Anyone looking for an opportunity to watch public fireworks in the Rhine-Main area at the turn of the year will have a hard time finding it.

At least in Frankfurt, the firecrackers and the firing of rockets and smaller pyrotechnics will be limited to one's own front yard or the residential street in front of the house.

As reported, plans to celebrate the turn of the year with a light show on the Main failed for cost reasons.

However, in many popular public places it will not be possible to shoot rockets into the sky that you have brought with you.

Catherine Iskandar

Responsible editor for the "Rhein-Main" department of the Sunday newspaper.

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As reported, the city of Frankfurt has decreed that no fireworks may be lit on the Iron Bridge and its bridgeheads and may not even be carried along.

The aim is to protect the crowded people on the bridge at the turn of the year.

The regulation applies from Saturday at 9 p.m. to Sunday at 3 a.m.

Specifically, the ban applies to rockets, firecrackers, cannon strikes, fireworks batteries as well as Bengal torches, fire fountains and rocket propellants, as the city reports.

As in previous years, bags, backpacks and bags with a capacity of more than three liters may not be taken onto the Iron Bridge and its bridgeheads during the specified period.

Ban on firecrackers at the Eiserner Steg

As in the years before Corona, a security zone will be set up around the Iron Bridge.

Access to the bridge is controlled by security personnel and the state police.

The city reserves the right to temporarily close the bridge if too many people are there.

But the banks of the Main near the Römerberg are not the only place where the ban on firecrackers applies.

The general decree of the city of Frankfurt also includes places near churches, hospitals, children's and old people's homes as well as particularly fire-sensitive buildings or facilities.

The ban applies to large parts of the city center.

The public order office explains the restriction by saying that the facilities are to be protected from fire, damage and noise.

The state police announced on Thursday that many officers were present in the city area, both in uniform and in civilian clothes, as a spokesman said.

Mobile cameras will also be set up on the Römerberg and at the northern bridgehead of the Eiserner Steg in order to keep an eye on and document what is happening there.

Traveler safety

Travel to Frankfurt is also subject to strict conditions this year.

As the federal police announced, there will be a temporary weapons ban zone on the railway facilities at the turn of the year, which means that weapons and other dangerous objects may not be carried.

In addition, the setting off of fireworks at the train stations is prohibited.

This applies to the period from December 31, 12 p.m. to January 1, 9 a.m.

With regard to Frankfurt, the ban applies to all levels of the main train station as well as at the Höchst and Süd stations as well as at the Taunusanlage, Hauptwache, Konstablerwache and all stations in between.

No dangerous objects such as larger pyrotechnics and weapons may be carried on the trains either.

According to the federal police, the ban applies to all trains on S-Bahn lines 1 to 6 as well as 8 and 9.

The fact that the authorities are restricting the possibilities of celebrating in large numbers in public places and setting off fireworks is said to have something to do with incidents such as on New Year's Eve in Cologne in 2015, when women were sexually harassed and coerced by newcomers were, wants to prevent in Frankfurt.

Even if the authorities do not officially state this as a reason.

On the other hand, they are reacting to experiences from earlier years in which there were physical injuries in the city center, including from fireworks flying around.

Increased potential for conflict

According to their own statements, the Federal Police assumes that the number of rail passengers in Frankfurt will increase significantly at the turn of the year compared to the two previous years.

"As a result, the potential for conflict also increases," says a spokesman, "because experience has shown that, mostly under the influence of alcohol, even initially trivial disputes can result in physical arguments."

Knives, irritants or other weapons could be used.

The celebrations in public places in the surrounding area are probably much more relaxed.

There are also zones in which it is forbidden to set off fireworks in other cities.

But in Darmstadt, for example, fireworks can be lit up to Luisenplatz and Mathildenhöhe.

There are also hardly any restrictions in Offenbach and Kassel.

Only a public fireworks display, that doesn't exist in any larger Hessian city.

In Wiesbaden, too, the planned New Year's Eve fireworks on the bowling green in front of the Kurhaus are cancelled.