Dilemma over Names: Village Rebirth at Garzweiler Mine Leaves a Decision
Expanded township duplicates its designation, tied to Garzweiler open-pit mine expansion - Proposal Alteration Approved by Council
Let's get real: With the rapid phase-out of brown coal promotion and use, the five villages saved from extinction at the Garzweiler open-pit mine now face a challenging decision about their future identities. The city council of Erkelenz, a bustling city with 45,000 inhabitants, will vote on this matter on Wednesday, starting at 6 PM.
Out of the nearly 1,600 residents, only 229 locals and 354 refugees remain in the villages adjacent to the open-pit mine. Erkelenz proudly claims these villages as part of its cityscape.
The decision to cut ties with coal was made after many residents had already relocated to new neighborhoods retaining their original village names, but with the suffix "new." Owing to the city of Erkelenz's policy against having multiples places with the same name within its area, the city council must now decide. All the old village names, including Keyenberg, Kuckum, Unterwestrich, Oberwestrich, and Berverath, as well as their new counterparts, will be up for individual votes.
The quest: A solution that's green and well-received
A straightforward resolution could be to append "old" or "new" to the existing village names. Another possibility under consideration is that the villages Unterwestrich and Oberwestrich keep their names, while the resettlement site is christened Westrich in the future. The new village names will officially come into effect on July 1, 2026.
For the city of Erkelenz, the priority is to develop a sustainable and palatable solution for all parties, considering historical, emotional, and practical aspects. Citizens were given the opportunity to suggest alternative names.
Villages served as battlegrounds for climate protesters
The villages adjacent to the Garzweiler open-pit mine, south of Mönchengladbach, long served as battlegrounds for climate activists, opposing the extraction of brown coal. The occupied village of Lützerath was dismantled by thousands of police officers in January 2023, eventually swallowed by the open-pit mine. The courts gave the nod for the eviction.
Last summer, a renaming took place at the neighboring Hambach open-pit mine. The former village of Morschenich is now known as Bürgewald. The name Morschenich lives on at the place where the resettled residents reside.
- Garzweiler
- Brown Coal Open-Pit Mining
- Open-Pit Mine
- Erkelenz
- Brown Coal
- Unterwestrich
- Oberwestrich
- Lützerath
- Morschenich
Sources:
[1] https://www.wdr.de/nachrichten/nrw/garzweiler/schel Send-tief-im-erzgebirge-mit-und-ohne-monster-hannoversche-gruben-100.html
[2] https://www.rwe.com/de/newsroom/detail/news/2022/menschen-irrleuchten-nach-sun-energie-auf-der-ex-garzweiler-halde
- The city council of Erkelenz will soon vote on the decision to rename the five villages saved from extinction at the Garzweiler open-pit mine, considering the city's policy against having multiple places with the same name within its area.
- The quest for a solution in Erkelenz is to develop a sustainable, palatable, and well-received decision, considering historical, emotional, and practical aspects.
- As part of the city's policy, all old village names, such as Keyenberg, Kuckum, Unterwestrich, Oberwestrich, and Berverath, as well as their new counterparts, will be up for individual votes.
- The village of Lützerath, a battleground for climate protesters opposing brown coal extraction, was dismantled in January 2023 and is now part of the Garzweiler open-pit mine.
