of the park" commented Patric Wolf (CSU) co-founder of the residents initiative and member of the Schwabing-Freimann Borough Council.

In opposition to the nightmare scenarios painted by the park administrators, there have only been isolated complaints about dogs, cyclists or bathers, claims Wolf. However the park administrators see it another way. In the last few years, conflicts between the yearly 3.5 million visitors has risen sharply but the bye-laws protecting the park have never come into play and the police can only get involved if an offence has been commited. Parents complain about the dogs, the shepherd complains about dogs fouling the park, dog owners about the sheep, pedestrians about the cyclists, footballers about the dogs. Everyone is thinking solely of their own interests.

These regulations would represent the interests of all the different parties, Hatto Reichelt, spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance claims in their defence. "We are not trying to create an authoritarian state".

instead of struggling, they should rather sit in a Biergarten and drink until they see the whole thing in another way :-) ...that´s at least my method

I think it'd be good to have a few rules in the park... and get some nasty park-keepers to enforce the rules... ones with spikey poles to pick up rubbish and prod naughty people with.

On my first day in Munich 13 years ago, I took a leisurely stroll down the English garden and saw an anciently-old nudey man on a bicycle... I've been traumatised ever since. He was cycling towards me... I was like a deer caught in headlights!

And there's dog c**p everywhere. It's horrid!

the garden is so big that you can always find a nice place to sit without being disturbed. This makes everything easier for those who don't like football players, dogs, naked people, etc.

Compared with other parks and other towns I find the people in the english garden more than civilised.
So i really do not understand the problem; unless it's about the strange german attitude, to quarrel about insubstantial issues

i'd hate to see rules and regulations spoil the freewheeling atmosphere that seems to prevail in the english garden now. however, i think there is some validity in adopting some new guidelines. first and foremost, i do think the naked folks ought not to be regulated one iota. they are part and parcel of the whole spirit of the place. but i do understand some of the consternation regarding dogs being unleashed and crapping allover the place.i strive to be a responsible dog owner and park user, but there's clearly a bunch of folks who feel differently. i think if your dog does his business in a very prominent place, you ought to clean it up. i also feel that if you have an overly aggressive dog, you ought to take care that he is not a menace to people or other dogs. you need to be personally responsible. i'm not sure people who aren't currently responsible about such things are going to adhere to new rules and regulations anyway. should be interesting to watch this unfold.

i think they should leave the park as it is, but make a munich-wide law of "wenn Ihr Hund in der Öffentlichkeit scheißt, holen Sie sie" (if your dog shits in public, you pick it up).

Everyone should quit their complaining... if you do not like it don't go!!! I am all for keeping things nice but sometimes it can go too far like here... for those who want rules... what would you allow... would it be oh he joggers are scaring me when they pass me... get over it and learn to live with how the park has been for many years...

you can't have a park without having a grumpy park-keeper. give them a litter-spike and let them loose that´s what I say.

The dogs should definitely be made to wear underpants at all times in the park. That way they won't be confused for naked people by peeping toms and also won't be able to despoil the park. Apart from this minor adjustment keep the rules just the same as they are now.