Strengthen structurally weak spaces
Wittenberge gets an academy for small towns
February 15, 2024, 4:33 p.m
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A good one in three Germans lives in small towns. These should now become more visible and together have a stronger voice. For this purpose, a separate academy is being built in Prignitz.
Germany’s small towns want to network better with a nationwide academy. The German Association of Cities and Municipalities announced that Wittenberge in Brandenburg was chosen as the location for the platform. “Small towns are getting their own platform for the first time, which is intended to help them become more visible. After all, almost a third of the population lives and works in small towns,” explained Urban Development Minister Klara Geywitz. “The small town academy is intended to help identify the interests and current issues of small towns and promote their appreciation and networking.”
The Association of Cities and Municipalities complained that “politics in Germany” often focuses heavily on urban centers. “The needs and problems of small towns cannot be solved by simply adapting big city recipes,” explained association boss Uwe Brandl and managing director André Berghegger. “Instead, measures and concepts must be suitable for small towns and their specific challenges and also be feasible for them.”
“Small towns play an important role in functionality and quality of life, especially in rural areas,” explained Wittenberge’s mayor Oliver Hermann. “The establishment of a small town academy offers great potential to strengthen structurally weak and rural areas and also to give the specific needs and wishes of small towns more attention and a hearing.”
According to the announcement, up to two million euros are available in the ministry’s individual plan in the 2024 federal budget for the establishment of the Small Town Academy office. The city of Wittenberge was awarded the contract by a jury made up of representatives from the German Association of Cities and Municipalities, the German Association of Cities, from science, as well as from the federal and state governments. Wittenberge in Prignitz has around 17,000 inhabitants and will host the state horticultural show in 2027.