Archive of disappeared places
The archive of disappeared places is a documentation and information center of the villages in Lusatia that were excavated by lignite mining . It is located in the Horno (Rogow) district of the town of Forst and was opened on October 14, 2006 in the attic of the community center. The exhibition and the center itself were financed by the Vattenfall energy company . The city of Forst is responsible for archiving.
history
The residents of the village of Horno resisted the demolition of their homeland for 15 years. In this context, the idea of an information and documentation center for all the localities in the Lusatian lignite mining area since 1924 was born. In 2002, the citizens of Horno and Domowina received the promise from leading representatives of the energy company Vattenfall to take over the financing of such a center. On October 14, 2006 the archive was opened in the town of Forst in the newly built district of Horno. The church information and meeting center Horno was built next to the archive in the Horno village church . An exhibition there deals with the effects of mining on churches and parishes in Upper and Lower Lusatia.
Exhibition and content
The lignite mining in the Lausitz affected mainly Sorbian settlement areas with its initially small-scale, later large-scale destruction of villages and landscapes . Against this background, all resettlements in connection with open-cast lignite mining in this and last century should be documented, special features recorded and ... prepared for future generations. The broken-off places are "accessible" in the exhibition space. Multimedia-based information on the individual locations enables visitors to find out more about each former location. At the same time, an impression of life and work up to the demolition is conveyed. The names of the abandoned villages are listed in both Sorbian and German. The exhibition was designed by the architects Elke Knöß-Grillitsch and Wolfgang Grillitsch. The exhibition highlights two aspects:
- The spatial and quantitative dimension of demolitions and relocations.
- The subjective perspective and concern of the resettlers in the course of 90 years of devastation in Lusatia.
introduction
An introductory film, text panels and showcases provide information about the basic conditions of lignite mining in Germany, especially in Lusatia. In parallel to the economic importance of mining for the region, the consequences for people and the environment and the problems and conflicts that arise from it are addressed. These consequences affect the Sorbian minority in particular. The destruction of entire stretches of land mainly affected their settlement area and with it their culture and language.
Relocation
In the beginning, the lignite was still mined in civil engineering, from an economic point of view demolition has been profitable since the beginning of the 1920s. In 1924 Neu-Laubusch (Sorb. Nowy Lubuš) was the first site to be completely demolished because of the Erika opencast mine . In terms of the area and the number of devastated villages, the lignite mining reached a dimension that had never been seen before. Up until the mid-1980s, the affected residents were mainly given apartments in new urban areas. From the mid-1980s there were individual improvements in the supply of living space. After 1990, the respective opencast mining companies tried to make the relocation more socially acceptable. A joint relocation of the residents to a new location was made possible. Resettlement is still a tough intervention in established social structures, loss of the traditional home and destruction of the environment.
The effects of resettlement are complex. They concern both the personal level of the villagers and lasting consequences for the agriculture of the region as well as for the culture, tradition and language of the Sorbian minority in Lusatia.
Sorbs / Wends
The presentation shows the history and culture of the Sorbs / Wends from the first written mention (7th century) to the present day. In addition to their language, customs and traditions are listed and institutions and associations such as the Domowina are named. The language laboratory for the Sorbian language should also be understood in this context . Here the origin, development and current use of the Sorbian language are presented and its richness and diversity are preserved. The chances and problems of this national minority in the present and the experience perspective of Sorbian resettlers are dealt with.
Battle for Horno
Another focus is the documentation of the struggle of the Horno citizens for their place against the demolition by the Jänschwalde opencast mine . The village of Horno was between Guben , Forst and Cottbus in the northern part of the Sorbian settlement area. As early as 1977 there was the first announcement that the village would be demolished. Under the social conditions prevailing at the time, such an announcement left no alternative open. After 1989 there were possibilities of common resistance against the coal policy of the state of Brandenburg, against the enforcement of economic interests of the mining company and against the destruction of the village. The citizens fought for their village for 15 years until it was devastated in 2004. Forms of protest and resistance are documented in the exhibition. It is explained that for the destruction of the village and the relocation of its citizens, a law first had to be passed, the Basic Law on Lignite .
The location database
136 places had to give way completely or partially to lignite mining by 2010. Information and photos are stored from these locations. On a walk-through map, the visitor can digitally navigate to all the places that have disappeared with the help of an interactive reading device ("info suction device").
For each location, in addition to the geographical location, the historical development, economy, festival culture, schools and clubs, the whereabouts of the resettlers and other information are stored in a retrievable manner. The location database can be supplemented with new material at any time. The archive receives historical images of the demolished villages.
See also
literature
- Documentation of relocations due to mining , archive of lost places, forest 2010
- Evangelical Church Community Horno (ed.), Lost Home . Reinhard Semmler Verlag, Cottbus 2007, ISBN 3-935826-88-5
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Horno (ed.), Verlorene Heimat . Reinhard Semmler publishing house, Cottbus 2007
- ↑ Documentation of resettlements caused by mining , Archive of Disappeared Places, Forst 2010, p. 18
- ↑ Documentation of relocations caused by mining , Archive of Disappeared Places, Forst 2010, p. 28
- ↑ Documentation of relocations caused by mining , Archive of Disappeared Places, Forst 2010, p. 30
- ↑ Documentation of relocations caused by mining , Archive of Disappeared Places, Forst 2010, p. 36
Coordinates: 51 ° 45 ′ 20.2 " N , 14 ° 37 ′ 27.7" E