Landscape – Great Idea! X-LArch III - Department für Raum ...

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Significance of the post-mining
landscape in eastern Germany
Markus Schwarzer
University of Göttingen, DFG programme
“Interdisciplinary Environmental History”,
Bürgerstr. 50, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
(e-mail: mschwar@uni-goettingen.de)
Abstract
Fiercely debated since the reunification of Germany, the
controversial concepts for the reclamation, recultivation
and design of the open-cast mining landscape in
eastern Germany long considered destroyed continue
to be investigated. Consequently, this article focuses
on the culturally formed perception, interpretation and
symbolism of these sites. It demonstrates how the
criticism of the reclamation triggered by a novel view
of the brownfields fuels the discussion on landscape
models. Examples from the Bitterfeld region are used
to illustrate precisely which kind of design this leads to.
Keywords
Post-industrial landscape, change of cultural ideas,
environmental history, perception, design.
Introduction
The reunification of Germany triggered an intensive debate
on the reclamation, recultivation and design of eastern
Germany’s brown coal mining areas. The economy of the
GDR relied heavily on lignite, which was the only energy
source available in large quantities. The extraction and processing
of lignite rocketed with the oil crises of the 1970s
and early 1980s. Existing recultivation plans were put on
ice. Increasingly larger areas began to appear as ‘lunarscapes’.
Although the residents had grown accustomed to
the situation to some extent, they were afflicted with a considerable
amount of environmental pollution. After 1990,
however, the situation changed radically: the prompt, politically
motivated closure of many brown coal plants helped
to reduce the environmental burden remarkably. However,
this also meant losing tens of thousands of jobs, which had
profound consequences and still poses a serious problem
in the region to this day. We have to consider these
circumstances in discussing the following questions. How
are the open-cast mines perceived and valued? Which
cultural ideas and conflicts distinguish planning concepts
and which symbols are used to design these landscapes?
[1] This cultural and environmental-historical perspective
works out fundamental patterns of interpretation that shape
the discourse of the largest transformation of post-industrial
landscapes in present-day Europe. [2]
Description and perception of open-cast mining in
the GDR
The frequently quoted work Landschaft vom Reißbrett
written by a writer’s collective in 1981 attempts to explain
the complex problems of mining to a wider readership.
It contains a diagram that is presented in the style of a
children’s book. It makes mining easier to understand
and illustrates its idealisation in particular [Fig. 1]. During
the forced relocation and demolition in the panel on the
left, a considerable lowering of the water table takes
place, which has an impact deep into the surrounding
area. The mining waste is removed in several layers and
transported to the sections that have already been mined
using belts and a conveyor bridge. In the right-hand panel,
the extraction of the coal is followed by levelling and
recultivation. The new landscape is barely distinguishable
from the site still to be mined on the left. Finally, the
smoking industrial chimneys that dominate the horizon
have an iconographic significance. They were long considered
the symbol of progress. In contrast, at that time
those very chimneys were associated with a completely
different perception, which signifies pollution, but also the
residents’ familiarity with it.
The writer’s collective did not try to hide the fact that this
rapid recultivation was quite different in reality, however.
They say that “everyone perceives the bleakness of an
open-cast mine, […] denuded of any form of vegetation,
as a profoundly depressing experience. The visitor
stands appalled amidst the ruined landscape the locals
have long grown accustomed to. Only here does one
comprehend the magnitude of the changes we have to
make to the landscape to obtain enough coal for industry
and the populace.” (Krummsdorf & Grümmer 1981: 6)
Here, the perceived destruction is a painful indication of
the desperate economic predicament. It also highlights
the difference between the perception of locals and
outsiders. Up to the 1970s, however, a few areas were
recultivated and redevelopment plans were implemented,
such as Senftenberger See, which basically involved “obliterating
the depressing impact of the open-cast mine”
(ibid.: 7). The fundamental idea was to design a harmonious
landscape that fulfilled the popular need for recreation
but which primarily proved productive for agriculture,
forestry and water management within the framework of
the socialist economy.
Leading concepts and conflicts post-1990
The reclamation of the open-cast mining areas, for which
the mining company is usually responsible, became a
state matter after reunification. A newly founded remediation
organisation was given the task of “making the
open-casts reusable” under the proviso of the mining law.
One fundamental problem is the acidification caused by
the pyrite substrates that dissolve in the water. In addition,
if the water table rises, which happens naturally or is