Ahr Valley: Back in the flood area in a tiny house

The wine-growing village of Dernau an der Ahr was hit hard by the flood last year, and reconstruction is sluggish. At least the place is inhabited again: Flood victims have found a home in tiny houses.

Franziska Schnitzler has started a new life in her old home. A new life in a tiny house in her home village of Dernau, which was badly hit by the flood. For months, the 27-year-old was housed with her six-year-old son Theo in alternative quarters a few kilometers away. Your old house is no longer there.

“We feel very comfortable here,” she says as she walks through her new, 32-square-meter small home. Her family lives close by, as do her son’s friends. “To be back in town and to be able to live here,” says the student, “that was very important to us.”

Not everything is going smoothly

Your Tiny House has everything you need to live: a kitchenette, a bedroom, a bathroom with a shower, a small children’s room, a living room with a sofa. A panorama photo of Dernau hangs above it. “The old Dernau, you have to say by now,” says Schnitzler with an almost wistful smile. The picture hung a few inches deep in the water of the Ahr when the river ravaged their old home.

“I used to like to cook for friends. But a large dining table is no longer possible here,” says Schnitzler, looking at her small table in the tiny house. It has now been converted into a workplace.

“We were like a ghost village for a long time”

There are now around 200 tiny houses in the Ahr region, for example in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Sinzig and Grafschaft. There were sometimes significant delays in the provision of the Tiny Houses, which were financed by donations: Some of those affected report waiting months. Not everything is running smoothly at Schnitzler either. The cooker has been defective since moving in five months ago. She manages with a small camping hotplate. Unfortunately, the supplier who was supposed to repair the damage did not get in touch.

The Tiny Houses are operated by the communities, which had to relocate electricity and water connections. New living space was created under high pressure, because in Dernau alone 90 percent of the houses affected by the flood are still uninhabited due to the damage. The temporary accommodations like the tiny houses are “extremely important,” says Alfred Sebastian, the mayor of Dernau. “It’s life in town again,” he says. “We were like a ghost village for a long time.”

“It could be a lot worse”

Interim solutions have now also been found for seniors: in the middle of the village there is a residential complex for 15 people, who live there on 40 square meters each and can eat in a common area. “Come in, bring sunshine,” beams a brightly colored sign on Hedwig and Oskar Gorbach’s door. Both are in their mid 80s.

Upon entering, you are in the middle of the small kitchen. To the right is the living room with TV and small table. On the left: the bedroom with two beds, between them a plastic box with groceries – hardly more. She feels good, says Gorbach, and adds: “It could be much worse”. Little is enough for both. “What else can you do,” says her husband. Despite all the pragmatism: they miss the CDs and records with classical music, the photo albums with pictures of vacation trips and of their families.

Reconstruction often on the brink

The generation that survived the Second World War hardly complains about the circumstances, says Doreen Kistner from the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund. The social worker looks after the residents of the senior citizens’ facility. People’s psychological state is often related to the state of reconstruction, even if not everyone shows it. “We keep an eye on that,” says Kistner. “Especially with the residents we know about, things could get difficult with the house.”

The future of Gorbach’s old house is still uncertain. It may have to be demolished because it has been contaminated with fuel oil. Franziska Schnitzler would like to rebuild her family’s house and inn together with her father. But she has other problems: so far, neither she nor her father have been eligible to apply for government reconstruction aid. Because the property belongs to the grandmother – for her, however, reconstruction is out of the question due to age and financial reasons.

Bureaucracy creates frustration

Heirs can only apply for reconstruction aid under certain conditions. For a long time there was no clear statement from the authorities, says Schnitzler. Communication is difficult, much more bureaucratic than announced. “You feel lied to,” she says. She is now hoping for an entitlement as a case of hardship.

The complaints about too much bureaucracy are not isolated. “I know several families who are frustrated,” says Mayor Sebastian. “They didn’t get an answer from the official side, they’re still waiting for the reconstruction aid. And some of them can no longer employ craftsmen because the money has been used up.” Eleven months after the flood, one thing is clear: makeshift solutions like the tiny houses will still take a while.