Deindustrialization – After Coal
ZEIT Online, 2024–2025
Germany is afraid of deindustrialisation. The Saarland has already experienced it. And has a few lessons to offer on how to deal with structural change. In Ensdorf, miners celebrate the thirteenth barbara festival since the closure of their mine. Meanwhile, excavators are tearing down the old power station piece by piece.
Picture editor: Tina Ahrens
Writer: Philipp Daum
Miners' lamps on the steps to St. Joseph's Church in Elm
Miners attend the St. Barbara service at St. Joseph's Church in Elm
50th anniversary pin for Günter Felten
Residential buildings in Ensdorf
Miners leave St. Joseph's Church in Elm after the church service to celebrate St. Barbara's Day
Residential buildings in Ensdorf
The jubilarians at the Barbara celebration in the Elm gymnasium and festival hall
Günter Felten in a mining smock and shaft hat with yellow plume.
Residential buildings in Ensdorf
Günter Felten in a mining smock and shaft hat with yellow plume.
Dismantling of the former Ensdorf coal-fired power plant
The Steigermarsch is sung by miners and their families at the Barbara celebration
Saarpolygon monument Ensdorf
Steel scraps pile up on the ground
Dismantling of the former Ensdorf coal-fired power plant
Dismantling of the former Ensdorf coal-fired power plant
Dismantling of the former Ensdorf coal-fired power plant
Dr. Klaus Blug, responsible for the dismantling of the former Ensdorf coal-fired power plant