DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

Villages across Germany are dying out. In recent years, many of them have lost their post office, their bank and even their grocery store - not to mention the local doctor. Inadequate infrastructure makes life especially hard for the elderly. One such village is Barmen near Jülich, home to some 1400 residents. They decided to resist this fate and took matters into their own hands. The village has since become an example of successful village revitalization even for other countries, and Barmen is now hoping to claim subsidies from Brussels.