Baden-Württemberg: "Corona-Hain" inaugurated in memory of the victims of the pandemic

Brackenheim (dpa/lsw) - In memory of the victims of the pandemic, the country's first "Corona Grove" was inaugurated in the state forest in Brackenheim near Heilbronn.

Baden-Württemberg: "Corona-Hain" inaugurated in memory of the victims of the pandemic

Brackenheim (dpa/lsw) - In memory of the victims of the pandemic, the country's first "Corona Grove" was inaugurated in the state forest in Brackenheim near Heilbronn. "Corona is associated with deprivation and the loss of loved ones or even relatives for all of us," said Forest Minister Peter Hauk (CDU) on Tuesday at the memorial. "Then we look for a place of remembrance, of pausing or of commemoration." In Baden-Württemberg, more than 16,600 people have died in connection with the virus since the outbreak of the pandemic.

According to the ministry, experts have planted rare and climate-resilient tree species in the spruce forest in Zabergäu, which has been badly affected by storms and bark beetles. "They created a grove that will be ecologically upgraded to a special place of remembrance," said Max Reger from ForstBW, the largest forestry company in Baden-Württemberg.

Hauk said the "corona grove" is open to all people and should also encourage imitation. "The forest here symbolizes the change of the familiar but also for the hope of preserving the forest".