A turmoil in the Mühlviertel

After hole in pond: “Ice bathers, go somewhere else!”

This hole is currently causing a stir in Rainbach im Mühlkreis.(Bild: Picasa)

In Rainbach im Mühlkreis (Upper Austria), there is currently a lot of excitement because a hole has been chopped into the frozen bathing pond. The municipality blames the ice bathers and appeals to them to cool off in a nearby river in future. However, the ice bathers react heatedly and wash their hands of the matter.

"Dear ice bathers, it may be a great pastime, but you are putting others in danger with this pleasure on recreational ponds! The Rainbach swimming pond is used for ice skating and curling. Holes like this are a danger for ice skaters and curlers all winter long - especially for children!" - With these words, Bettina Preinfalk, an employee at the municipal office in Rainbach/M., appeals to ice skaters on Facebook, as a hole has been made in the ice at the bathing pond in the municipal leisure park. She asks: "Use the adjacent Feldaist - leave the bathing pond alone!"

The leisure facility belongs to the Mühlviertel municipality.(Bild: Picasa)

The frosty reaction of the ice bathers
An understandable request, but one that has not only met with a positive response. One local ice swimmer wrote angrily: "None of us bother to break the ice (we'd freeze to death by then), we always go to the pool next door when it's frozen over. I think it's a shame to make us all look bad with such an aggressive post without having a clue. Maybe you should just give it a try to relax."

This hole is currently causing a stir in Rainbach im Mühlkreis.(Bild: Picasa)

The frozen pond has only just been opened for use. I can't prove that ice bathers made the hole, but it's annoying.

Gemeindemitarbeiterin Bettina Preinfalk

Bild: Plank

A criticism that Bettina Preinfalk takes very seriously: "The hole could really have been caused by someone else, I can't rule that out. But it is not at all certain that it will freeze over and that is simply a great danger for the children who want to skate there. An old ice skater can judge that correctly, children can't. After all, the pond is up to three meters deep. It is important for us to warn against this. What's more, there's a pool next door in the Feldaist where you can sit in."

The ice bathers are also puzzled: "We've often discussed why these holes are always left open over a cup of tea after swimming, maybe there's a regulation because of the fish?" 

This is what the pond looked like on Tuesday.(Bild: Bettina Preinfalk)

Counterattack on Facebook
Bettina Preinfalk countered on Facebook: "Open holes in the bathing pond are a problem, especially for skating children. They can't judge a thin layer of ice! Ice holes are dangerous all winter long. Above all, you can never get rid of the ice cubes that freeze to the ice. And an open ice hole never regains the same layer of ice as the rest of the ice surface throughout the winter. Nothing stays open because of the fish."

„Krone“-Kommentar

Jeder sieht nur seine Bedürfnisse

It's a sign of the times: non-stop staring at smartphone displays is the number one killer of empathy. People's heads are constantly somewhere else, and it's not just young people who almost completely block out the annoying, because real, environment with the earbuds in their ears.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Alexander Schwarzl, Markus Wenzel)

As a result, the importance of your own needs becomes ever more important. I don't care about the others - I hardly notice anything about them anyway. You might get a cool head from ice bathing, but a warm heart that also beats for others is probably not a prerequisite.