Otzenrath ghost town

Type	Country	Date	On the Map	Status	Rating
Private building	Germany	2005-07-01		Demolished	**

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A Depressive Exploration...

The mining site Garzweiler am Rhein, Germany started in 1950. It does not stop expanding now, eating nearby forests and... villages. Expropriation of almost 10,000 people. The world's largest open-air mine encroaches on the ground, following to the oldest mining sites extinction.

Otzenrath ghost town - Click to enlarge!

View on the open-air mine.
Click to enlarge!

Ecologists demonstrate. Nothing stops the mine. Otzenrath is the next village on the list, other have been devoured already before. Exodus started already.

We visited, not really explored this village with this very special atmosphere. Inhabitants are either gone, or are just waiting in the middle of ruins and pillagers until they get a new house in an artificial new town a few kilometers further.

Some snapshots: graveyard half-expropriated. Inhabitants appearing suddenly from the ruins to attend the mass in the Catholic church, because the Orthodox one has been already shut down. Locals repairing their windows blown out by vandals. Funny little touristic trains full of Germans carrying cameras.

Having enough of it, we left quickly to Liège with our Cave-Clan Australian colleagues for an healthier exploration, the Valdor hospital.

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