Shaft lake Wolmirsleben

Salzlandkreis continues to support serious initiatives for Schachtsee Wolmirsleben - but these are not currently recognisable.

Bernburg/Wolmirsleben. Despite the ban on using the campsite at Schachtsee Wolmirsleben, swimming in Schachtsee is still possible in principle. District Administrator Markus Bauer and Administrative Director Thomas Michling reiterated this in a personal meeting with Wolmirsleben's Mayor Knut Kluczka and Association of Municipalities Mayor Michael Stöhr on Thursday, 19 February.

The meeting was an immediate response to a written request from Wolmirsleben's mayor on 13 February, who first publicly announced two months ago in the Wolmirsleben municipal council that he wanted to seek talks with the district administrator regarding the power shutdown at the Schachtsee site - even though the facts have been fully known to all parties involved for several years now.

District Administrator Markus Bauer once again made it unmistakably clear during the discussion that the Salzland district will continue to support all serious initiatives that actually serve the development of the area around Schachtsee Wolmirsleben. "We are open to everything within the bounds of what is legally possible. We have extended our hand to everyone at all times and will continue to do so." However, it is not the district administration that has to take the first step, but the private owner of the site and the municipality of Wolmirsleben. This is because the obligation to act arises from the land ownership and the right of local self-government. This view was confirmed by the mayor of the municipality, Michael Stöhr. "We have been talking about the same things over and over again for years."

In relation to the bathing season, this means specifically that there has been and continues to be no official ban on bathing due to the prohibition of use of the campsite! In view of the legal framework and the situation on site, a prerequisite for proper bathing operations is that the bathing area at Schachtsee is clearly separated from the campsite. Only if there are serious intentions to do so and, for example, the existing fence is moved, can the Salzlandkreis district examine, on the basis of a corresponding application, to what extent electricity can be restored to this part of the site for the operation of the toilet facilities. "We have repeatedly pointed out this possibility to all parties involved in recent years, not least in the local council meetings," explains Thomas Michling. He emphasises: "This fundamental decision on bathing in Schachtsee can only be made by the landowner!"

With this renewed clarification, the district administration also rejects the impression created by various public statements made by the mayor of Wolmirsleben that the district administrator can change the situation at his own discretion. This is wrong: All decisions made by the Salzland district as the responsible regulatory authority in connection with the campsite at Schachtsee since 2022 have been necessary on the basis of the requirements of building and fire protection law as well as nature and water law.

Furthermore, at the request of the landowner, all official measures were confirmed as appropriate, necessary and therefore legally compliant. The decisions of the Magdeburg Administrative Court and the Higher Administrative Court are published under Schachtsee Wolmirsleben | Salzlandkreis.

The Salzland district had explained to all those involved and the campers in countless discussions until the very end what conditions needed to be created to prevent the campsite from being banned from use. However, as there had been no progress on key points for years, the district administration had to take action. The Magdeburg Administrative Court explicitly ordered the authority to do so. A usage ban was therefore necessary to protect life and limb.

The prohibition of use can only be withdrawn or, if necessary, licences for the campsite operation can only be issued once the planning, fire protection, environmental and nature conservation requirements have been created or restored on site. However, serious initiatives to this end are not yet foreseeable, as Wolmirsleben's mayor Knut Kluczka himself admitted in conversation with the district administrator.

The initial situation: Why is nobody allowed to enter the campsite at Schachtsee in Wolmirsleben?

Caravans on 21 plots of the campsite had been massively expanded. The safety distances specified for fire protection could not be maintained. There is no access for the fire brigade and no water supply for firefighting in an emergency. This means that a fire can spread extremely quickly, as the example at Barleber Lake near Magdeburg in 2024 showed. The fire spread quickly due to the dense development, the fire brigade reported to MDR at the time. In addition, 16 mobile homes were built on the shore of the lake and another 19 mobile homes on the campsite – without the appropriate building permits. To this end, massive changes were made to the shore that are not in line with nature conservation and water law requirements. All these changes meant that the Salzlandkreis district, as the responsible building supervisory authority, had to take action to avert danger. According to registration certificates, some people even lived in the mobile homes permanently at times. However, this is not permitted on campsites.

