Once it was the dreaded “death strip,” the buffer zone between two states and two systems—and today it is a valuable nature reserve: the “Green Belt” along the former border between West Germany and East Germany. The three federal states of Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia are now launching the major nature conservation project “Green Belt of the Three-State Corner.” Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) is also expected to attend today (Monday) in Mödlareuth, the once-divided village. The goals are to preserve and develop the “Green Belt” and its surroundings.
The fact that the border between the two states was so tightly sealed off gave nature a “breathing space,” as the German Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) puts it: “The border strip became a refuge for more than 1,200 rare and endangered plants and animals.” After the fall of the Wall, one of the largest and most significant nature conservation projects was established here. The “Green Belt” stretches from the Baltic Sea to Bavaria for about 1,400 kilometers.
