The title sounds like a thriller.

"You still have 60 minutes," he could say.

Then the clock ticks for the mean Kronberger to cross the Opel Zoo on the Philosophenweg.

But it turns out to be more of a contemplative nature film.

The passage can be made leisurely in 20 minutes.

It doesn't cost him anything, after all, Kronberger has a claim to the centuries-old connection to neighboring Königstein.

Say those who argued for free passage.

A chip card is the only concession that the residents of the host community have to make now that the path has been confiscated.

Unless they prefer to pay 30 euros to enjoy the zoo in peace.

For a whole year, of course, because you get the annual pass for half the price.

burden of history

In the struggle for the Philosophenweg, sober arguments are less important than the burden of history.

Yes, in the 1950s Georg von Opel had put out the slogan for his then manageable private enclosure: “Free entry for free animals”.

And was just as free with the building rights.

However, the private zoo soon became an outdoor enclosure for animal research that cannot be compared with this one.

As early as 1975 there was a dispute about whether cash registers should be located on Philosophenweg.

The suggestions back then: season tickets and a key for Kronberger and Königsteiner.

Only half a century later, one could say ironically, a similar regulation now comes into force.

That's how long it took a solution for 20,000 Kronberger.

Most of the 580,000 visitors, who often travel more than 100 kilometers and have made the zoo the most popular leisure facility in Hesse in the second Corona year, will shake their heads at this.

For the Opel Zoo, the contiguous company premises mean safety - not just in the legal sense.

It's time to acknowledge the needs of Kronberg's biggest attraction.

And at the same time that there is fair compensation for the loss of the Philosophenweg, which is only so popular because of the zoo.