Farmers Imperil Munich Olympics - WSJ

[hatrack]

God, I just LOVE that headline! And the lead paragraph is pretty good, too. :eyes:

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany—Under the shadow of the Zugspitze, a snowy peak in the Bavarian Alps, a modern-day peasant revolt has broken out that could cost Munich its bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and huge investments in local infrastructure.

The leader of the uprising is Josef Glatz, a stocky, dark-haired 50-year-old farmer whose family has tilled the fields and tended livestock in the verdant Alpine pastures above this valley for centuries. As his son and sister prepared to lead a small herd of young calves from the town up to the mountain pastures for the summer, Mr. Glatz said he and other local farmers refuse to cede their land to make room for temporary housing and offices for the thousands of athletes, journalists, officials and guests who would reside in Garmisch-Partenkirchen during the Olympic Games. He lifted his good arm—the other, damaged in an accident, hung limp at his side—and slapped the white-washed wall of the farmhouse.

"This house has been here since the 16th century," he says. "But we haven't always lived here. We moved here from Spring Street about 200 years ago. You don't sell your homeland." Garmisch-Partenkirchen hosted the 1936 Olympics, then a showcase for the Nazis and the first time downhill skiing was held as an Olympic sport. Mr. Glatz says local farmers gave Hitler a hard time as well. "Back then, a lot of farmers lost their land," he says.

Today Garmisch-Partenkirchen is showing its age, and in contrast to rival Alpine resort towns like Davos, St. Moritz, or Cortina d'Ampezzo, Garmisch-Partenkirchen has no high-street shops with exclusive outlets from top-line luxury brands. The streets are dotted with discounters and mass retailers like H&M, Zara, and local crafts shops.

EDIT

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704499604575407264217423810.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLENews

[Arctic Dave]

1. "peasant revolt" What an A-hole.