Dresden and Leipzig want to react to the impending energy crisis. In Leipzig it therefore remains dark in the evening on many buildings, squares and bridges - even on well-known landmarks. Dresden sets up a "task force". The country also has plans.
Leipzig/Dresden (dpa/sn) - Against the background of the looming energy crisis, Leipzig has switched off the lighting of several public buildings and landmarks. According to the city, a total of 238 public buildings, squares, bridges and bodies of water are no longer illuminated - including the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. Workers also turned off the 19 spotlights at the opera, a spokesman said. The regulation has been in effect since Wednesday.
The "Höfe am Brühl" shopping center, the new town hall, the Gewandhaus and the Thomaskirche will also no longer be illuminated. In addition, the lighting on many trees in Leipzig has been switched off. The work that has been going on since Wednesday is part of an action plan by the city that is intended to secure the energy supply.
"The goal of our joint efforts must be to save 15 percent of energy," Mayor Burkhard Jung (SPD) recently announced. "I'm not just referring to gas, but to all fossil fuels and electricity."
A corresponding "task force" is to be set up in Dresden, as a spokeswoman announced. "The aim is to make preparations for any gas storage tanks that may be empty and to help prevent this scenario by taking immediate and consistent energy-saving measures." The city also wants to take municipal buildings into account. The working group is to develop measures by the end of August, on which a decision will then be made.
According to the State Chancellery, the Saxon state ministries have announced that they intend to reduce the illumination of representative buildings. Accordingly, there are also plans to gradually switch to LED lighting and lower the temperature in offices. A final vote on the measures is to be taken in the coming week. Details were not initially clear.
Against the background of the impending energy crisis, several public buildings and landmarks in Berlin will no longer be illuminated for the time being. These include the Victory Column, the Berlin Cathedral, the Memorial Church, the Red Town Hall and Charlottenburg Palace. The lighting should not be switched off immediately everywhere, but gradually. Three to four weeks are planned for this.
