Augsburg‘s Christmas market opened this week under heightened security, with movable bollards deployed to protect visitors-at a cost of 250,000 euros for the bollard rental alone. The city is budgeting an additional mid-five-figure sum, approximately 50,000 euros, for personnel to operate the barriers.
The temporary security measure, implemented in response to evolving threat assessments, requires security personnel to physically reposition the bollards roughly 40 times per hour.City officials say the chosen system represents the most practical solution given budgetary constraints and logistical considerations, avoiding substantially higher costs associated with permanent, retractable bollards.
According to Augsburg Ordnungsreferent (Public Order Officer) Pintsch, the bollards are not new to city events, having been previously utilized at summer and folk festivals. He explained that retractable bollards would have necessitated extensive excavation work and carried a price tag of around 5 million euros.
The city of Augsburg provided a photo of the market, protected by the metal bollards, with a credit to the Stadt Augsburg (City of Augsburg).
