Updated: 15.10.202020:22
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fromEast Tinç
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shut down
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The outside area of the Isenburg Palace in Offenbach is littered and contaminated with graffiti. As the owner of the building, the state of Hesse has therefore come under fire.
A caretaker sweeps up the remains of the night early Thursday morning. Shards of beer bottles and bowls of sunflower seeds lie on one of the stairs to Isenburg Castle. Without exception, all the outer walls of the building from the 16th century are covered with graffiti. Just like the wooden and glass doors and information boards of the actually representative building for the city of Offenbach. The renaissance object and the palace area belong to the state of Hesse. “The Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) is responsible for ongoing maintenance as well as on-site care, as the property management body,” says the state. The school has a budget available for this, which it exhausts.
The problem of vandalism is not new to the HfG, but it is no less annoying. “We have already spoken to a company to remove the graffiti and that will also happen at short notice,” says Katja Kupfer spokeswoman for the university. A special clay color is necessary and the Chancellor of the HfG is in contact with the monument office in order to coordinate closely. “There is enough money for that and it was planned anyway,” said Kupfer.
The HfG did not tackle the graffiti problem immediately because other issues had priority in the past weeks and months. The IT infrastructure, the return of the students if the hygiene rules are complied with and how is the school doing in times of Corona. “That took a lot of strength and energy,” says Kupfer.
“Property obliges”
The Schlossplatz is cleaned daily, but since it is not a protected campus, but a public square, the condition has “worsened” due to the corona, says Kupfer. In the past few months it has also happened that in addition to the usual garbage, excrement and vomit had to be removed from housekeeping. The HfG hopes for support from the city of Offenbach. Their hands are tied because the site is not in the hands of the city, emphasizes Christian Broos, head of the Clean Offenbach staff unit. “Of course, the situation annoys us too.” Broos wants to contact the country and the school to find a solution.
Oliver Stirböck finds the state of the castle “unbearable”. The FDP member of the state parliament therefore made a small request to the state to find out, on the one hand, how much money is actually available for the maintenance of the building. On the other hand, it is “a special responsibility” to own such a building and it does not actually make sense to leave the maintenance to the HfG. Stirböck appeals: “Property obliges. This also applies to the public sector. “
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