An important press conference for the municipality of Merzenich took place on December 7, 2023 in the CUBITY Atelier House. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Building and Digitalization of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, RWE Power AG and the municipality of Merzenich jointly signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) on the handover of the site Morschenich-Alt to the municipality of Merzenich.
The “Revival of the village of Morschenich-Alt” was on the agenda at the official press conference at CUBITY in Merzenich on December 7. As the first of a total of six former lignite villages, Morschenich-Alt is to be revitalized due to the premature coal phase-out in 2030. The name of the village is also set to change – “Morschenich-Alt” will become “Bürgewald”, a lively district of the municipality of Merzenich. To celebrate this bond, the press conference was held in Merzenich at Cubity, a meeting place for researchers and teachers. In order to realize the revitalization of Morschenich-Alt, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia is making a total of 90 million euros available. This will not only be used to preserve and renovate existing buildings, but also to revitalize community life. For example, the town center is to be renovated and the burnt-down St. Lambert’s Church, which is highly symbolic of the village’s revival, is to be restored. The planned development of the future Bürgewald should be climate-friendly, space-saving and resource-conserving – here, too, the CUBITY Atelier House is setting a good example with its sustainable construction methods. The planned transfer of Morschenich-Alt from RWE Power to the municipality of Merzenich was agreed with the signing of the “Letter of Intend” (LOI) on December 7, 2023 by the representatives of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the municipality of Merzenich and RWE Power AG.
Georg Gelhausen, Mayor of the municipality of Merzenich, Ina Scharrenbach, Minister for Home Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Building and Digitalization of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Dr. Lars Kulik, Member of the Executive Board of RWE Power AG, signed the Letter of Intent on 7 December 2023 at CUBITY in Merzenich (from left to right). © Sharon Nathan, Britta and Ulrich Findeisen Foundation for Art and Architecture, 2023
The municipality of Merzenich as a pioneer for structural change in the Rhenish mining area
“With a lot of positive energy, the lignite village of Morschenich-Alt is becoming the first future village in the structural change of the Rhenish mining area,” emphasizes Ina Scharrenbach, Minister for Home Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Building and Digitalization of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. “On the basis of the Coal Regions Investment Act, around 90 million euros will be made available for the acquisition of land by the municipality of Merzenich and the comprehensive renovation and development of the village. In the future village, not only will the former townscape with historically valuable buildings and structures be preserved, but it will also be sustainably supplemented with innovative buildings and building plots,” said Scharrenbach.
Georg Gelhausen, Mayor of the municipality of Merzenich, is looking forward to the future challenge of shaping Morschenich-Alt as a district of Merzenich into a future-oriented center of life for people from the Rhenish mining area: “The acquisition of Morschenich-Alt is a unique opportunity for us to shape our own future. Never before in the history of local politics has there been such an opportunity to shape the transformation process of structural change,” explains Gelhausen. “The repurchase is therefore not just a symbolic act, but the starting signal for the revitalization and village life of the future.”
Dr. Lars Kulik, member of the Executive Board of RWE Power AG, also welcomes this important step for Morschenich-Alt and the municipality of Merzenich: “By transferring the properties in Morschenich-Alt, RWE is fulfilling its commitment from the political agreement on the 2030 coal phase-out. We are giving the land and buildings that are no longer needed for open-cast mining operations to the municipality of Merzenich on reasonable terms, thereby supporting the efforts of the state and municipality to develop a ,place of the future‘ here.”
The video of the press conference for the signing of the letter of intent at CUBITY
© Sharon Nathan, Britta and Ulrich Findeisen Foundation for Art and Architecture, 2023
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Media review
Overview of reporting on the signing of the Letter of Intent (LOI) to revitalize the Morschenich-Alt/Bürgewald site in the Cubity Atelier House.
Letter of Intent
Here you will find the “Letter of Intent” between the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, represented by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Building and Digitalization of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the municipality of Merzenich and RWE Power AG on the transfer of Morschenich-Alt/Bürgewald from RWE Power to the municipality of Merzenich in implementation of the political agreement on the coal phase-out 2030.
Further information can be found
on the website of the municipality of Merzenich under “Historic new start for Morschenich-Alt”: https://www.gemeinde-merzenich.de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/rueckerwerb-morschenich-alt.php
and on the website of the Ministry of Homeland, Municipal Affairs, Building and Digitalization under “Lignite village becomes future village – new start for Morschenich-Alt in the Rhenish district”: https://www.mhkbd.nrw/presse-und-medien/pressemitteilungen/aus-braunkohle-dorf-wird-zukunftsdorf-neustart-fuer-morschenich-alt-im-rheinischen-revier
© Sharon Nathan, Britta and Ulrich Findeisen Foundation for Art and Architecture, 2023