No sooner were they switched on than someone complained

A new Christmas light display shone along the Chamerstrasse in Zug for the first time this year: trails of stars in the colours of the Zug coat of arms. But not all residents were thrilled, and the City has now reacted.
 

It's winter: the first snowflakes are falling, the days are getting shorter, and the streets are beginning to glow with festive light – and this year, the Chamerstrasse in Zug was included. According to the City of Zug's Civil Engineering Department (Abteilung Tiefbau), the request to extend the Christmas lighting came from the public – and especially from the Vorstadt-Neustadt neighbourhood association.

"People long for more light during the dark Christmas season," Urs Schwerzmann, head of the neighbourhood association, told the Zuger Zeitung newspaper at the beginning of the year. With the installation of star-shaped lights on the existing lampposts, the city has found a practical and easily implemented solution. Lighting along the Alpenstrasse is also in the planning stages, according to the responsible department. Urs Schwerzmann finds the lights wonderful: "I’ve already thanked everyone who contributed to the successful implementation."

The new stars, which stretch from the Hirschgarten to Podium41, shine in blue, thereby matching the colours of the Zug coat of arms, as the city council explains. Christmas lights within the city's are generally not single-coloured, and this gave rise to the idea to deliberately design the extended lights to be to be in the colours of Zug.

But this very choice of colours has not been well-received universally. One reader describes the lighting as "anything but atmospheric." The cold blue light in the evening, which shines directly into the living rooms of residents, was particularly bothersome. Another person thought that the light was "ominously reminiscent of the blue lights of emergency vehicles." "No sooner were they switched on than someone complained," added Urs Schwerzmann

Blue suits Zug, but not everyone liked it as the colour for the Christmas lights on the Chamerstrasse
Photo: Maria Schmid
 

From blue to white
The city confirmed that it has received similar critical feedback: "And we take it seriously. But there have been many very positive reactions at the same time," says the Civil Engineering Department. The effect of the blue light and the intensity of the bulbs used were found to be not entirely convincing, however, even within the department. Based on the feedback, action will now be taken next week. The blue lamps will be switched off, and only the softer, white lights will remain in operation.

This, in turn, is a disappointment for the president of the neighbourhood association: "We at the neighbourhood association think it's a shame. The Zug colours would have provided a nice contrast," says Urs Schwerzmann. But white is also one of the colours of the Zug coat of arms, and the most important thing is that the Chamerstrasse will now have light.

The city has also announced a revision of the lighting concept for next year. The aim is to find a design that meets both the festive atmosphere and the needs of the local residents.