Munich (dpa / lby) - For the illegal demolition of the listed Munich watchmaker's house, the buyer of the house has been fined 132,500 euros. On Friday, the district court imposed 250 daily rates of 530 euros each for damaging property and coercion. The court found it proven that he hired a contractor to intentionally demolish the house with an excavator in 2017 so that it could then be demolished. The court also upheld the allegation of coercion. According to the indictment, he is said to have disgusted the tenants of the clockmaker's cottage by turning off the water, switching off the electricity, unhinging the front door and removing the roof tiles so that it rains inside.
The contractor was sentenced to a fine of 110 daily rates of 40 euros for aiding and abetting damage to property.
The accused buyer of the house had spoken in court of a mistake and denied the intention to demolish at the beginning of the proceedings through his lawyers: "There was no order for the demolition." The man is being made "the scapegoat" for gentrification in Munich, his defense attorney said. "He's not a real estate shark, he bought the watchmaker's house in order to move in himself after the renovation." The court did not follow this reasoning.
The Uhrmacherhäusl has occupied local residents, conservationists and politicians for years. It is part of the Feldmüllersiedlung ensemble in the Giesing district, which was built between 1840 and 1845, and was a listed building - until the fall of 2017 when the excavator came, which is now the subject of the lawsuit.
