Overview
- Mayor Hanno Benz announced on Monday that the city has imposed an open-ended construction stop for the planned visitor centre at the Mathildenhöhe to pause work and reset the project.
- Benz said the halt responds to the absence of a mediation and visitor concept and to sharply rising building estimates, which the city now puts at about €21 million for the structure alone.
- Opponents occupied the Osthang from December to block preparatory work, police cleared the site in February, and 13 trees were felled and a construction pit dug before the pause.
- The moratorium will be used to develop a clear interpretation plan that sets target audiences and content, to decide which offers can be digital, to reassess scale and location, and to propose a centralised Mathildenhöhe management.
- The decision follows a recent realignment in city politics that bolstered Benz’s position and could shift funding toward urgent restorations of historic buildings and greater transparency on costs and planning.