Dancing in the retirement home, for ZEIT, Germany | Jana Margarete Schuler
On assignment for ZEIT, Jana Margarete Schuler visited a senior dance night in Eisleben, a town in Mansfeld-Südharz — Germany’s oldest region by average age. Some even call it "the retirement home of the nation." In the Future Atlas by economic research firm Prognos, the district ranks dead last: 400 out of 400.
And yet, when the music starts, the worries fade. Manfred adjusts his party hat, DJ Dietmar drops hit after hit, and twins Annerose and Gudrun giggle as they bounce across the dance floor. "Like fleas," they say. Mansfeld-Südharz faces an uncertain future, its demographic outlook more challenging than anywhere else in the country. But how do you celebrate in a place where hope seems scarce? Together with writer August Modersohn, photographer Jana Margarete Schuler went looking for answers.
The full story is featured in the issue No. 08/2025 of ZEIT.