Village competition "Our village has a future"

District Administrator Markus Bauer congratulates those involved on their successful performance in the state competition "Our village has a future"

Bernburg. District Administrator Markus Bauer congratulates Westdorf, Mehringen and Zens on their outstanding performance in the state competition "Our Village Has a Future".

"The three villages have shown how rural areas can score points: with lively communities that preserve traditions across the different generations and at the same time continue to provide new impetus!" The District Administrator emphasised that this commitment makes the Salzland district an attractive place to live, work and study! Markus Bauer thanked all those in the villages who are passionately committed to helping others every day.

Westdorf's community around local mayor Ronny Küster and Aschersleben mayor Steffen Amme received the gold award from Minister Sven Schulze in Magdeburg's Elbauenpark on Sunday. Among other things, the laudation stated that Westdorf had "impressively demonstrated what a lively village community means: cohesion, openness and a wealth of ideas". Among other things, the jury was impressed by the village community centre heated with geothermal energy, sponsorship for the maintenance of green spaces, a WhatsApp channel for all Westdorf residents, a citizen survey in the run-up to the competition and the huge turnout on the day of the presentation.

The clubs in Westdorf have enriched life in the village for years. Prior to the jury's visit a few months ago, all the clubs planned the ultimately successful presentation of the village to the jury of the regional competition together, according to the local council. This included a song specially composed by the choir to welcome them, a scavenger hunt through the village and a video of all the social highlights that the people of the village organise themselves throughout the year. Another highlight was transporting the jury to the individual meeting points of the clubs in a Trabant. Participation in the competition was initiated by the Westdorf local history association.

Westdorf is the first village from the Salzland district to represent the region in next year's national competition. Mehringen, another district of Aschersleben, was honoured with silver in the state competition, while Zens in the municipality of Bördeland received bronze. The three villages had won the district competition in the Salzland district last year. This was organised by the district administration.

District Administrator Markus Bauer says proudly: "It is important to show that we have excellent conditions for families in the Salzland district between Halle and Magdeburg - in all respects. Those who live and work in our region make it clear that we are a good place to live and work! Everyone finds their place here!"

In the state competition, 14 villages from all over Saxony-Anhalt competed for the title "Our village has a future". The state winners will be able to compete again in the national competition next year. The national prize will then be awarded at the International Green Week in Berlin in 2027, followed by a reception with the Federal President at Bellevue Palace.

Salzland district honours participants in the village competition - three villages eligible for state comparison. District Administrator Bauer: "Our villages are exemplary. A sense of community pays off, shaping life in the countryside according to one's own possibilities."

Bernburg/Aderstedt. According to experts, after evaluation by the assessment committee and counting of all points, Mehringen, Westdorf and Zens were tied for first place this year. The search was on for the most committed, innovative and active village according to the state's criteria catalogue, for the sixth time in the Salzlandkreis district. The district competition once again achieved record participation – 27 towns and districts, from Athensleben to Zuchau, took part – and ended with three district winners, all of whom can now compete in the state competition for the Salzland district due to the number of participants.

District Administrator Markus Bauer and his Department for District and Economic Development and Tourism, headed by Tilo Wechselberger, who is also the head of the evaluation committee for the competition, invited representatives of the participating village communities, mayors and associations to the closing event and results announcement this Monday afternoon in the Aderstedt festival barn. State Minister Sven Schulze also took the opportunity this year to visit and honour the participants in the Salzland district. His Ministry of Economic Affairs, Tourism, Agriculture and Forestry supports the village competition, not least through financial contributions to the winners at district level and organises the competition itself at state level every three years.

Agriculture Minister Sven Schulze said that the Salzland district had the most villages in the state taking part in the competition. "This shows that people in rural areas are taking the development of their villages into their own hands and are living the communities. Their actions, their creativity and their solutions are encouraging for the future." Ultimately, not only the entire village benefits from this commitment, but also the region beyond. The Minister expressly thanked the Salzland district for organising the competition.

