It is one of the beautiful Easter traditions and there were only a few places in Berlin this year where an Easter bonfire took place. It was all the more annoying for hundreds of visitors to the Britzer Garten on Saturday when they stood in front of closed doors. The reason: The Britzer Garten had to be closed due to overcrowding.
At around 6 p.m., Grün Berlin GmbH closed the gates to the popular garden because there were already too many visitors there. “No entry at Easter fire after 6 p.m.,” writes user Leon T. in a review on Google Maps for the Britzer Garten. The visitor is angry because Grün Berlin advertised the event anyway. “Despite advertising, no one was allowed in after 6 p.m.”
Bitzer Garten turns away visitors for Easter fires
Visitors were turned away at the gates due to overcrowding. The operator also warned on social media: “Attention: Due to the large crowds, the event area for our Easter bonfire is already closed for safety reasons.” In addition, according to the operator, the state-owned Grün Berlin GmbH, there is said to have been construction work on the festival site, which is why not there was a lot of space.
But many visitors did not see the warning in time and the previous advertising did not indicate a possible closure. An event notice for the Easter fire stated that the time for the event was 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and only that the number of tickets was limited. But the Easter fire followed regular opening hours, so many visitors stayed on site. Those who thought the event would be opened separately were out of luck. Even visitors who had previously secured special tickets for entry found themselves standing in front of locked gates.
Even if you have pre-ordered tickets, you cannot go to the Easter fire
At around 6:45 p.m., many people stood puzzled in front of the entrance to the Britzer Garten on Buckower Damm. “We bought tickets in advance. Can we at least get our money back?” one of the visitors who was prevented from attending asked a cashier who was locking the ticket booth. “You have to write an email and then you will get it back,” she replied to the man who had come especially to the Easter fire with his wife and children.
But even those who came to the site after 6 p.m. because they had pre-ordered tickets were not necessarily allowed to attend the Easter fire. “We were there at half past five and also came to the site with our maps,” writes Ramona Riedel about her visit to Google. It was communicated that the tickets were limited, but not that the area of the festival site in Britzer Garten, where the Easter fire took place, might be cordoned off. That’s why Riedel didn’t come to the square and is therefore angry: “Never again Britzer Garten!” she writes. ■