In spring 2004 it started what I call the days of destruction: the removing of nearly all trees and the whole vegetation in our area. They called it the first step and necessary contribution on the way to the later reconstruction. To me it seems so senseless to see, that it only takes an hour to destroy a tree but takes more than years before a new one is grown up.

Then during the winter months 2004/2005 the earth of the whole area I´m living in was removed and new earth was replaced because of contamination from the old mining area. These were the days, when workers became more familiar than neighbours, and everything around was muddy, dirty or dusty.

I think, it was just a hard time to live here in those months, but a good time to make pictures, which nearly everybody has done, so that this collection not only contains my own pictures but also some made by others.

Today, going back in time by looking at these pictures, simply makes me smile. Seems to me like it happened years ago instead of months since all this work was done and life came back to normal.