Far away from the airport, train station and highway: the mayor of this town comments on Funk’s “Ass of the World” award.
Oberaula – On a map of Germany published by the public media network Funk with the heading “The Ass of the World” the names of 13 places in each federal state are emblazoned – with the exception of the German city states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg. And right in the middle is the town of Oberaula for Hesse. These 13 German locations that have now been awarded are said to be the most remote in every federal state – that is, the furthest away from an international airport, a train station and the motorway.
Media network for young target groups
Funk is a so-called “online content network” from ARD and ZDF that is aimed specifically at teenagers and young adults between the ages of 14 and 29. It conveys various content on 60 channels on social media such as YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok and Spotify. One of them is Geogoat, which specifically wants to make its target group enjoy geography. This channel recently posted the “Ass of the World” map on Instagram.
The HNA spoke to Klaus Wagner, mayor of Oberaula, and he takes it with a good dose of humor: “I feel like I’m in wonderful company with the ‘ass of the world’ listed here – Borkum, Putgarten on Rügen, List on Sylt, Monschau in the Eifel. I’m not at all angry about this award, I actually see it as an honor.”
Tourists appreciate idyll
However, he pointed out that Oberaula is just six kilometers from the motorway and that the criteria set by Funk could certainly be questioned. Wagner adds: “We are close to the motorway, but so far away from major traffic axes that it is idyllic and quiet here. Our tourist guests also appreciate that.”
So how were these “asses of the world” identified? According to Funk’s Instagram post, more precisely the associated geography channel “Geogoat”, an employee first determined the center of all communities. Based on available geodata, it was then calculated which location was furthest from an international airport, a train station and the motorway.
Oberaula is therefore 103 kilometers from an airport, 18 kilometers from a train station and the aforementioned six kilometers from the motorway. According to Funk, the most remote German place overall according to these calculations is Putgarten on Rügen (251 kilometers to the airport, 19 kilometers to the train station and 67 kilometers to the motorway).
