This empty bird park in Bad Rothenfelde was a rare object. Maybe it's because of the fog that hangs over the valley, as if he's trapped here. Maybe because of the proximity to the Teutoburger Forest, where so many warriors lost their lives. Or maybe there's no reason why this place hasn't brought happiness to anyone yet. Abandoned and forgotten, it lies a little away from the municipality of Bad Rothenfelde in the Osnabrück district. Only those who don't want to be disturbed, no matter what, come here. The investors had big plans when it opened in August 1975: the facility was to be one of the largest in Europe, alongside the Walsrode Bird Park. On the 22 hectare site there were 16 aviaries and a tropical house with a free flight hall, a tropical café and a playground with mini boats, a 540 meter long vintage railway line and play equipment. But economic problems soon arose, and in 1978 the bird paradise was auctioned off. The owners had taken over and the construction costs more than doubled. The expected annual sales were set too high. The bird park went under the hammer for one million marks (around 500,000 euros). Under the new management of the Pfaff family, some rare offspring were bred in the following years: black storks, chajas and crested caracaras obviously felt at home. At its best, 4,000 birds lived in the bird park's aviaries. From 1984 onwards, Pfaff submitted several applications to the municipality to change the use of the area. He wanted to turn the bird park into a park with holiday homes. The community refused. In 1997, a new initiative: an ecological holiday and leisure center was to be built, which would be integrated into a research project at the University of Hanover and become part of the Expo. At the time, the park was debt-free. However, the owners saw no long-term future with just the birds as a platoon number.
The plans failed. The municipality did not want to allow the holiday homes to be used as permanent residences. In 2000, the Pfaff-Schirmer family presented revised plans based on “Center Parks”. Industry giant TUI wanted to take care of marketing. The community considered these plans to be an illusion and commissioned the district's economic development agency to find a usage concept. The report showed that a holiday park with a conference hotel has a future. The council gave its approval for tourist use. The first plans were drawn. But here too, the waiver of a permanent right of residence as demanded by the municipality in the land register is said to have destroyed the plans. The park closed permanently in 2000. The birds were sold except for a few peacocks. Christoph Schlüter and six of his friends also wanted to try it and wanted to get something going on this site. They believed they could make their fortune there. They come from Bad Rothenfelde and two neighboring communities, the largest of which has just over 10,000 inhabitants. “We were of the opinion that there had to be more here than shooting festivals,” says Christoph Schlüter. Namely electronic parties. The name of the event series: “Bird the Move”. It was through these parties that I visited the bird park for the first time. From 2001 to 2004, he and his friends organized five parties on the site of the former bird park, and 1,800 people came to the first one. The events were known far beyond the region.
The then owner of the site, Angela Schirmer, had leased it to Christoph Schlüter and his friends. Even the community liked their parties, he says. In February 2004 the family finally had to file for bankruptcy and just a few months later the tropical house burned down. Christoph Schlüter would later say that it was one of the worst moments of his life. The police at the time did not rule out arson; The investigation was stopped without any results because the fire had destroyed all traces. Fog hung over the area, birds flew over the hall scaffolding. You can hear her screaming, but you can't see her through the thick gray. The hall was originally covered, but the PVC panels melted during the fire. The plastic dripped onto trees and plants. All that remained of the lush green palm trees were charred stumps. After that, nature took over the park little by little...
In 2009 there were plans to build a residential area on the site. Demolition began at the beginning of February 2014. A solar park has now been built there.
The plans failed. The municipality did not want to allow the holiday homes to be used as permanent residences. In 2000, the Pfaff-Schirmer family presented revised plans based on “Center Parks”. Industry giant TUI wanted to take care of marketing. The community considered these plans to be an illusion and commissioned the district's economic development agency to find a usage concept. The report showed that a holiday park with a conference hotel has a future. The council gave its approval for tourist use. The first plans were drawn. But here too, the waiver of a permanent right of residence as demanded by the municipality in the land register is said to have destroyed the plans. The park closed permanently in 2000. The birds were sold except for a few peacocks. Christoph Schlüter and six of his friends also wanted to try it and wanted to get something going on this site. They believed they could make their fortune there. They come from Bad Rothenfelde and two neighboring communities, the largest of which has just over 10,000 inhabitants. “We were of the opinion that there had to be more here than shooting festivals,” says Christoph Schlüter. Namely electronic parties. The name of the event series: “Bird the Move”. It was through these parties that I visited the bird park for the first time. From 2001 to 2004, he and his friends organized five parties on the site of the former bird park, and 1,800 people came to the first one. The events were known far beyond the region.
The then owner of the site, Angela Schirmer, had leased it to Christoph Schlüter and his friends. Even the community liked their parties, he says. In February 2004 the family finally had to file for bankruptcy and just a few months later the tropical house burned down. Christoph Schlüter would later say that it was one of the worst moments of his life. The police at the time did not rule out arson; The investigation was stopped without any results because the fire had destroyed all traces. Fog hung over the area, birds flew over the hall scaffolding. You can hear her screaming, but you can't see her through the thick gray. The hall was originally covered, but the PVC panels melted during the fire. The plastic dripped onto trees and plants. All that remained of the lush green palm trees were charred stumps. After that, nature took over the park little by little...
In 2009 there were plans to build a residential area on the site. Demolition began at the beginning of February 2014. A solar park has now been built there.
