Mühlhausen (dpa/th) - In the nationwide competition for the future center for European transformation and German unity, Mühlhausen in Thuringia is taking part together with its Hessian twin town of Eschwege. Both cities presented their application concept in Mühlhausen on Tuesday. According to their own statements, they were the first municipalities to enter into an official German-German town twinning after the fall of the Wall.
The center is to be built in East Germany by 2028 and will enable research, encounters and exhibitions on questions of transformation. This involves investments of more than 200 million euros and 200 jobs. With the center, the federal government wants to honor the experience of East Germans with change and upheaval. The application phase runs until the end of September.
"We are sticking to our application," said Mühlhausen's Mayor Johannes Bruns (SPD) and Eschwege's Mayor Alexander Heppe (CDU). In Thuringia alone there are two competitors: the university town of Jena, which is also supported by the state government, and Eisenach. Other applicants include Frankfurt (Oder), supported by the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, Halle, supported by Saxony-Anhalt, and the Saxon cities of Leipzig and Plauen.
According to the city leaders of Mühlhausen and Eschwege, only an application from an east and a west German city would do justice to the concerns of the center. "Because the aim of the future center is to let East and West grow together and to strengthen Germany's unity." Mühlhausen and Eschwege are a bridge between western and eastern Germany, but also between western and eastern Europe. As rural small and medium-sized towns, they reflected the reality of life for around two-thirds of the German and European population.
The settlement of the future center in the region would be a strong signal "and an impulse for our striving for equality", according to the local politicians. Both city parliaments supported the project with appropriate resolutions. In addition, there is cooperation with the University of Erfurt and other universities.
