Decline and decay in former Communist 'model town'
But since the Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago, the former jewel in the Communist crown has become symbolic of everything that is wrong with modern east Germany - with poverty, high unemployment and a dwindling population.
The town, around 100 miles south of Berlin, has lost almost half of its former population of 68,000 since 1989. For eastern Germany as a whole the figure is just nine per cent.
Since the coal industry collapsed in the wake of the reunification of Germany in 1990, nine out of 10 mining jobs have vanished and unemployment hovers at around 20 per cent, compared to 13.3 per cent for the rest of eastern Germany.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The town, around 100 miles south of Berlin, has lost almost half of its former population of 68,000 since 1989. For eastern Germany as a whole the figure is just nine per cent.
Since the coal industry collapsed in the wake of the reunification of Germany in 1990, nine out of 10 mining jobs have vanished and unemployment hovers at around 20 per cent, compared to 13.3 per cent for the rest of eastern Germany.