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1991 |
A design seminar is held at the Bauhaus on the Goitzsche open- cast mine near Bitterfeld |
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1993 |
- 94 A »water sustainability« studio is founded at the Bauhaus A concept is developed for the renewal and development of the water catchment area - from the source and tributaries to the mouth of the river |
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1995 |
Individual planning is made for a »New Mulde River« near Bitterfeld to restore the ecological flow of the river system destroyed by the open-cast mine at Goitzsche |
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1998 |
The state authorities, committees and regional authorities have adopted the ideas and concepts for the sustainable development of the region's water and riverside meadow system Initial measures are taken toward ecologically regulating the unbalanced Mulde river system |
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visions for a river
catchment area
Large sections of the Mulde River have remained undeveloped, so that it is still one of the
most natural flowing waters in Germany.
This is particularly evident in its lower course, in
its intact meandering, valuable riverside meadows and forests and the extensive floodplains
- a landscape that has been permanently interrupted by the Mulde reservoir near Bitterfeld.
This feature, as well as the ecological problem posed by former industry in the region, where
production went ahead regardless of the consequences for the air, the water and the soil, has
induced people to try and find new development concepts.
The model for future development is based on water in its significance for the function and
form of a countryside. At one of the river catchment areas of the Mulde River, an outline
for planning commenced with the aim of counteracting artificial boundaries and the further
fragmentation of space, on the one hand, and of finding solutions both to preserve and develop
the landscape of the Mulde River catchment area on the other.
The re-establishment of the interlocking system connecting the waters, riverside meadows and
forests of the Mulde River was proposed as a unique opportunity to effectively regenerate the
natural balance - beyond regional borders - in the course of redeveloping Goitzsche pit mine.
This not only represented a vital contribution to the ecosystem of the Mulde River, but also
considerably upgraded the post-mining landscape around Bitterfeld - both
ecologically and
functionally.
In this way, what was once a prime negative instance of the consequences of over-exploiting
nature has now become a new comprehensive model for both landscape and regional development.
Direct realization of the project foundered after three years' work. Yet continued discussion
in expert and political bodies led to further research and culminated in the partial success
of the project in 1999. The water level of the Mulde reservoir has been lowered. Local measures
are planned to restore the ecological flow of the Mulde River. The development of the river has
been made the object of an interstate committee. The protection of nature as well as interests
in economic and mineland restructuring need to be harmonized here to preserve and develop a
river unique in Germany.
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