Village of Pödelwitz enters the "Our village has a future" competition

A few years ago, it seemed as if the fate of the village of Pödelwitz was sealed. Brown coal is stored beneath the village in the district of Leipzig. It was to be mined. Salvation came in 2021. Now Pödelwitz is entering the "Our village has a future" competition. On Wednesday, an evaluation committee visited the village, which is still suffering from the consequences of the lignite plans.

"The village is predestined for the competition," said resident Jens Hausner, who is involved in the "Pödelwitz hat Zukunft" association. The association submitted the application for the competition together with the village community. "Until 2021, it looked like we had no future at all. Now we have one." In the competition, the people of Pödelwitz want to show what is happening in the village and what plans they have.

However, during the visit of the evaluation committee, all the hurdles that Pödelwitz is struggling with were also discussed. Only 33 people still live in the village and 80 percent of the houses have been empty since 2015/16. The plots of land belong to Mibrag, the mining company once bought them from Pödelwitz residents who wanted to relocate.

"We are trying to revitalize the village as quickly as possible because the building fabric is suffering," said Hausner. A village development concept is in the works. The association wants to revitalize Pödelwitz as an "integrative village". So far, however, only small steps have been possible due to the difficult ownership situation. The evaluation committee was given a tour of a herb garden and shown a newly purchased cargo bike.

The village competition is initially being held at district level. In addition to Pödelwitz, six other villages in the district of Leipzig have applied. Those who come out on top have the chance to take part in the state or even national competition. Two years ago, Pödelwitz had already applied once, but did not win.

The application from Pödelwitz is special because of the special circumstances of the town, said the chair of the evaluation committee, Gesine Sommer. "There are completely different challenges in Pödelwitz than in other places." The decision in the district competition is to be made in October.