Nobody counted how many times the bus crossed the border over those three days. But the fact that it felt so natural to simply cross the Moselle and switch sides says a lot about life in the border triangle. It wasn’t uncommon for the participants to ask themselves: Are we still in Germany, or have we already crossed into Luxembourg?
In the small, tranquil town of Merzkirchen in the Verbangsgemeinde Saarburg-Kell, the LEADER managers were given an insight into the everyday lives of around 50,000 people who commute to Luxembourg every day from Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. This is all too often characterised by long journey times, traffic jams due to roadworks and, unfortunately, increasingly frequent border controls. Although only around 800 people live in Merzkirchen, the town is a central traffic junction for the daily flow of commuters.
Railway station without rails
As a result of a cross-border study by LEADER Miselerland & Moselfranken, the first of seven multimodal mobility hubs is being built here. The client is the municipality. LEADER and the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate are bearing the total costs of 1.3 million euros for 100%. A 6,000 square metre hub is planned, linking the use of buses, bikes and public transport. The aim is to reduce private transport and contribute to climate protection. There are plans for 35 car parking spaces, lockable bicycle boxes, charging stations for electric cars and bicycles, as well as technical preparations for charging electric buses here at a later date.
From the windy heights of Merzkirchen, we then travelled to Kanzem on the Saar. The exemplary restored wine village was awarded the European Village Renewal Prize in 2000 and lives from numerous committed citizens. Among other things, they run the „Buch & Wein“ wine bar on a voluntary basis - a place where culinary delight and literature are combined. Here, anyone can make themselves comfortable with a good glass of wine to read in the modern but cosy tasting room. There is a selection of wines from eight different winegrowers and 1,000 book titles. The community center is located in the same building and has a spacious meeting room with large windows offering a direct view of the vineyards. Around 900,000 euros in funding from LEADER Moselfranken has been channelled into the new building.
When the ferry travels as if by itself
The bus took the group to Oberbillig just in time for rush hour. From here, the electric ferry will run semi-automatically to Wasserbillig in future. The diesel-powered „Sankta Maria“ was replaced by an electrically powered vessel back in 2017. However, the lack of trained captains restricts its operation. A preliminary study co-financed by LEADER therefore examined whether the ferry could be partially automated. On this basis, appropriate solutions are currently being developed as part of an INTERREG project: Sensor technology, intelligent control software, customised landing stages and a digital ticketing system should allow longer operating times in future despite a lack of staff.
Due to Luxembourg's economic appeal and the resulting population growth, the Luxembourg LEADER region is struggling with difficulties that are usually unfamiliar to other rural regions. There is little talk of rural areas in Luxembourg and the surrounding area being bled dry. On the contrary: more and more people are moving to the villages because they cannot afford to live in the city. As a result, property prices in the countryside are also rising and affordable housing is becoming increasingly scarce.
As special as the local situation is, many topics are similar to those of other LEADER regions in Europe: the conservation of our resources, sustainability and environmental protection are at the top of the agenda everywhere.
Cultural landscape Moselle
The Biodiversum nature conservation centre therefore provided the ideal setting to present several LEADER projects to the excursion participants, which can be transferred to many regions as examples of best practice. The borderless campaign „Trink!Wasser“ (Drink! Water) raises awareness of the responsible use of local tap water - in schools as well as at public events. A mobile water bar can also be borrowed free of charge.
The „Wéngertsbourse“ has served as a digital brokerage platform for vineyards since the beginning of the year. Targeted brownfield management is intended to protect the wine-growing landscape and help preserve its unique character. Finally, the visitors learnt about the tourist listening tour app from Visit Moselle and visited the exhibition „Life towers of biodiversity“, designed by the environmental syndicate SIAS.
Cross-border region of pleasure
In the afternoon, the excursion focussed on wine and tourism in the Moselle valley. At the Winery Jeff Konsbrück in Ahn, the LEADER experts were given an insight into cross-border projects to market the border triangle as a region to savour. Initiatives such as „Terroir Moselle“ and „Via mosel‘“ not only connect Luxembourg and Germany, but also build a bridge to the French wine-growing region.
The third day took the group to the place where history was made in 1985 and where the signatures of five ministers and state secretaries put the village of Schengen on the world map. Completely redesigned in 2025, the Schengen Museum conveys in an interactive, often playful way how the borderless Europe has changed the lives of millions of people - and what opportunities have arisen for the continent.
Not least the LEADER programme benefits from the freedom to move and cooperate between countries. One example: of the 60 LEADER projects that the Luxembourg Ministry of Agriculture has approved so far in this funding period, nine are transnational.
LEADER as an instrument of rural development not only stands for cooperation with European neighbours, but often goes hand in hand with the Ministry of Agriculture's programme for village development. This programme primarily implements infrastructure projects, while LEADER tends to provide support in the concept phase. Village development creates structures that can be animated by LEADER projects.
The village developers provided an insight into their working methods in the historic tithe barn in Grevenmacher, a building dating from 1635 that the town has painstakingly restored with the help of the monument preservation authorities. The magnificent building was converted into a youth centre with financial support from the village development programm. Meetings can also be held in the impressive vaulted cellar.
Finally, the group visited the „Kulturhaff Millermoler“ in Hinkel, in the LEADER region of Mëllerdall, as another successful example of village development. The village development programme also supports private projects that create an offer that improves the quality of life in rural areas. The „Kulturhaff“ sells regional products and offers rooms for courses, events, art exhibitions and celebrations.
At the end of the excursion, they realise that borders only exist on the map for the inhabitants of the Greater Region. The region has long since grown together - and shows how cooperation works and how the European idea has an impact on everyday life, not least thanks to LEADER. Text: Martine Hemmer / Photos: Martine Hemmer, Pancake ! Photography
