The Floating Church

The VINETA “floating church” is a very special place on Störmthaler Lake not far from Leipzig. This elegant structure symbolizes the lost church of Magdeborn and serves as a memorial to the seven villages that between 1978 and 1982 had to make way for the Espenhain open-cast lignite mine. Around 3,000 locals were resettled, mostly against their will, to Grünau, Schönefeld and the outskirts of Leipzig. Those dramatic events were later depicted in the “Memories of a Landscape” documentary by Kurt Tetzlaff, painting a picture of environmental and cultural loss and the price of industrial progress. In 2010, the art project "VINETA" was realized as part of the "Art instead of Coal" initiative. With a height of 15 m, VINETA on Lake Störmthal is currently considered the tallest floating structure on a German lake. “The floating church” is currently used as a venue for weddings, cultural events, and exclusive functions.