DDR – Twenty years after the fall
Werben an der Elbe, counting 840 citizens lies in the former DDR, in the heart of the Altmark, probably Germany’s most desolate region. Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 over twenty percent of its inhabitants migrated to seek their luck elsewhere. Severe unemployment followed upon the closing down of the Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft and the nearby Optische Werke Rathenow and construction activiety in nearby provincial towns such as Osterburg, Stendal or even Magdeburg is relatively low. An entirely different introduction to Werben an der Elbe tells us that this rustic, charming little town lies in the heart of a unique, Unesco-protected biosphere called “Landschaft Elbefluss” and is home to numerous rare birds including the black stork and the red eagle. It lies right on a fantastic cycle route between Hamburg and Dresden. Despite its near optimal position from Berlin, sales price for a historical townhouse will start at no higher than ten thousand euros. It is simply an ideal place for a holiday, weekend-break or place to live for pioneering artists or other self-employed free birds…one wonders what keeps them away…
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In honour of this year's Henry Hudson 400 year, an exhibition with a series of portraits of the Trustees of the Holland Society of New York... 
