Villages are being demolished in the Rhineland
Under the plans described in this archive, twelve settlements near Düsseldorf were to be completely demolished between 2006 and 2038. Lignite lies beneath the villages. Unlike the hard coal of the Ruhr region, it is not mined underground, but extracted from the surface in an opencast mine. This form of mining inevitably destroys everything in its path: not only houses, but also churches, cemeteries, monuments, trees, streams and forests.
Everything should disappear into the big hole. The dimension of the intervention in the landscape is actually difficult to convey or represent unless you have been there yourself. The impact on the lives of local people is massive and has been present for many decades. A resettlement from the initial planning to the disappearance of the place takes approximately 15 years. The certainty that resettlement is coming has existed for decades.
The Garzweiler II opencast mine moves from the east from the Garzweiler I opencast mine to the west (right to left). Five villages have already been completely destroyed, only a few houses remain in one village and the others are in the process of being resettled. The map shows the mining status in 2018.
Select locations on the map · Historical planning status · Move map sideways
Holz
(demolition by 2011)
Otzenrath
(demolition by 2008)
Spenrath
(demolition by 2013)
Pesch
(demolition by 2013)
Immerath
(demolition by 2019)
Lützerath
(demolition by approx. 2020)
Borschemich
(demolition by 2015)
Keyenberg
(demolition by approx. 2023)
Kuckum
(demolition by approx. 2027)
Unterwestrich
(demolition by approx. 2027)
Oberwestrich
(demolition by approx. 2027)
Berverath
(demolition by approx. 2028)
All locations and times as a list
Holz
(demolition by 2011)Otzenrath
(demolition by 2008)Spenrath
(demolition by 2013)Pesch
(demolition by 2013)Immerath
(demolition by 2019)Lützerath
(demolition by approx. 2020)Borschemich
(demolition by 2015)Keyenberg
(demolition by approx. 2023)Kuckum
(demolition by approx. 2027)Unterwestrich
(demolition by approx. 2027)Oberwestrich
(demolition by approx. 2027)Berverath
(demolition by approx. 2028)
A documentary about the Garzweiler opencast mine
The Garzweiler II opencast mine has been excavating since 2006 and I have been working on this documentation for just as long. First started as a small photo project in the town of Otzenrath, it has developed into comprehensive documentation of the Garzweiler II opencast mine. Under Topics you can find out more about what an opencast mine actually is, or how resettlement works. You can also learn what happens to the churches in the affected places.
You can also find out more about every location that is directly affected by the Garzweiler II opencast mine: Otzenrath, Spenrath, Holz, Pesch, Immerath, Lützerath, Borschemich, Keyenberg, Kuckum, Oberwestrich, Unterwestrich and Berverath.
I have once again highlighted some special buildings: The Immerather Dom, the Church of Keyenberg, the Immerath windmill and the three farmsteads near Holzweiler: Eggerather Hof, Roitzerhof and the Weyerhof.