As part of a new series, our colleagues from RTL Télé visit Luxembourgish families who have moved across the border. The final episode features a special neighbourhood in the German village of Wincheringen.
This part of the village, known as 'auf Mont', just a stone's throw from the Luxembourg border, looks like a very ordinary neighbourhood with different types of houses, but one thing stands out: most of the buildings are fairly modern and spacious. Cars with Luxembourgish number plates are often parked in front of the garages.
An Icelandic investor is known to have proposed an ambitious project to the local municipality: 400 building plots on the village hillside, overlooking the Moselle and Wormeldange vineyards. The concept envisioned a luxurious and tranquil housing estate, akin to the American style. However, prospective residents were not necessarily enthusiastic about this vision, and in the end the owners were able to build their homes according to their own tastes and preferences.
Elmar Schöhmann, the Mayor of Wincheringen, explains that around 1,000 foreigners of 54 different nationalities live in his municipality. A significant portion of these residents hails from the Grand Duchy and has sought refuge in this relatively upscale neighbourhood. However, the area is not exclusively reserved for foreign nationals, as Magnus Östlung, one of the developers behind the project, explains. The simple truth is that property prices here often exceed the means of the average German citizen.
Christoph Krause, a Luxembourg-based real estate agent, notes an emerging trend in recent years: an increasing number of young families with children and single individuals relocating to the border region while continuing to work in Luxembourg. Krause himself frequently assists his clients in finding accommodations across the border in Germany. According to Krause, this trend is not surprising "considering the prices and financing options".
The fact that some of his fellow citizens work in Luxembourg does not bother the Wincheringen Mayor, even if it means that some of the tax revenue does not go to the local authorities. "The Germans in the region also benefit from the jobs and good salaries in Luxembourg, which ultimately contributes positively to the village's economy," the Mayor concluded in conversation with RTL.
