click for navigation;
scroll down for
project information
Desolationszone
2014 - ongoing
The Südraum Leipzig, where lignite has been mined for over 100 years, covers an area of 820 square kilometers south of the town of Leipzig.
Once characterized by agriculture and extensive river floodplains, the region in the days of the GDR became part of the country's industrial center and one of the most polluted places in the world. In a state that considered environmental pollution not to be possible in it's socialist system, non-public measurements in the mid-80s proved pollution levels in metropolitan areas such as Leipzig or Chemnitz to be more than twice as high as in Düsseldorf, Chicago or Tokyo. Due to the lack of other raw materials, the GDR was highly dependent on locally available lignite, which was subsequently mined and processed regardless of the consequences for the environment and residents. In the village of Mölbis, just a few kilometers from the Espenhain power plant, residents at the time reported dense dust in the air that at times no longer allowed visibility as far as the neighboring property. Even before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the outdated factories became a symbol of the disintegration of the socialist state and the environmental movement a catalyst for political change.
With the German reunification, the closedown of most GDR enterprises and the migration of large parts of the population, another drastic change began. In 1993, SPIEGEL journalist Wilhelm Bittorf described the rusting and abandoned industrial quarters of the former GDR as a "desolation zone" on approach to Leipzig-Airport.
Since then, most of the facilities have been dismantled. Areas have been renaturalized and open-cast mining pits flooded. With lake Cospuden and other flooded opencast mines a much-visited recreational area has been created outside the doors of Leipzig.
However, many problems and subsequent damage only become visible at second glance and many years later. Poorer soil quality reduces crop yields, and swampiness caused by the resurgence of groundwater makes some areas barely usable economically. Insufficiently compacted soils lead to structural problems in construction projects, and ecosystems will still need many centuries to fully recover. In addition, there are conflicts around the still active opencast lignite mines "Vereinigtes Schleenhain" and "Profen."
Lignite production in eastern Germany is planned to cease in 2038, but the current energy crisis is also changing the view of domestic energy sources. In 2020 Germany still had the second-largest output of lignite globally, only beaten by China. The work Desolationszone tries to photographically draw a long-term balance of lignite-mining and takes a look at a contemporary anthropogenic landscape.
Lippendorf Village,
Lippendorf, Neukieritzsch, 2021
Trees at a planned canal between Lake Zwenkau and Lake Cospuden, New Harth forest,
Markkleeberg, 2016
Estates in the village of Pödelwitz, bought by the mining company MIBRAG.
Pödelwitz, Groitzsch, 2020
Open-pit mine "Vereiniges Schleenhain", Current expanse approx.: 2500 ha,
Deutzen, 2014
Paludification, New Harth forest,
Markkleeberg, 2019
Estates in the village of Pödelwitz, bought by the mining company MIBRAG.
Pödelwitz, Groitzsch, 2021
Lake Zwenkau, former open-pit mine Zwenkau, closed down in 1998, expanse: 970 ha.,
Zwenkau, 2020
Lippendorf power plant,
Lippendorf, Neukieritzsch, 2014
Paludification, New Harth forest,
Markkleeberg, 2016
Houses built for the employees of Espenhain power plant that was closed down in 1990.
Straße der Einheit ("reunification road"),
Kitzscher, 2020
Lake Zwenkau, north shore, near the planned Harth-channel, that would have connected Lake Zwenkau and Lake Cospuden for ships. The project was stopped in 2023, due to exploding costs.
Markkleeberg, 2024
Former location of Käferhain, a village, that was destroyed in 1985/-86 in order to expand the open-pit mine "Groitzscher Dreieck". After the German reunification in 1990 the demand for lignite sank and the plan of further exploiting the mine was abandoned. In consequence the place remained intact.
Methewitz, Groitzsch, 2020
A small valley has formed in an eroding area of the mining heap Trages,
Thierbach, 2020
An area between Pödelwitz and Kieritzsch is beeing prepared for mining,
Kieritzsch, 2020
House next to the former A-road 2,
Kesselshain, 2020
The north beach of lake Cospuden, the former open-pit mine Cospuden has become a popular recreation area close to Leipzig.
Markkleeberg, 2014
Houses built for the employees of Espenhain power plant that was closed down in 1990.
Thierbacher Straße, Kitzscher, 2020
Paludification at A-road 2,
Böhlen, 2014
Lake Störmthal, former open-pit mine Störmthal, closed down in 1996, expanse: 730 ha. Water containing iron is used to flood the lake.
Störmthal, 2014
Belantis amusement park and highway 38,
Leipzig, 2023
An area near Kieritzsch is beeing prepared for mining.
