The city of Dietikon and the canton of Zurich save the historic miniature golf course
On the “Mühlematt” minigolf course in Dietikon ZH, small balls will be rolling over the 18 holes for the first time since autumn 2020. They are actually on the brink of extinction. But then the city and canton put in several million francs – partly for reasons of monument protection.
the essentials in brief
- It is surprising that the city of Dietikon and the canton of Zurich are raising money to save a miniature golf course – especially since it does not appear special at first glance.
Because the plant was created in 1969 according to the system of the Geneva garden architect Paul Bongni. In 1953 he had a system with 18 standardized slopes patented. As early as 1954 there were 14 identical plants across the country.
But the one in Zurich’s Limmat Valley is still something special: “Despite the relatively late construction time, it is one of the few surviving structures in the canton and with its substance preserved from the time of construction is of great importance,” stated the Zurich Cantonal Monument Preservation Office.
The Dietiker slopes were also built into a slope, while most of the other facilities are level, as the preservation of monuments further stated. They praise the “park-like design” and the “local topography”.
They are therefore to be preserved substantially, they receive. This includes not only all 18 slopes with their other mostly hand-made obstacles in concrete, but also the equipment, such as mushroom lamps, metal stands with writing pads and waste bins.
The real estate company, which owns the property on an idyllic pond, submitted a planning application in 2019. This provided for the construction of a nine-family house and the demolition of the mini golf course.
In view of these prospects, the long-term tenant expected the contract, which was to run until the end of 2027, to end 2020 ahead of schedule. Since then, no balls have bounced over waves or rolled through tunnels in the «Mühlematt».
But now there is a restart. The city of Dietikon bought the land from the real estate company in April of this year for CHF 3.55 million. The Canton of Zurich is contributing CHF 1.6 million. An IG will run the game from Saturday.
For Zurich’s government council, it is a “gem in the urban landscape of the Limmat Valley”, as the minutes of a meeting put it. The plant is an “important social and cultural historical witness of the popular culture of the post-war period”.
However, placing the plant under protection would have had no effect – the owner could not have been obliged to continue operations. The city of Dietikon and the canton justified the purchase by justifying the purchase of the mini-golf course.
The fact that this happened is also related to public pressure. Various proposals were submitted to the Dietic city parliament. A petition was signed by nearly 2,500 people.
Initially, the city council was reluctant. So far there has been a sales price that is above the price expectations of the city lounger, he wrote in 2020 on a “Save the mini golf course” postulate. Thanks to the subsidy from the canton, which comes from the nature and heritage protection fund, the city was able to strike after all.
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