NEWSLETTER 89 FROM 04/26/2007

Internationale Bauausstellung (IBA)
Fürst-Pückler-Land

1. Innovation and Tradition: Energy Region of Lusatia Launched
2. Cycling to the Opening: Plessa Cultural Power Station Opens its Doors
3. At the Launch: EBox Goes on Tour
4. F60 Celebrates: Five Years as a Visitor Mine
5. Experience Energy: Route Links Industrial Heritage Sites
6. Inauguration in Branitz: Cycle Tour on the Historical Circuit Path
7. Business Open Day: "Energy Region" Partners Introduce Themselves
8. Expert Forum: Energy Forest for Lauchhammer
9. Knowledge Gained: Welzow Inspires Transformation of the Landscape
10. Higher and Higher: 1 Million Cubic Metres of Water in Lake Ilse

Innovation and Tradition

Energy Region of Lusatia Launched

At the IBA Terraces on 18 April, in front of over 200 guests, Dr. Dietmar Woidke, Brandenburg's Minister for the Environment, opened the "Energy Region of Lusatia" exhibition on global climate change and regional structural change in Lusatia. The IBA and CEBra promotional campaign of the same name (cf. Newsletter 88) was launched at the same time as the exhibition. As patron of the campaign, Woidke made the following statement about current talks on climate change: "Lusatia has the capacity to become the laboratory for new environmental technologies which will be marketed from here. Today we are opening the first section of this future laboratory."

Dr. Wolfhart Dürrschmidt from the Ministry for the Environment (BMU) expressed similar sentiments during the BMU symposium "Renewable Energies - Increasing Local Acceptance" on 19 April on the IBA Terraces: "The future belongs to renewable energies and environmental technology. Regions which are well placed in this regard have outstanding economic prospects. Lusatia is one of these regions and has a good chance of remaining an 'Energy Region'." There was also very positive feedback from the nearly 100 delegates - possibly encouraged by the appropriately restored mining landscape, with views over the emerging Lake Ilse and the Klettwitz wind farm.

Energieland Lausitz

Cycling to the Opening

Plessa Cultural Power Station Opens its Doors

On 1 May 1927 Plessa power station fed electrical energy into the power grid for the first time. Eighty years on it is celebrating its anniversary in good shape, partially renovated and with renewed energy: the traditional power station celebrations are being held in conjunction with an information exchange on solar energy as part of the IBA's "Energy Region of Lusatia" theme year. The opening is at 2.00 pm followed by a varied programme of events, including guided tours of the power station, information on the theme of energy, regional cuisine and live music. This year's cycle tour along the Fürst-Pückler cycle path comes to Plessa on 1 May: it's all happening from 10.00 am at the F60 visitor mine.

Power Station Plessa

At the Launch

eBox goes on Tour

IBA promotes the "Energy Region of Lusatia" with an "eBox" at several places in Germany. First station of the tour is Berlin, where the eBox gets presented from may 3. to june 3. at the courtyard of Vattenfall's headquarter (Chausseestr. 23). The little exposititon shows the various landscape architectural possibilities of cultivating biomass in several use models - like the IBA project "Energy landscape Welzow". Next station is going to be the BUGA (Bundesgartenschau) in Gera-Ronneburg from june 6th to september 2nd. The BUGA at the former uranium mining district opens now (april 27th).

Vattenfall
Bundesgartenschau BUGA

F60 Celebrates

Five Years as a Visitor Mine

One of the IBA's best-known projects is the F60 visitor mine in Lichterfeld near Finsterwalde. Since the opening of the visitor mine in 2002, well in excess of 300,000 visitors have checked out the "horizontal Eiffel Tower of Lusatia" which is, of course, reason to celebrate: for its fifth anniversary, therefore, the IBA and F60 are staging a three-day "mine festival" from 4 to 6 May, with a family variety programme, charabanc rides, music, percussion, dance shows, disco, fireworks and affordable guided tours of the world's largest conveying bridge.

www.f60.de

Experience Energy

Route Links Industrial Heritage Sites

Lusatia is shaped by mining and industry: highlights of the region include impressive industrial monuments from the 1920s, the strangely beautiful lunar landscapes of lignite pits and the futuristic power stations of today. Lusatia is getting a brilliant new attraction to mark the fifth birthday of the F60 visitor mine on 5 May (see above): the "ENERGY Route through Lusatia's Industrial Heritage", which links ten outstanding monuments to the industrial era to form a tourist attraction, is now ready for public show. After the official opening at 10.30 by Dorette König, State Secretary in the Brandenburg Ministry of Construction (MIR), there will be a festival programme with a variety of events.

