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HOYWOY

Survey of the fifty year old new town centre of Hoyerswerda

Fifty years ago the new city centre of Hoyerswerda was constructed to give ten thousands of worker families a home. The booming brown coal industry and the luxurious concrete tower blocks attracted especially young people from all over the DDR to come to Hoyerswerda. The former socialistic successful city, now has to fight against migration, unemployment, deconstruction and obsolescence. Many young residents move away to find a job. The ones who stay are poor and old. The average age in Hoyerswerda is 48 years.  The biggest employer of the region constructed the first CO2 free brown coal plant with subsidy funds and decreased the number of employees. Consequences are that the unemployment rate now lies at 25% and that many concrete tower blocks are torn off. The new city centre of Hoyerswerda became a place, where the residents are hopeless that things will change.

The work shows the residents of Hoyerswerda in the context of the physiognomy of their city and their social surrounding. How they arrange themselves and support each other although they are surround by the deconstruction.

 

Isabel Winarsch, July 2007

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