Thank you for your answers!
First of all, I am a she and not a he.
Ypg: But how is it if he was not the previous owner? He was not married to the previous-previous owner, nor related to the previous owners. I mean, for me, it is all quite "far away" because in the end he relates to us like, for example, a former tenant would relate to us – and I actually don’t see any relationship there.
Müllerin: That’s true, it then blossoms nicely, that is true. We still have a few meters of this hedge further up directly on the property and I also leave it more natural; I find that much nicer too. It would surely take 2-3 years before the hedge extends over the sidewalk, because first there is the green strip. What is currently spreading out (from the hedge) is elderberry and especially blackberry, which is less nice, but I just cut it off, just like everything that from the other bushes of the city encroaches too much on our fence.
Joe: Hmm, well, what I would like to achieve is that the hedge continues to be maintained by the city as before. We didn’t buy anything with it, we didn’t know about it, it was never a topic and we don’t feel responsible for it. But before I let the hedge grow onto my property, I would prune it. It’s just not something done quickly. The hedge is long and tall, the sidewalk is not drivable by car (right next to the sidewalk are allotment gardens and other properties)… it’s not something you just do quickly. Just the amount of green cuttings would be two trailer loads every time, and since the city doesn’t accept such quantities, we would have to drive to the landfill about 20 minutes away. And we really have enough green cuttings with our garden that I am not eager to take on more.
So what I take away here is: the only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain. Let’s see how it goes from here.