Fireworks may not be sold in Germany in 2021. Many firecracker fans go to Poland and stand in line for hours.
Kassel – In Germany there is a firecracker ban on New Year’s Eve 2021 – fireworks may not be sold for the second year in a row. Many firecrackers fans do not want to just accept that and accept a lot in order to still get to fireworks.
A 300 meter long queue with several hundred people formed in Slubice in Poland on Wednesday (December 29, 2021) in front of a fireworks shop. Many had traveled to Poland from Berlin and Brandenburg, but people from Hanover and Saxony were also there, reports the Berliner Zeitung.
Fireworks ban in Germany: Firecracker fans stand in line for hours in Poland
The aim of the firecrackers ban is to avoid accidents caused by the improper use of firecrackers and rockets and thus to protect hospitals that are extremely polluted by Corona *. At Aldi and Lidl, consumers can still buy small fireworks *.
If the smallest fireworks are not enough for you, you can stock up in Slubice, for example, directly behind the German-Polish border. Maik Schütze (55) is one of them. “If the sales ban didn’t exist, I would have bought the things in Germany,” he told the Berliner Zeitung. He waited three hours and spent 341 euros on fireworks. In addition to the sales ban, there is a fireworks ban * in many public places.
Also this year the sale of #Pyrotechnik is banned in #Germany. Those who don’t want to do without it go to #Poland to buy guns. #Slubice # Böllerverbot #Silvester pic.twitter.com/gVrqPlX7px
– rbb | 24 (@ rbb24) December 30, 2021
The rush is a surprise for the small fireworks shop in Poland. “It’s been so full every day since December 1st,” says one employee according to the Berliner Zeitung. Seven people are allowed to enter the shop at the same time. Three employees take care of sales.
Firecracker ban 2021: Buying fireworks abroad is not prohibited
“A few things are cheaper, a few more expensive than in Germany,” says Schütz. So that the customs do not confiscate the fireworks, they have received a certificate for the large fireworks batteries.
The purchase of fireworks abroad is not prohibited. However, private individuals are only allowed to transport a maximum of 50 kilograms of fireworks, announced the Federal Office for Materials Research and Testing. The fireworks require a CE mark and a registration number. “We keep an eye on the fireworks and monitor them like every year,” says customs spokeswoman Astrid Prinz. She cannot yet draw a comparison with previous years.
New Year’s Eve 2021: Customs reckons with 2.5 to 3 tons of illegal fireworks
The main customs office in Frankfurt (Oder) expects 2.5 to 3 tons of illegal fireworks by the end of the year. Anyone who imports it into Germany faces criminal proceedings for violating the Explosives Act. The fireworks mostly imported from Poland or the Czech Republic are often strictly speaking not illegal goods, emphasized Axel Brehm, an investigator at the State Criminal Police Office of Saxony.
“Usually everything that is sold on the markets in the Czech Republic and Poland has also received the declaration of conformity. The real problem is that in these countries articles from categories can be freely sold for which a permit is required in Germany, ”said Brehm. Only pyrotechnics of hazard classes F1 and F2 may be sold to laypeople. (Sarah Neumeyer with dpa) * hna.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
