Ongoing Dispute over Kampenwand Cable Car Construction in Chiemgau
The controversy surrounding the construction of a new cable car up the Kampenwand mountain in Chiemgau, Germany, continues unabated, spilling over into the courtrooms. Over a year ago, the Administrative Court of Munich halted construction plans following a lawsuit filed by the Bavarian Nature Conservation Association (BN). However, the Bavarian Administrative Court has now permitted an appeal by the cable car operators.
Legal Challenges
A spokesperson for the Administrative Court explained that there are serious doubts about the correctness of the lower court’s ruling. The appeal process will allow for a review of environmental protection issues, such as the potential impact of the new construction on the black grouse population. The date for the appeal hearing has yet to be set.
Conservation Concerns
Environmentalists accuse the Forestry Ministry of altering natural forest areas in such a way that the new route no longer formally qualifies as an encroachment on natural forest. The natural forest had been designated around 2020, partly on areas of the existing cable car route. The ministry claims that a correction became necessary after the erroneous overlap with the cable car route was discovered, and that the areas in question are not legally considered forest.
The Kampenwand Cable Car Society has accused the BN of making misleading claims. It argues that the natural forest designation did not adequately consider the cable car route or its expansion, which was originally approved in 2017.
"The protection of valuable natural areas is clearly being sacrificed here to the economic interests of a single company," criticized Rainer Auer, BN district chairman from Rosenheim. The number of trees that would be felled for the new construction remains unclear.
Environmental Impact
The BN also criticizes planned capacity expansions and night operation in the heavily used area. Annemarie Räder, regional representative for the BN, called it "rowdy tourism" that massively disrupts the sensitive mountain landscape. "We will submit an expert opinion showing how much the black grouse are suffering now and will suffer with the expansion plans." The night operation is taking place despite the lack of a permit, she charges. The cable car operators deny this, asserting that all operations are in compliance with the operating license.
Administrative Court’s Doubts
In late 2023, the Administrative Court of Munich revoked a building permit for a new cable car issued in 2022. The court ruled that the decision by the Rosenheim district office was unclear and therefore unlawful. The judges argued that it was not clear where and to what extent trees were to be felled – potentially including in the natural forest.
However, the Bavarian Administrative Court appears to have doubts about this view. The Bavarian Forest Act defines natural forests as areas where logging is prohibited, which would not be the case with the proposed cable car project.
Cable Car Operators’ Plans
The cable car operators claim that they plan to moderately upgrade and modernize the existing cable car, making it accessible to people with disabilities. The route is expected to remain unchanged.
The retro cable car, built in 1957, transports visitors in four-person gondolas from Aschau im Chiemgau to the summit station of the Kampenwand. The mountain’s distinctive rock formations attract numerous climbers, especially during the summer months.
