I am the owner of www.mtbtopos.com. I ride in the Forst Potsdam, Wildpark, Berliner forst, and Grunewald. I am not a freerider.
More than a year a go I received a letter from the Potsdam forstamt. The letter accused me of leaving trash in the park, constructing freeride jumps and ladders, and riding off trail. None of this was true. The forstamt threatened to fine me up to 100000 euro. The proof that I did all of this consisted of pictures of trash lying in the woods, pictures of ladders constructed in the forest, and a picture of a printout of one of my mtbtopos which was found by the forstamt somewhere in the forest. This last item was probably how the forstamt came to find me in the first place. I was instructed by the forstamt to write a letter responding to their charges, and from this response they would decide if I was guilty or not, and what the fine should be.
Although it was obvious to me that their proof really did not prove anything at all, facing a 100000 euro fine I felt no choice but to talk to a laywer. He told me I should make an appointment at the forstamt to view the entire file on me to see all of the evidence they had against me. I did this, and there was nothing else of substance in my file. My lawyer then wrote a letter to the forstamt basically stating that they had no evidence to support their claims against me. I have not heard back from the forstamt, and it has been more than six months since the letter was sent.
I am not a freerider myself, but I have met a few locals at the Brauhausberg, Kathrinholz, and Grunewald. The freeriders I have talked to have all said that the building of the jumps and ladders is basically tolerated by the forstamt, as long as the area is kept clean. Maybe the situation has changed since I've talked to you, I don't know. I just wanted to tell you about my experience. I would also be very interested to hear if anyone else has been threatened by the forstamt, or if I am the only one.
Although nothing has come of any of this, the whole process has dragged on for more than a year now and has been stressful for me. I hope by posting this I can help someone else by increasing awareness of what is going on at your local Potsdam forstamt.
Robert Piontek
More than a year a go I received a letter from the Potsdam forstamt. The letter accused me of leaving trash in the park, constructing freeride jumps and ladders, and riding off trail. None of this was true. The forstamt threatened to fine me up to 100000 euro. The proof that I did all of this consisted of pictures of trash lying in the woods, pictures of ladders constructed in the forest, and a picture of a printout of one of my mtbtopos which was found by the forstamt somewhere in the forest. This last item was probably how the forstamt came to find me in the first place. I was instructed by the forstamt to write a letter responding to their charges, and from this response they would decide if I was guilty or not, and what the fine should be.
Although it was obvious to me that their proof really did not prove anything at all, facing a 100000 euro fine I felt no choice but to talk to a laywer. He told me I should make an appointment at the forstamt to view the entire file on me to see all of the evidence they had against me. I did this, and there was nothing else of substance in my file. My lawyer then wrote a letter to the forstamt basically stating that they had no evidence to support their claims against me. I have not heard back from the forstamt, and it has been more than six months since the letter was sent.
I am not a freerider myself, but I have met a few locals at the Brauhausberg, Kathrinholz, and Grunewald. The freeriders I have talked to have all said that the building of the jumps and ladders is basically tolerated by the forstamt, as long as the area is kept clean. Maybe the situation has changed since I've talked to you, I don't know. I just wanted to tell you about my experience. I would also be very interested to hear if anyone else has been threatened by the forstamt, or if I am the only one.
Although nothing has come of any of this, the whole process has dragged on for more than a year now and has been stressful for me. I hope by posting this I can help someone else by increasing awareness of what is going on at your local Potsdam forstamt.
Robert Piontek
