Alcohol ban at the Old Port: Rathenow wants to create more order!

Alcohol ban at the Old Port: Rathenow wants to create more order!

A breath of fresh air has been blowing at the Old Harbor in Rathenow since July 15, 2025, because there is now a strict ban on alcohol here. At the beginning of the month, the city councilors approved a general decree to deal with the ongoing unrest in this popular leisure area. Mayor Jörg Zietemann was optimistic that this ban will help bring peace and order back to the area, especially during the warm days when spontaneous celebrations have often occurred in the past. This was also reported by the Tagesschau.

The new regulations affect the public part of the port and are in force until the end of the year. The reason for the ban is not least the experiences of previous years in which the port mutated into a trouble spot. The city had already hired a private security service in April to work with the municipal public order office to ensure compliance with the new regulations. This public order office is a central administrative office that is responsible for security and order in Rathenow and is therefore also responsible for enforcing the alcohol ban, as can be found on ortsdienst.de.

Public safety in focus

The public order office is not only a guardian of public order, but also a contact point for many citizen concerns. These include tasks such as the prosecution of administrative offenses, monitoring stationary traffic and measures to avert danger. The aim is to ensure a safe and clean urban environment, which is also increasingly required in Rathenow. Fines can be imposed for violations of the new regulations, and that is certainly not a pleasant topic for the party mood that many citizens want to enjoy at the port.

But what are the legal basis for such measures? According to the Lawyer Such Service, municipalities are allowed to make regulations to preserve public order, but must respect the fundamental right to freedom of action. There must be a certain degree of proportionality so that such bans are not considered disproportionate. However, money collected through fines flows into the municipal fines office and should therefore benefit the general public.

In the context of public law discussions about alcohol consumption in public, the experiences of other communities show that such regulations are certainly controversial. The case of Forst in Lusatia, where a similar ban temporarily caused legal disputes, shows that not every measure automatically meets with approval. Rathenow city politics is faced with the challenge of maintaining the balance between security and freedom of citizens.

It remains to be seen whether the alcohol ban at the Old Port can actually lead to the desired calm. One thing is clear, however: the city administration has set an example here and, together with the public order office and the security service, will keep a close eye on developments at the port throughout the summer.