Zeitz's Creative Scene Amid Far-Right Surge: A Divided City's Response

In Zeitz, a city in Saxony-Anhalt that has lost a third of its population over the past three decades, creative individuals like Sidney Selling are deliberately moving there to shape the urban environment. Despite this influx of creativity, nearly one in three voters recently supported the far-right AfD party. The city, once a prosperous industrial center producing lignite, pianos, baby carriages, food, and textiles since the 19th century, now relies on Südzucker, one of the world's largest sugar producers, as its sole major industry. The article visits this divided city, where past and present intertwine in the center, and explores how Zeitz is coping with the political shift.