Even the choice of venue was no coincidence, as six of the towns that took part in the comparison belong to Bernburg alone. The participating towns of Aschersleben and Könnern also played a similarly decisive role in the competition. In general, it was a positive surprise in the current round that the core administrations of the towns have also dedicated themselves to the topic, as the example of Bernburg shows. Mayor Dr Silvia Ristow was also on hand at all of her local appointments. The extremely committed approach from the outset, the invitation from the district administration to participate, letters, many telephone calls and personal discussions with the full-time and voluntary mayors, door-to-door canvassing and persuasion probably helped.

"Supporting, joining in, getting actively involved and appreciating the mostly voluntary work is a way of increasing local interest and commitment. For me, this is a key to success in showing people how attractive life in a lively village can be," the district administrator summarises. "Thanks to local initiatives, rural areas can develop, provided politicians create the right framework. We are targeting this development with our Salzlandkreis 2030 strategy for the future." District Administrator Markus Bauer therefore thanks everyone involved in the success of the 2024 village competition and congratulates the winners and runners-up. Ultimately, everyone is a winner in the broader sense. The village competition is also about nothing more and nothing less than the question: How do we want to live together?

In the Salzland district, Mehringen, Westdorf and Zens are at the top with individual solutions, followed by Plötzkau, Frose, Ilberstedt, Drohndorf, Wilsleben, Beesenlaublingen and all the other winners. "They have their own ideas and are making independent efforts to shape their future. Whether large or small, on the tour through the villages we felt the outstanding commitment of the village community. Associations are the lifeblood of the community," says Head of Specialist Services Tilo Wechselberger. He presented a number of impressions of the tour at the closing event and drew a conclusion for the competition commission. In addition to the experts from the district administration, it was made up of representatives from the parliamentary groups in the district council, the Office for Agriculture, Land Consolidation and Forestry, the District Sports Association and the Salzland Savings Bank as well as the state's Ministry of Economics and Agriculture in the guest role.

Wechselberger summarises: "Of course, there is a lot of life in the vicinity of a big city, but the other runners-up were not that far away. It's also great to see the progress we've made after our experiences from past participations. Little Zens in particular presented itself impressively, with all its clubs, after a generational change in the local council and with the noticeable support of the local council. All in all, that was impressive."

Special prizes were therefore also awarded for the first time for special achievements: for Garsena as a small village, for Plötzky and its analysis and strategy, Wohlsdorf with the extraordinary commitment of its rural women and for Zuchau, where agriculture and alternative energies are focussed on.

While the district winners were awarded 2,000 euros each, the runners-up received staggered prizes of 1,600 and 1,300 euros up to ninth place, the special prize winners received 1,200 euros and all other participants received a further 1,000 euros in recognition. The prize money comes from the state of Saxony-Anhalt with 800 euros for each participant and from the Salzlandsparkasse's profit appropriation totalling 10,000 euros.

In the "Our village has a future" competition, civic engagement is at the centre of the assessment. Special consideration is given to the initial situation and the independent achievements of the village community in overcoming the challenges. Cooperation with neighbouring districts and villages plays an important role in all areas - from development concept to economy and culture, from infrastructure, environment, nature, climate change and social interaction to the overall impression of the village.

Our heartfelt thanks go to all 19 participants for presenting their villages in the village competition. We would also like to thank all participants for their daily commitment, their perspectives, concepts and activities, both current and future, which they showed us during the competition.

In addition to the two winners, Plötzkau (3rd place), Ilberstedt, Kleinmühlingen (both 4th place) as well as Aderstedt, Athensleben, Baalberge, Biendorf, Frose/Anhalt, Gerlebogk, Hohenerxleben, Plötzky, Preußlitz, Rathmannsdorf, Tarthun, Unseburg, Wolmirsleben and Zuchau successfully took part (see map).

Both winning villages qualified for the 11th state competition. Ranies and Hoym/Anhalt were both awarded silver at the 27th State Harvest Festival 2022 in Magdeburg. Hoym/Anhalt also received a special prize for its exemplary association network.

We would like to inform all interested parties that a new district competition is planned from 2023/24, which will again lead to a state and national competition. We will inform you about the start of the new competition phase in good time on this page.