The Schifflersgrund Border Museum has a new outdoor viewing point with a view of the former inner-German border and the Green Belt. In addition to the impressive and oppressive lines of sight, the covered platform offers basic information on the former GDR border fortifications, many of which have been preserved in their original form in the striking depression between Hesse and Thuringia. The listed ensemble includes the column path, the control strip, the observation tower and the more than 500-metre-long expanded metal fence. Historical large-scale images from the 1980s illustrate the former appearance of the border. At the same time, an overview graphic makes it easier to find your way around today’s museum site. “Visitors can better locate their position in space and time,” explains museum director Dr. Christian Stöber. “As soon as they arrive, they learn what the border actually looked like and where it ran, how the perfidious closure and sealing off under the SED dictatorship worked over the last few meters and where they can now find the individual exhibition buildings.”
However, the platform not only facilitates access for individual visitors and guided groups, but also provides an ideal start to hiking in what is now the middle of Germany and Europe. There is a map of the route of the TOP border hiking trail Schifflersgrund, as well as a QR code for digital routing along the route. The eleven-kilometre circular trail, which includes a variety of information panels on the history and nature of the former border, begins directly on site. If arriving by car, hikers can park their vehicles in the parking lot of the border museum and combine their excursion with a visit to the facility.
“The result is a new gateway to the Schifflersgrund Border Museum, which introduces visitors to the exhibition and outdoor area and offers a unique view of the past and present of the Green Belt,” says Stöber, emphasizing the great importance of the project. “It is a central component of the redesign of our facility and the release of the historical site.” To this end, the old crossing, which led over the former motor vehicle barrier trench but never existed there until 1990 and was only created later when the border museum was built, was completely demolished and the original terrain restored. Instead, a new access road now leads to the entrance building at a distance of more than 30 meters. In addition, the former continuation of the border fence in the direction of Sickenberg has been marked by an inlaid steel floor inlay and an open gap between the planked side walls of the viewing platform. Furthermore, a ground marking at the entrance to the parking lot now indicates the course of the border between Hesse and Thuringia. “Overall, the project makes a significant contribution to strengthening the culture of remembrance at the former ‘Iron Curtain’ and making the Green Belt both tangible and visible,” summarizes Stöber.
The measures were funded with LEADER funds from the Eichsfeld Regional Action Group (RAG), by the Thuringia Nature Conservation Foundation and by the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship from donations from the Heimpel community of heirs. The costs amounted to around EUR 85,000.00.
“The project combines many aspects of our development strategy. In addition to modern history education, it also scores points for strengthening the idea of nature along the Green Belt. It improves the services offered by the border museum, which is not only a great destination for visitors from outside the region. The RAG therefore supported the entrance gate with around 52,000 euros from its LEADER budget,” says Katrin Oberthür, employee of the RAG office.