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Gloria von Thurn und Taxis in the garden of St. Emmeram Castle

Photo: Armin Weigel / dpa

The car manufacturer BMW is apparently ending its cooperation with the Regensburg Castle Festival – and is to withdraw as a sponsor of the event. This is reported by the »Süddeutsche Zeitung« and makes a connection to the long-standing criticism of the patroness of the palace concerts, Gloria von Thurn und Taxis (the full report can be found here ).

Gloria von Thurn und Taxis is the landlady of St. Emmeram Castle in Regensburg, the venue of the festival. For some time now, she has been attracting attention with statements that have a clear populist, homophobic and racist tongue. Most recently, a letter of protest from more than 100 cultural workers made headlines. "We have been observing with horror the right-wing conservative radicalization for years" by Gloria von Thurn und Taxis (you can find out more about the background here).

Noticeable turn to the right

In fact, BMW is probably not making direct reference to the controversial patron. The company told the "Süddeutsche" only in general terms that the company was "realigning its social commitment at the Regensburg plant site. In this context, BMW Group Plant Regensburg has decided not to renew the sponsorship agreement with Odeon Concerte, the organiser of the Regensburg Festival, which expired in the summer of 2023."

Von Thurn und Taxis has recently appeared more frequently as an interview guest in media with a clear right-wing twist. For example, she was a guest on the new YouTube channel of ex-Bild editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt. Sometimes she relativized corporal punishment as a "completely normal pedagogical tool", then again she described child abuse by Catholic clergy as a "phenomenon" that exists "in every school, in every sports club". When hundreds of thousands of refugees came to Germany, she claimed that the earth was "on the brink of the third world war", "this migration of peoples that is pouring towards us here, already a kind of war". Germany is heading towards a "totalitarian society".

The fact that BMW makes no reference to Thurn und Taxis in its withdrawal comes as a surprise: In the summer, the group had clearly criticized the patron of the festival.

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