Along with the F60 visitor mine, the route includes the Lusatian Knappenrode mining museum, the IBA Terraces, the Louise briquetting plant, Plessa cultural power station, Schwarze Pumpe power station, Marga garden city, the Lauchhammer bio-towers, the working open-cast mine of Welzow-Süd and the Cottbus diesel power station art museum. The route forms part of the "Lusatian Industrial Heritage" brand and is included in the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH).

www.lausitzer-industriekultur.de
ERIH

Inauguration in Branitz

Cycle Tour on the Historical Circuit Path

Although far less well known than the inner area of the Pückler Park in Branitz, the so-called outer park is part of the whole. A further section of the historical circuit path, which marks the limits of the outer park, will be inaugurated on 6 May with an escorted cycle tour. A joint invitation to this free tour is being issued by the town of Cottbus, the Pückler Park and Museum Branitz foundation and the IBA. The section of the circuit path has been restored under the direction of the town of Cottbus with backing from the EU, the Cottbus Job Centre and the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt environmental foundation.

www.pueckler-museum.de

Business Open Day

"Energy Region" Partners Introduce Themselves

A "Business Open Day" will be held in Brandenburg on 12 May. Numerous Lusatian companies are taking part, including IBA partners in the "Energy Region of Lusatia", such as Vattenfall, which is offering guided tours around the Schwarze Pumpe power station and the Welzow-Süd working open-cast mine. An insight into one of Germany's largest biogas power plants is provided by the firm of Hoogen, which processes renewable raw materials exclusively and which, in 2006, opened a 3-megawatt plant as part of the IBA Marga garden city and industrial estate project.

www.tag-des-offenen-unternehmens.brandenburg.de

Expert Forum

Energy Forest for Lauchhammer

The town of Lauchhammer has joined forces with the FIB, an institute for research into post-mining landscapes, to organise an expert forum on the possibilities and pitfalls of an energy forest to be sited on a former tip in Kostebrau near Lauchhammer. The event is open to the public and scheduled to be held on 23 May in the town hall in Lauchhammer. The forum will be discussing the results of a feasibility study carried out by the FIB, examining the extent to which a 700-hectare tip could be planted with an "energy forest" of fast-growing tree varieties. The forum is being held as part of the "Energy Region of Lusatia" campaign.
For registration and information call 03531 / 79070 or visit:

www.fib-ev.de
www.lauchhammer.de

Knowledge Gained

Welzow Inspires Transformation of the Landscape

The "Welzow Landscape Project" is still on the IBA's list of 25 projects. At its latest meeting on 24 April the IBA technical board, the advisory panel of international experts, decided not to strike the scheme off the list of IBA projects because of unanswered questions about its implementation. Although plans for this particular site are being suspended, the knowledge gained so far in the management of the Welzow project should be put to use in the future. For the time being, on the recommendation of the advisory board, documentation is to be submitted on the progress of the project to date. Planning proposals for the transformation of the landscape in lignite regions are then due to be presented in 2009, the IBA "New Territory" theme year.

Higher and Higher

1 Million Cubic Metres of Water in Lake Ilse

Work started a few weeks ago on the flooding of the Meuro pit (cf. Newsletter 88) - and Lake Ilse is already taking on identifiable features: according to the LMBV, the mine reclamation company overseeing the work, over one million cubic metres of water have already flowed into the former mine, raising the level of the newest Lusatian lake by some 12 metres. Guests at the new Lusatian Lakeland visitor centre on the IBA Terraces can observe the rapid growth of Lake Ilse. It is already possible to envisage the terraces as a future lakeside walk from Großräschen and the lake bridge.

LMBV