He was accompanied by District Administrator Dr. Rainer Haas, Member of Parliament Jürgen Walter, Mayor Christian Eiberger and other participants.
"After many years, this land reorganization of a very special kind is now coming to a successful conclusion. The striking landscape of the Hohenasperg, as we know it from Dürer's famous engraving, will be preserved for future generations," stated District Administrator Haas and continued: "I am delighted that the state has supported this complex process and that Dr. Baumann is here today to see it for himself."
In fact, the construction work as part of the land consolidation process is almost complete: The walls of all private property owners and the town of Asperg have been completed; final work on the paths is expected to be finished by the end of the month. Apart from this, the final construction program of MM Immobiliengesellschaft is still pending, which is to be implemented next year.
"Great efforts have been made to preserve the unique flora and fauna of the Hohenasperg - protected birds and reptiles, especially wall lizards, various species of wild bees and a wide range of protected plant species," said District Administrator Haas. Among other things, the restoration work was not carried out all at once, but was spread out in terms of time and space; several parcels of land were taken out of cultivation and dedicated to nature conservation, and a protective strip was created along the Mittlerer Weg. The ecological windows - ecologically protected sections of walls that were not affected by the construction work - also played a special role in the process. Regular inspections with those involved, an ecological construction supervisor and ecological monitoring were further important factors in taking special account of ecology.
The nature conservation project "Wild bee paradise Mauerterrassen am Hohenasperg" complemented the measures of the land consolidation process. The private land, which has since been abandoned as vineyards, is to be acquired by the state and used exclusively for species conservation purposes with funding from the Nature Conservation Fund Foundation. "The project could permanently safeguard the outstanding wild bee and reptile populations at Hohenasperg," said District Administrator Haas.
