Wednesday is the main day of action for farmers protesting against the federal government’s austerity plans. Farmers will also paralyze traffic with their tractors in the Tübingen district.
A tugboat trip is planned from the Tübingen festival site via the B 28 to Rottenburg. Meeting point at the festival site is at 2:30 p.m., departure is scheduled for 3 p.m.
In Rottenburg it goes through the city via Tübinger Straße, Sprollstraße, Eugen-Bolz-Straße and Sülchenstraße and then on to Wurmlingen and Unterjesingen. From there the tugs chug back to Tübingen. They are likely to arrive there in rush hour traffic on Rheinlandstrasse.
The journey then goes via Westbahnhofstrasse, Kelternstrasse, Am Stadtgraben, Lustnauer Tor, Mühlstrasse, Eberhardsbrücke, Friedrichstrasse, Blaue Brücke and Hechinger Strasse onto the B 27. The farmers leave at Bodelshausen and meet at the entrance to the town in a private green area. The end there is scheduled for 6 p.m.
The Tübingen public utility company also expects disruptions to bus transport. They write that these will initially affect lines 18 and 19 between Tübingen and Rottenburg, and subsequently all Tübus lines. Bus traffic in the city center will probably have to be temporarily interrupted or rerouted via the Schlossberg tunnel.
The district farmers’ association, which organizes the trip, points out that rescue workers, fire brigade and police must get through at all times. He also explains: “We want to protest peacefully and democratically. We fundamentally reject extreme ideas (whether right or left), personal attacks and violence!” The association has also drawn up a whole series of rules of conduct. These include a ban on weapons and a ban on masking. Participants must also wear high-visibility vests. Trailers and attachments are not permitted, and “radical inscriptions and symbolism (gallows, skulls)” are also not permitted. In addition, all banners and posters must be registered.
The district chairman of the farmers’ association, Jörg Kautt, asks that the requirements be adhered to. “The goal of our events is to support society in our concerns,” he writes. “We want to make headlines in politics, but definitely not negative ones.”