Kieritzsch, 2023
Desolationszone
2014 - ongoing
The Südraum Leipzig, where lignite has been mined for over 100 years, covers an area of 820 square kilometers south of the town of Leipzig.
Once characterized by agriculture and extensive river floodplains, the region in the days of the GDR became part of the country's industrial center and one of the most polluted places in the world. In a state that considered environmental pollution not to be possible in it's socialist system, non-public measurements in the mid-80s proved pollution levels in metropolitan areas such as Leipzig or Chemnitz to be more than twice as high as in Düsseldorf, Chicago or Tokyo. Due to the lack of other raw materials, the GDR was highly dependent on locally available lignite, which was subsequently mined and processed regardless of the consequences for the environment and residents. In the village of Mölbis, just a few kilometers from the Espenhain power plant, residents at the time reported dense dust in the air that at times no longer allowed visibility as far as the neighboring property. Even before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the outdated factories became a symbol of the disintegration of the socialist state and the environmental movement a catalyst for political change.
Lippendorf Village,
Lippendorf, Neukieritzsch, 2021
Trees at a planned canal between Lake Zwenkau and Lake Cospuden,
New Harth forest, Markkleeberg, 2016
Estates in the village of Pödelwitz, bought by the mining company MIBRAG.
Pödelwitz, Groitzsch, 2020
Open-pit mine "Vereiniges Schleenhain", Current expanse approx.: 2500 ha,
Deutzen, 2014
Paludification,
New Harth forest, Markkleeberg, 2019
Estates in the village of Pödelwitz, bought by the mining company MIBRAG.
Pödelwitz, Groitzsch, 2021
With the German reunification, the closedown of most GDR enterprises and the migration of large parts of the population, another drastic change began. In 1993, SPIEGEL journalist Wilhelm Bittorf described the rusting and abandoned industrial quarters of the former GDR as a "desolation zone" on approach to Leipzig-Airport.
Since then, most of the facilities have been dismantled. Areas have been renaturalized and open-cast mining pits flooded. With lake Cospuden and other flooded opencast mines a much-visited recreational area has been created outside the doors of Leipzig.
Lake Zwenkau, former open-pit mine Zwenkau, closed down in 1998, expanse: 970 ha.,
Zwenkau, 2020
Lippendorf power plant,
Lippendorf, Neukieritzsch, 2014
Paludification, New Harth forest,
Markkleeberg, 2016
Houses built for the employees of Espenhain power plant that was closed down in 1990.
Straße der Einheit ("reunification road"),
Kitzscher, 2020
Former location of Käferhain, a village, that was destroyed in 1985/-86 in order to expand the open-pit mine "Groitzscher Dreieck". After the German reunification in 1990 the demand for lignite sank and the plan of further exploiting the mine was abandoned. In consequence the place remained intact.
Methewitz, Groitzsch, 2020
However, many problems and subsequent damage only become visible at second glance and many years later. Poorer soil quality reduces crop yields, and swampiness caused by the resurgence of groundwater makes some areas barely usable economically. Insufficiently compacted soils lead to structural problems in construction projects, and ecosystems will still need many centuries to fully recover. In addition, there are conflicts around the still active opencast lignite mines "Vereinigtes Schleenhain" and "Profen."
A small valley has formed in an eroding area of the mining heap Trages,
Thierbach, 2020
An area between Pödelwitz and Kieritzsch is beeing prepared for mining,
Kieritzsch, 2020
House next to the former A-road 2,
Kesselshain, 2020
The north beach of lake Cospuden, the former open-pit mine Cospuden has become a popular recreation area close to Leipzig.
Markkleeberg, 2014
Houses built for the employees of Espenhain power plant that was closed down in 1990.
Thierbacher Straße, Kitzscher, 2020
Lignite production in eastern Germany is planned to cease in 2038, but the current energy crisis is also changing the view of domestic energy sources. In 2020 Germany still had the second-largest output of lignite globally, only beaten by China. The work Desolationszone tries to photographically draw a long-term balance of lignite-mining and takes a look at a contemporary anthropogenic landscape.
Paludification at A-road 2,
Böhlen, 2014
Lake Störmthal, former open-pit mine Störmthal, closed down in 1996, expanse: 730 ha. Water containing iron is used to flood the lake.
Störmthal, 2014
Belantis amusement park and highway 38,
Leipzig, 2023
An area near Kieritzsch is beeing prepared for mining.
Kieritzsch, 2023
Ludwig Ander-Donath
Photographer and Picture Editor
Leipzig/Germany
+49 157 34 618 668
mail@ludwiganderdonath.com