Border bridge open to the public

In September the border bridge connecting Dinxperlo and Suderwick was inofficially opened for a small crowd. From October 2008 the tavern will be accessible a few days per week for coffee, tea, beer an a chat. Sport and cultural clubs can rent the sky pub for their meetings and events. The official opening is planned for the beginning of 2009.

New border bridge picture

Glass walls installed at the border bridge

During the past weeks builders have worked hard to make the border bridge between health care centers in Dinxperlo and Suderwick waterproof. Soon we will post some photo's of the fine result. The bridge has a transparant look wich makes it light on the inside. This will be a perfect place for elderly people and tourists to have a coffee in the tavern.

Border bridge construction highest point

On Monday 21 January the builders of the border bridge that connects Dinxperlo with Suderwick reached the highest point. According to German tradition this was celebrated with a ceremony called 'richtfest'. After a poem by the contruction leader and some alcoholic drinks at the German Bueltenhaus, the guest were invited for a lunch in the grand café of Careaz Dr. Jenny in the Netherlands, just a few metres away. The majors of both communities Bocholt and Aalten expressed their happiness about the progress and they thanked everyone involved for their continuous imput. Chairwomen Anja Enserink of the Europaproject admitted that aunt Gertrude, who has become a symbol in the past four years, was actually a case. She stands for all the people in the past that actually wanted to spend their elderly days accross the border, but couldn't because of restrictions in government laws. Around 1992 a whealthy woman from Suderwick actually moved into the Dr. Jenny elderly home because she could affort it. When other less fortuned people made the same request, governments were not willing to pay for their health care costs over the border.

Picture of border bridge construction

Constructing the border bridge. The yellow marks on the street show the exact border line. On the left is Dinxperlo in the Netherlands, on the right Suderwick in Germany.

Crossing frontiers: Euregio financial aid

Dinxperlo in the Netherlands and Suderwick in Germany are two towns located directly on the border, separated only by a small road that marks the national boundary between Germany and the Netherlands. This extraordinary location led to the idea of a joint transnational project for senior living that is financially sponsored by Euregio. The concept of the whole project is to have living and care-giving in a community setting with the assurance of more extensive care where needed. It includes volunteer work, ambulatory care through a social service centre and a Europacafé. The single project elements of the Dutch and German counterparts will also be joined symbolically over the border by building a bridge. The whole project is nested within a type of service zone that covers an area with approximately 15,000 inhabitants. Residents within this service zone can live in their own four walls as long as possible even if they need help doing daily tasks. Household assistance and nursing care as well as volunteer help is offered around the clock.

Smuggler bridge crosses borders smuggling

Several names have been suggested for the unique bridge that connects Dutch village Dinxperlo with German village Suderwick. Eurobridge and Europabridge are two options. A local preacher recently opted for smuggler bridge. Not only were the building site during world war two divided by wire wich lead to smuggling activities. The whole project itself is based on smuggling. The Dutch and German governments only want to pay health care costs for their own inhabitants. By creating the living room above the bridge, no one can actually check on wich side of the border the elderly were most of the time. The legal issue was cleared by giving the Dutch a letter box in Dinxperlo and the Germans a mail box in Suderwick.

Start building proces border bridge

In the first days of 2008 a unique construction site awakened on the border between Germany and the Netherlands. A bridge - containing a living room and a tavern - will connect two health care centers on both sides of the border in Suderwick (Germany) and Dinxperlo (Holland). The euro bridge is part of the Europaprojekt, subsidised by the European Community. Goal is to create a living-and-care zone (woon-zorgzone) in wich people can freely switch from one health care supplier to the other - across the border.