This weekend, interested visitors could explore 25 rooftop gardens and terraces in the city. On display were not only sometimes spectacular views but also some unexpected installations.
The view of a city from above is probably a primal human longing. That is why people climb church towers, take photos from airplanes, or examine replicas like the Sandtner city model from 1570: It provides a pleasant sense of recognition, of noting what has remained the same and what has changed, a broad overview, detached from the constraints of walls that abruptly cut off the view.
Fortunately, there are more and more buildings in Munich that make this view from above possible – tall buildings whose top floors are no longer used just for storing cleaning supplies but offer residents or employees their own kind of leisure quality: Rooftop gardens are not only ecologically sensible because they buffer rainfall and provide habitat for plants and animals. They also create green lungs that can often no longer be created at ground level.
Seen this way, it is no surprise that the “Day of Rooftop Gardens” on Saturday attracted numerous interested parties – whether through special activities or the mere opportunity to explore places and views that are otherwise off-limits to most. The attractiveness of the offer is also evident in the fact that many events were fully booked long before the date.
For instance, the chance to do yoga early in the morning on the cultural rooftop garden of Fat Cat, formerly known as Gasteig. Dietmar Holzapfel showed the roof of his restaurant “Deutsche Eiche,” and some were probably quite astonished to learn that on the roof of “Macherei” in Berg am Laim, a 160-meter tartan track is installed, where one could have taken part in a running course if they had known in time: also fully booked here.
25 rooftops were available for selection, either with a guided tour or for independent exploration. And even if you cannot afford one of the apartments in “The Seven” on Müllerstraße – looking at the old town from the 56-meter-high roof of the former heating plant still fulfills a primal human longing: the longing for an overview.
Source: www.sueddeutsche.de
