Newsletter 109 from 03/02/2009

Internationale Bauausstellung Fürst-Pückler-Land

1. Opening: New tours and beach on IBA Terraces for the opening of season
2. Experience: New and exciting tours to accompany the theme "Newland Lusatia"
3. Transformation: Giant raft on Lake Sedlitz to be redesigned
4. Countdown: Senftenberg Town Harbour competition enters crucial phase
5. Kick-off: ReSOURCE starts with conference on potential of mining regions
6. Focus: Geotope conference dedicated to Muskau Arch

(1) Opening

New tours and beach on IBA Terraces for the opening of season

The countdown to 22 March has started. This is when things will get back into full swing on the IBA Terraces on the emerging Lake Ilse. An "Open Day" will be held to launch the "Newland Lusatia" theme year and the tourist season. Visitors are welcome to come to the IBA and Lusatian Lakeland visitor centre on this Sunday from 10:00 hrs. to find out about the projects, events and the new tour programme and to go on a voyage of discovery there and then in the changing landscape. Those with a thirst for adventure can take a "Trip to Mars" on foot, a "Linger in the Lakeland" tour by minibus, or a tour to the former Meuro open-cast mine in all-terrain jeeps - and all this at special prices. Admission to the multimedia exhibition "Energy Region of Lusatia" will also be free of charge on this day. At 15:00 hrs. the "Hit-Quirlies" troupe from Finsterwalde will be performing and entertaining visitors with music and dance.

There is a new installation on Terrace 3 to accompany the "Newland Lusatia" theme: a beach with boardwalks, sand, deck chairs, shade sails and a beach bar. Enjoying a view over the constantly evolving Lake Ilse, the installation is based on a design by Gregor Steblau of the Faculty of Design at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences and is intended to hint at the future of this extraordinary place. The new beach and terrace café will be inviting places where visitors will want to linger on this "landscape balcony".

(2) Experience

New and exciting tours to accompany the theme "Newland Lusatia"

A new lakeland and cultivated landscape is emerging in Lusatia where excavators once scored into the earth for coal. The IBA is framing this transformation process with a special tour programme which has now been extended. This includes four new coach tours, namely "Lusatia: Lure of the Lakes" to the newly emerging Lusatian Lakeland, "Out and About on the ENERGY Route" to five attractions of Lusatia's industrial heritage, "Old and New Cultural Heritage Sites" through mining-scarred landscapes and "From Pücklerpark to Geopark" to German-Polish border landscapes. There is also a new 40-kilometre cycle tour entitled "From the Eiffel Tower to the New Wildernis" which goes to the F60 visitor mine and through the NABU nature conservation paradise with its rare flora and fauna. The popular "Trip to Mars" can now also be combined with a "Jeep Safari" through the former open-cast mine in Meuro. "Last year around 7500 visitors went on our tours. It was our most successful year", said Antje Boshold, Head of the IBA Tour Service. "In putting on the new tours we are gearing up for the rush we are expecting as the IBA enters its final phase next year. The tour experiences now cover 20 of the 25 IBA projects. This is a good cross-section and we hope that our extended programme will attract even more visitors to Lusatia and prove to be an inspiration."

(3) Transformation

Giant raft on Lake Sedlitz to be redesigned

In August 2008 the 14.5 by 4-metre raft belonging to the Lake Ilse Sports Club made its maiden voyage and has since carried some 2000 passengers over the half-filled Lake Sedlitz in the Lusatian Lakeland. The large raft, which is licensed to carry 53 people, is to be redesigned by 14 June, the date scheduled for the big lake festival. "We are planning to build a canopy and sides so that the raft can still be used in bad weather", explained René Sabrowski, Head of Lake Ilse Sports Club. "The initial designs are on the table. We will shortly be deciding what work to do", said Sabrowski. The design upgrade is a cooperative project involving the IBA and the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences and also pertaining to the mining exhibition of the Lusatia and Central German Mining Administration Company. Sedlitz Lake will be a central venue in the IBA's final year and is to be linked into a flagship route. In view of these plans, the IBA, the Sports Club and the LMBV want to set up the new landing stage on the western shore as an information centre and welcome point.

(4) Countdown

Senftenberg Town Harbour competition enters crucial phase

Senftenberg town council and the IBA are eagerly awaiting the designs which will be submitted by the 33 entrants who have signed up for the architectural and landscape planning competition to design Senftenberg town harbour. "The deadline for submissions is 2 March. In the course of the week the entries will be previewed and the jury will meet from 19 to 20 March", said IBA Project Manager Brigitte Scholz. "Then at long last the structure which is to become a landmark for the lakeside town will take shape." The design brief is for a leisure harbour with promenade, harbour facilities, purpose-built structures and a bridge over the lake. The awards ceremony will take place on 26 March at 10:00 hrs. in Senftenberg town hall. The winning designs and the work of the runners-up will be on display there until 9 April.

(5) Kick-off

ReSOURCE starts with conference on potential of mining regions

Lusatia is not alone in having to reinvent itself following the demise of the mining industry - other mining regions in Central Europe are facing similar concerns about their future. The EU project ReSOURCE, in which the IBA is involved, will get underway with the conference "Turning Problems into Opportunities" on 25 March in Zwickau. The project and conference are intended to be a networking platform and a springboard to the joint development of new approaches to the use of post-mining landscapes. The expert conference is intended to highlight strategies and to present good examples of the exploitation of specific areas of potential. The subjects covered will include mine water geothermal energy, biomass extraction in former mining areas, and tourism and culture in post-mining development projects. Those interested should register for the free event by 15 March. The email contact address is resource@chemnitz-zwickau.de and the telephone contact number is 0375/272 1595.

The ReSOURCE project will run from 2009 to 2012 and its aim is to help people to appreciate and harness the potential which lies in the legacy of mining landscapes. Project partners will be representing Saxony, Lusatia, Saxony-Anhalt, Styria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia at the conference. The aim of the conference is to compile an internet-based compendium of facts, a handbook about innovative methods of regional development, and a policy paper which will also include the conclusions reached by the IBA conference "Opportunity: Post-Mining Landscape" scheduled to be held in September.

(6) Focus

Geotope conference dedicated to Muskau Arch

The Geotope Section of the German Society of Geosciences will be holding its annual conference at the university in Cottbus from 20 to 24 May under the heading "Geotopes and International Collaboration". The focus will be on the Muskau Arch Geopark in its capacity as a transnational and German-Polish project which is also being shadowed by the IBA. Excursions will be made during the conference to both parts of the unique geological formation spanning national boundaries. Anyone interested can register for the conference by telephoning the Geopark office on 035600-38518 or by emailing the office at info@muskauer-faltenbogen.de by 31 March.