The irresponsible storage of tonnes of munitions and confiscated fireworks in the middle of a popular recreation area, and a fire brigade cut to the bone have led to a foreseeable catastrophe.
Cities in Germany are switching off spotlights on public monuments, turning off fountains, and imposing cold showers on municipal swimming pools and sports halls, as the country races to reduce its energy consumption in the face of a looming.
From the State Opera to Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin is turning off the lights at its landmarks one by one in a scramble to save the energy it needs to heat homes in winter.