A castle said to have inspired the Brothers Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty fairytale is under siege from a modern-day foe as builders start to surround it with a forest of wind turbines.
Planners in the German state of Hesse, have given permission for 18 giant turbines to be built in the 13th-century castle’s storybook forest setting at a cost of nearly GBP 170 million.
Now, instead of the Grimms’ forest of thorns, modern-day visitors to the castle will be faced with rows of giant fans across the idyllic Reinhardswald hillscape.
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm published their first volume of fairy tales in 1812 and are said to have been inspired by the myths and legends from the remote countryside.
Now, despite nine lawsuits challenging the planning permission, bulldozers have begun tearing down hundreds of trees to make way for the power-generating turbines.
The turbines will soar nearly 750 ft into the air and each rotor blade is more than 200 ft long, the length of an Airbus A380 plane.
But project Builder Ralf Paschold told local media that his own lawyers say the construction can go ahead despite the outstanding protests.
He said: “According to the company’s own legal assessment, there is no risk for the construction and operation of the wind farm.”
The plan, though, has infuriated locals, who say their forest fairyland is being sacrificed by Green power fanatics.
One, Annette Muller-Zitzke, said: “This project is an attack on Germany’s fairytale forest.
“It shows like nothing else the brutality of the Green energy transition at any price.”
And anti-turbine campaign leader Oliver Penner said: “Construction begins before justice has been served.
“That is not only disrespectful to the citizens, but also risky and expensive”
The castle, known locally as Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, dates back to the 14th century and became known as the Sabadurg to its ancient owners.
Experts say the forest and castle inspired several of the Grimm brothers’ stories like Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Clive Goodman, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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