Why has the Salzland district only taken action in recent years?

The campsite at Schachtsee Wolmirsleben has existed for decades. However, there was no reason for the Salzland district to inspect the area until 2022. The municipality of Egelner Mulde asked for support at the time because the campsite was being used by so-called Irish travellers at the invitation of the campsite operator and there was massive anger among the population. Since then and until the ban on use was enforced in 2024 due to a lack of cooperation with the campsite operator, the Salzland district had always offered solutions to all parties involved. If everyone had seriously followed these suggestions, the ban on use that had been threatened for two years might not have had to be implemented.

What about grandfathering?

Protection was out of the question because the changes to the campsite up to 2022 were so massive.

What would have been necessary to avoid the current situation?

Fire safety regulations must be complied with, if only to protect property. Although a number of campers have shown insight during the consultations, the essential requirements have not been met: unhindered access to the site for the fire brigade, set-up areas for the fire brigade and an extinguishing water supply. The municipality of Wolmirsleben should also have created the legal planning requirements to properly designate the area as a campsite. According to the building inspectorate's research, this had never been done despite decades of existence. For the development plan, in turn, proper conditions must be established on the site. In principle, the operator of the campsite is responsible for this.

Why can't extinguishing water be taken from the lake?

In order to draw extinguishing water from the lake, an extinguishing water extraction point would have to be built at the lake. This is time-consuming and costly. As a temporary solution, it would also have been sufficient if the fire brigade could drive close enough to the lake. However, a test drive with the fire brigade has shown that it is not possible to drive close enough to the lake due to the unpaved terrain.

Many are calling for a round table to work out joint solutions. Is that not possible?

To put it bluntly: these are smoke and mirrors. In recent years, the responsible employees of the district administration have held numerous discussions with all parties involved, i.e. the campers, the campsite operator and the municipality of Wolmirsleben. They even explain to the local council what the initial situation is and what measures are necessary. They have repeatedly pointed out solutions and exercised discretion - in the interests of the users. However, this is not a political decision; the specifications are based on building, fire protection, nature and water legislation. The Salzland district is acting in a delegated sphere of influence here. There are no political considerations involved! In addition, the campsite operator was never constructive. On the contrary, he has made the necessary process of change more difficult, portraying himself as a victim of the authorities in publicly accessible videos. But what he does not do is recognise his responsibility as an operator.

Is all this really necessary?

Yes, the Magdeburg Administrative Court has now established this in several rulings. It even clearly demanded that the building supervisory authority not make any compromises in order to protect life and limb due to the high risk! At the request of the campsite operator, many of the decisions were also reviewed by the Higher Administrative Court in Naumburg. In Germany, everyone has the right to take legal action against an administrative act such as this. In this specific case, we are also able to do so, as there should no longer be any doubt that we acted correctly in all respects on the basis of the decisions - even if many still claim otherwise!

And now?

To be clear: we regret that it had to come to this. We have always pointed out solutions and reached out to all parties involved, because local recreation at the Schachtsee plays an important role for the Salzland district as an attractive residential and business location. However, after two years we realised that there was hardly any real progress in the matter. That is why we, as the building supervisory authority, had to fulfil our responsibility and enforce the prohibition of use. If the campsite is to be used again, the conditions must first be created that those responsible are aware of.

Why isn't it at least possible to swim in the Schachtsee?

Here too: The responsibility lies with the municipality of Wolmirsleben and the operator of the campsite. We have always spoken out in favour of a solution in terms of bathing, but there was no serious initiative to do so. Instead, we were only ever confronted with public accusations that we had also banned bathing. It is true that the bathing area is formally part of the campsite. We have therefore suggested that bathing can take place if the area is clearly separated from the campsite - for example with the help of a fence.