(1) Impending opening of landmark for Lusatian Lakeland

The official opening of the 30-metre-high landmark on the Sorno Canal for the Lusatian Lakeland is set for 23 October at 17:30 hrs. and promises to be the high point of the IBA's theme year "Lusatia: Lure of the Lakes". The event will be enhanced by performances from Italian artists Guiseppe Ielasi and Renato Rinaldi, hoping to strike a responsive chord from the landmark. The canal is also set to become a stage for the performing arts. The Corten steel viewing tower, or the "rusty nail" as it has been dubbed by the local population, will take on an atmospheric reddish-brown patina through exposure to the elements. The structure also constitutes a milestone in terms of the tourism aims of the IBA project "Sedlitz Lake Waterscape". The landmark symbolises the transformation of the region from mining landscape to lakeland and also acts as a visible token of the development of the navigable canals. Visitors who climb the 162 steps are rewarded with a magnificent view over Lake Sedlitz, Lake Geierswald and Lake Partwitz. The design is the work of Munich architect Stefan Giers and originated from an international competition run by the IBA and the town of Senftenberg in 2005.

(2) Jury meets to judge the "mobile floating architecture" competition entries

The design competition on "mobile floating architecture" run by the IBA was greeted with great interest among experts on a global scale. The jury will meet on 9 and 10 October. The expert panel of judges includes Prof. Axel Oestrich from the BTU Cottbus, Prof. Lucyna Nyka from the University of Gdansk, and Koen Olthuis from the Dutch architectural firm Waterstudio.nl, which is also involved in the design of "Dubai Palm Island". The winners will have been selected from some 150 submissions and announced by 13 October. The public award ceremony and presentation will be held on 15 October at 11:00 hrs. in the visitor centre at the IBA Terraces. The designs will be on display there until 16 November. One person eagerly awaiting the results is project manager Michael Feiler who said, "I am amazed at the variety of the entries. We have some great designs which could really raise the profile of Lusatia in terms of floating architecture." The competition had also made him aware that the Lusatian Lakeland has a very positive image in other countries. The competition brief was to design a floating house with the greatest possible degree of self-sufficiency and mobility.
More information on the competition

(3) IBA Terraces lighten up the mood with "Deckchair Jazz"

The Internationale Bauausstellung Fürst-Pückler-Land and the I.B.A.R. e.V. will be putting on the fifth series of the popular "Deckchair Jazz" events on 2 October 2008 in building 3 at the IBA Terraces. Netherlands jazz band "Radiorobotnik" will be getting in the groove from 20:00 hrs. on the edge of the open-cast mine. The evening will feature original musical compositions, constituting a mixture of modern jazz, ECM sound , drum ’n’ bass and Slavic folk. Visitors can sink into the deckchairs, unwind, and listen to the German-Polish jazz trio against the impressive backdrop of the changing landscape. Percussionist Martin Franke has won several awards for his experimental style. Tickets cost EUR 7 at the door.

(4) Pückler returns to Bad-Muskau Palace

It is a German-Polish success story: on 13 September Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau returned to his palace after more than 150 years by way of the new permanent exhibition "Pückler! Pückler? Beyond Belief!". Moreover, the sympathetically restored castle is now open to the public for the first time since it was destroyed in 1945. Visitors will be fascinated by Pückler's study and the opulently reproduced Knights' Hall. The "Fürst-Pückler-Park Bad Muskau" foundation is putting on the permanent transnational exhibition in recognition of the work of the garden designer and globetrotter. It is also intended to bring Lusatia closer to its Polish neighbours. The Federal Government and the Free State of Saxony have invested a total of € 14 million in the restoration in the last 15 years. The facade of the palace is due for completion and the second lantern tower due for erection in 2009. The restoration work is scheduled to run until 2011. The castle will remain open every day until 31 October from 10:00 to 18:00 hrs. and will reopen for the new season in April 2009.
www.muskauer-park.de

