Bad Köstritz

Bad Köstritz

Voluntary Local Review of the Municipality of Bad Köstritz 2023 Implementing the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals at the local level

Insights of the Report

A number of key sustainability milestones have been achieved in recent years. For example, trade and public procurement in line with social, fair and sustainable principles has increasingly gained traction in Bad Köstritz, which is hoping to achieve certification as a Fairtrade Town in 2023.

The citizens of Bad Köstritz are also pleased and enthusiastic about the sustainability partnership with the Mexican Municipality of Huamantla. This municipal partnership has grown from existing civil society contacts between Bad Köstritz’s Dahlia Centre and the Mexican Dahlia Society.

With the dahlia as the connecting element, the two municipalities have been able to establish lively communication as equal partners over the past three years. Regular video conferences and reciprocal in-person visits have enabled the two sides to discuss, plan and implement many joint projects. An official agreement for this partnership has already been signed. Its purpose: close cooperation on the sustainability topics in the 2030 Agenda.

City Profile

The Municipality of Bad Köstritz is a small municipality in East Thuringia with about 4,000 inhabitants. It is located in the administrative district of Greiz between the major cities of Gera and Jena in the valley of the Weißer Elster (White Magpie River). The municipality is known for its more than 200-year-old traditions of dahlia growing and beer-making. The municipality is also referred to as the town of “Bs,” as in Bad (spa), Bier (beer), Blumen (flowers), and Barockmusik (Baroque music), but also Bauten (buildings) and Bewegung (movement).

There are a great many things worth exploring in Bad Köstritz. Some of them have been around for centuries and have been extensively restored. This includes the stately home Köstritz Palais, the Golden Lion Hotel, the neo-classical temple in Köstritz Park, the Haus des Gastes (Guests’ House) with the small “GUCKE” gallery, and numerous Gründerzeit buildings. Bad Köstritz also has some old, lovingly maintained half-timbered houses decorated with flowers, not to mention its listed local green spaces. The municipal landscape is also shaped by new, prestigious buildings, such as the town’s retirement homes, its innovative industrial landscape with the Köstritz black beer brewery, the CWK chemical factory, the Elsteraue and Heinrichshall industrial estates, as well as several residential parks.

Beyond the rose garden – Rosarium – and other gardens and parks lies the athletics stadium, which was built to international standards. In terms of sports and recreation, the municipality boasts a swimming and leisure pool that has been completely refurbished to meet the demands of a modern-day public aquatics centre. Traditional festivities, such as the Dahlia Festival or the Köstritzer Schütz Days (in honour of the composer Heinrich Schütz), attract thousands of guests from far and wide each year. Finally, Köstritz offers its residents and guests a varied and active range of clubs and associations which make this municipality a really nice place to live and call home.

The Report and more

The VLR report is available here:
Voluntary Local Review of the Municipality of Bad Köstritz 2023 Implementing the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals at the local level