Nordendmeile now lights up with LEDs - Frankfurt's longest chain of lights saves electricity
Frankfurt's head of environment praises businessmen's commitment "We can stroll in a beautiful atmosphere and do something good at the same time"
For more than thirty years, long garlands of lights on both sides of Berger Strasse have been illuminating the Nordend district center "Untere Berger" between Höhenstrasse, Merianplatz and Bethmannpark in the dark wintertime. Every year from the end of November until well after the turn of the year, the warm light from around two thousand light bulbs conjures up an incomparable charm and a cosy shopping atmosphere on the popular Untere Berger Straße promenade and thus also ensures better illumination of the route along shop windows of the many local businesses, caf<x>ampersand</x>eacute;s and restaurants. For five years, the operation of the total of about two kilometers long chain of lights is now done by environmentally friendly green electricity. Now, at the current turn of the year 2016/ 2017, it was finally possible to replace the approximately two thousand illuminants with LED lights, thus fulfilling a long-cherished plan of the local interest group "Untere Bergerstraße".
"We are glad that we have achieved our goal and, after switching to green electricity, have now also been able to completely convert our lighting to energy-saving LED operation," say in unison the organizers in the outgoing and also in the newly elected association board proudly. Since the founding of the trade association in 1985, more than thirty years ago, it has been a good tradition in the district that the approximately one-kilometer-long stretch of the lower part of Berger Strasse is decorated on both sides with "Frankfurt's longest "chain of lights". Thus it comes every year to the approximately two kilometers total length of the extraordinary street lighting in the Advent and pre-Christmas period and over the turn of the year into the New Year.
"Our fathers and association founders came up with this back then in order to additionally illuminate the sidewalks during the dark season, to highlight the togetherness of the many small shops and their diverse range of products on the lower Berger Strasse, and thus to uniquely position itself as Frankfurt's cozy shopping mile away from the hustle and bustle of the city," adds Christian Schwarz, who has been actively involved in public relations work regarding the "lower Berger" for many years and also serves as spokesman for the local trade association on the popular northern end mile.
Frankfurt's head of environmental affairs Rosemarie Heilig then also praises the initiative of the Nordend businesses as exemplary and environmentally friendly. "They are already realizing the goals of our climate protection master plan on Untere Berger Straße: an economical and completely renewable energy supply. We can stroll in a beautiful atmosphere and at the same time do something good for the earth's atmosphere."
For more than three decades, the "Untere Bergerstraße" e.V. community of interest has been shouldering virtually all the costs itself, from the purchase, erection and suspension to maintenance, insurance, storage as well as the energy operation of the chain of lights, which is around two kilometres long. In addition, there is the annual festive decoration of the large municipal fir tree in the middle of the central Merianplatz, which still shines in Advent and traditionally also in the first days of January with its colorful glass balls and also shines with LED lights.
"A good tradition", emphasizes also the chairman of the trade association Kaweh Nemati, there is agreement among the businessmen along the popular promenade, "which has now been maintained for three decades and in the dark winter time far beyond the turn of the year provides a unique and particularly cozy shopping atmosphere on the lower Berger Street here in Frankfurt Nordend."
