Lützerath is surrounded by a double fence

Created: 01/12/2023, 08:00

The protective fence around Lützerath is guarded by the police.

© Thomas Banneyer/dpa/archive image

The brown coal town of Lützerath is surrounded by a new fence that is one and a half kilometers long.

The construction is almost finished, only the gates are still missing, said an RWE Group spokesman on Thursday morning in Lützerath, a district of Erkelenz.

The gates should be hung during the day.

On Wednesday, RWE began erecting the approximately two-meter-high double fence - i.e. two fences next to each other - to mark the town as a company site and to create "a complete enclosure".

Erkelenz - The fence should prevent unauthorized persons from entering the village, said the RWE spokesman.

As soon as the police have declared individual areas to be cleared, excavators should start with the "orderly dismantling" - i.e. the demolition.

"We don't know when that will be," the spokesman said.

"Safety for everyone involved is our top priority."

The evacuation of Lützerath began on Wednesday morning and is to be continued on Thursday.

The energy company RWE wants to excavate the lignite lying below Lützerath - for this purpose the hamlet in the area of ​​the city of Erkelenz is to be demolished.

Climate activists have been living in empty houses in the village for months.

They want to persevere there to prevent the coal from being burned and to avert damage to the climate.

dpa