A city in East Germany offers free stay 2 -week To those interested in moving there, as part of an initiative to strengthen its population.

In accordance with CNNthe city Eisenhüttenstadtwhich is on the border with the Polandabout 100 kilometers from Berlingives the opportunity 14 -day trial stay for potential new residentsaccording to a statement by the local municipality on May 13th.

“The program is aimed at all those who are thinking of moving to Eisenhütenstadt, such as workers who move for work, people who want to return to the city, specialized professionals or freelancers seeking environmental change,” the statement said. Applications remain open until early July.

Selected participants will have the opportunity to live freely in a furnished apartment in the city center from September 6th to 20th, as part of an “innovative relocation program” named the name “Make Plans Now” (Make Plans Now).

“Participants will have the opportunity to get to know the life, work and the community of the city through a 14 -day trial period – completely free and in the” heart “of the city,” the municipality stresses.

To help participants familiarize themselves with the area, the municipality has planned various activities, such as a city tour, a factory visit, and excursions.

At the same time, it will try to persuade participants to settle permanently, with local businesses offering internships, attendance of attendance and job interviews.

From socialist history … to today

Eisenhüttenstadt, which means “City of Steel”, was founded in 1950 and was the first fully designed city under the regime of the former East Germany. It was built on the banks of the river Oder around a huge steelmaker in the context of socialist industrial policy.

It was originally called Stalinstadt (city of Stalin), in honor of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, but was renamed Eisenhütenstadt after the reunification of East and West Germany, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Like many other cities in the former East Germany, Eisenhütenstadt has seen its population decline dramatically in recent years. Of more than 50,000 residents in its peak years, it has fallen to about 24,000 today, according to local official Julia Basan, who spoke to RBB24.

The program mainly aims to attract permanent residents and qualified professionals, as Basan explained.

The industry, the architecture and the new residents

Today, Eisenhüttenstadt hosts the largest integrated steel mill in East Germany, with about 2,500 workers, and is also a hub for metallurgy and processing metals.

Many of the buildings of the socialist era are preserved architectural monuments, with the open urban planning of the city impressing visitors interested in architecture.

One of the recent young residents revealed that architecture was the main reason he chose to settle there.

“It was completely random,” he said in a video posted on the Town Hall account on Instagram. “We went with friends to Ratzdorf and went through Karl-Marx-Straße. I saw these houses, this architecture that left me speechless and I said to my wife, ‘We’ll move here’.

He then made sure to arrange a tour of the city with a local history to find out more.

“After the tour, we were so impressed by the architecture that this was the decisive element,” he said.