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A firm agreement
Three communities unite and tackle their problems together
Extract ...
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The fire station tower in Welzow (left),
the water tower in Neupetershain (centre) and the church tower
in Proschim - these 3 structures appear together on the festival
logo
© SpreeGas Rohrpost
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Anyone who attempts to tackle this type of venture
is not only demonstrating a real zest for life, but also a daring
sense of confidence: one joint festival for three localities situated
in a distant corner of the region and one which even crosses district
boundaries.
The town of Welzow in the regional district of Spree-Neisse
has recently come together with the neighbouring parishes of Proschim
and Neupetershain. In summer this new partnership will jointly celebrate
their jubilees and will be using a logo featuring all three famous
towers. ... But what's so special about 15 years of village revival
in Proschim?
History continues to rewrite itself
This ancient settlement in fact very nearly disappeared from the
map; the "Wende" (the reunification of East and West Germany)
put an end to brown coal open cast mining and a new future beckons,
though initially with limited economic perspective. But the locals
certainly make up for this with a wealth of enthusiasm and support
for a massive village revival. ...
Welzow on the other hand, is a municipal "Methuselah",
having been securely documented for 725 years. Currently the increasing
average age of its 5,000 inhabitants is a real cause for concern
and its effects can be seen in the closure of two of the town's
secondary schools.
This has given Detlef Pusch, chief officer and deputy mayor, all
the more reason to seek ingenious alternatives: there is potential
for an aeronautical boarding school to move into the listed building
which used to house the Goethe Grammar School. With an airport at
the door, Dresden's history of aircraft construction and Welzow's
history of machine construction would provide arguments to support
this type of project.
He also mentions current projects, above all, the new plant on the
Landstraße in the urban district of the town. Important projects
also include the cycle path from Proschim, the transformation of
enormous craters at the brown coal opening cast mining site into
the "Klarasee" lake, the implementation of the waste water
disposal project, the confident tourist concept featuring with the
enormous machines on the horizon - this is no time for sadness,
this town is proud of its mining roots with its slogan: "Town
on the mines!"
Triumph not defeat
And, in general, the industry in and around Welzow is making a departure
from its traditional industrial roots. In the past, the VEB BuS
alone employed more than 4,000 workers, then there was the mining
industry, the glass industry ... With regard
to the latter, a lighting production plant operated by the Vollmann
Group is at any rate still in existence after 100 years. The gigantic
halls not far from the town hall represent a logistical triumph
in assembly, storage and dispatch. The two dozen permanent employees
represent reliability, flexibility and controllable costs.
Whilst this small beacon of light continues to shine brightly, the
town will have to redefine itself.
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Overview 
