The litter fails, but Gernot Wolperding is very satisfied.

The two “pawns” remain standing on the left and right and would give the bowler an insoluble task when clearing away.

But the technology works, and that's what counts.

Wolperding mechanically sets the white plastic cones back up with a lever.

A sophisticated mechanism that makes the bowling boys of historical railways superfluous.

In this system, the ball is lifted up to a height of a good one meter using a lifting device and then rolls back to the bowler.

Oliver Bock

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis and for Wiesbaden.

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Details still have to be fine-tuned, but Wiesbaden now has “Germany's highest open-air bowling alley”. Manfred Weitz, who set up the project together with Wolperding, researched the superlative. In Germany there are only around two dozen functional systems, all of which are in the "lowlands", says Weitz.

Both are cone brothers in the "oldest bowling club in Germany", the bowling society from 1855, which in turn is part of the Wiesbaden Casino Society.

When the corona pandemic forced the first lockdown, the sociable bowling in the basement of the company was over.

Wolperding was boring.

Then he came up with the idea of ​​the open-air bowling alley.

The civil engineer worked out the technical details of the bowling alley after the first plans to restore a historic bowling alley at Schloss Vollrads were broken.

Stay fit in good company

Weitz, a lawyer, helped him with the implementation.

The new building, which is only partially roofed with spruce wood for reasons of monument protection, is in the immediate vicinity of the Jagdschloss Platte and thus around 500 meters above sea level.

The exact location is on the mini golf course next to the local inn.

In terms of dimensions, the track meets the requirements of the German Bowling Association.

But hasn't bowling long since gone out of fashion?

The number of members of the federal association has decreased from more than 250,000 to around 70,000 over the past two decades.

In their own bowling club, Weitz and Wolperding make sure that the average age falls below 70 if possible.

But they are convinced of the sociable hobby.

“I'm excited about the community,” says Wolperding.

Bowling is a "nice accessory" and also keeps you fit. Once a week, a bowling evening is a must. And those who “skip” have to pay into the bowling box. The run, which has been built since February, can be booked and used by all bowling enthusiasts in the region.