(5) Successful premiere for German-Polish "listening circles" in Gubin

Swiss artist Jürg Montalta, who will stage-manage the final year of the IBA (2010), put on the first "listening circle" for Germans and Poles on 17 September as part of the "Paradise 2" art project. His project is entitled "The towers of Gubin - I can see you, can you see me?" The opening event was held in the ruins of the former Gubin parish church. More than 60 people from Guben and Gubin responded to the invitation. They were visibly moved by the concert given by 18-year-old Florian Bischof on a portable organ in the church ruins. "My aim was to show the power of music in the church and to demonstrate the impact it would have if an IBA farewell concert were to be held here", said Jürg Montalta. The concert was followed by the first so-called "listening circle" in the Kulturhaus in Gubin. Poles and Germans told stories about their past lives and explained their relation to the church. The language barrier was surmounted by a quick translation. "I want to resolve subliminal conflicts in this way." The "listening circles" are intended to strengthen cooperation and to develop a strong sense of symbolism for the joint project "Restoration of the former parish church of Guben" with a view to making it a European meeting place. The second listening circle will be held in the Kulturhaus in Gubin on 26 October from 16:00 to 18:00 hrs.
IBA-Project Frankfurter Strasse

(6) IBA Expert Advisory Committee convenes

The 26 members of the IBA Expert Advisory Committee, the chief advisory body of IBA Fürst-Pückler-Land GmbH, will meet together in the IBA offices on 13 and 14 October. The internationally renowned experts, academics, and representatives from local and regional politics, industry, science and culture will advise the IBA as it looks ahead to its "New Land" theme year of 2009 and its finale in 2010.

(7) Time to compare notes on the IBA "New Land" excursion

The 8th IBA themed excursion entitled "Discovering new frontiers" took place from 19 to 22 September. The tour covered 2011 kilometres, taking the 35 participants to the Rhineland, Lorraine, Saarland, the Palatinate and back to Lusatia. The aim of the trip was to compare notes on dealing with industrial landscapes and to discuss experiences with innovative projects and regional development processes. Project partners and political representatives joined the IBA staff "on board". The joint discovery tour featured "new post-mining landscapes", such as the Energielandschaft AnnA and the World Heritage Site of Völklingen Ironworks. There was also discussion about landscapes still under development, such as the Indeland, a waterscape which will emerge from Inden open-cast mine. The visits to the Regionale 2010 in Cologne and the EU Regionale 2008 in Aachen were also met with interest by many participants who saw parallels in terms of the project work and in the issue of a possible follow-up institution. "One thing which came across clearly in all the projects was the importance of fostering local "ownership" of the project", said the Chief Administrative Officer of the district of Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Georg Dürrschmidt. Hence a great deal of information, impressions and ideas were brought back from the trip, but also a stronger project partnership.

Excursion to the "rocksea" in the Geo- Naturepark Bergstrasse-Odenwald

(8) Lusatian Lakeland set to become a Mecca for cyclists and skaters

As the season draws to a close, the date of 3 October has been set for the first two-stage skating marathon in the Lusatian Lakeland which is being organised by the running and cycling club Lauf- und Radsportverein Hohenbocka e.V. The first part will take the form of a half marathon, setting off from the IBA Terraces in Großräschen at 11:00 hrs. and heading for Geierswalde. The second stage will begin at 15:00 hrs. in the form of a pursuit race where the winner of the half marathon opens the race with starting number 1. Making its debut at the same time will be the Lakeland Skate & Cycle Tour. Skaters and cyclists will be shown the most beautiful parts of the Lakeland with no time pressure. The guided tour will set off at 11:10 hrs. from the Terraces of the Internationale Bauausstellung on the public holiday and will cover the 50 kilometres to Geierswalde and back to Großräschen. The tour continues on 4 October at 10:00 hrs in Altdöbern town square. This will be the starting point for a 60-kilometre tour around Altdöbern. The last tour in the sporting event will be 40 kilometres long and will be held on 5 October at 10:00 hrs. The starting point is the DEKRA Test Centre in Klettwitz. The cycle tour will be a circular trip around the town of Vetschau. Special buses will be laid on for both events to transport sports kits and bicycles. You can register for the event by telephone on 035756-63699. Online registration