Lost Villages

Making the history of open pit mining in Germany visible

Since the beginning of the 20th century, over 300 villages in Germany have been destroyed by coal mining. Residents are forced to sell their land to coal companies. If they refuse, they can be forcibly expropriated.

The narrative visualisation ‘Lost Villages’ shows the history of open pit mining in Germany. The topics covered range from forced labor in Nazi Germany to environmental destruction and today's protest movements against coal mining. A map visualization locates the steps of the story and makes the destroyed villages of the respective opencast mines visible again. High contrasts in color and typography show the brutality of the topic and take up the aesthetics of coal mining. The story can be interrupted at any time to explore the map with its open pits and villages in more detail.