New Currency Brings Hope to Debt-Stricken City

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,821769,00.html


The city of Oberhausen, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is broke and locals are fed up with austerity. With the help of a Hamburg theatre group, they are launching their own currency, the "coal." The so-called Schwarzbank will have its headquarters in a shipping container.

All around Europe, governments are cutting back on spending in reaction to the euro crisis. But in one small city in Germany, locals are bucking the trend. Fed up with austerity, they are planning to spend more, not less, money -- and they are making it themselves.

The city of Oberhausen, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is broke. With debts of €1.83 billion ($2.4 billion) the future of the city, best known internationally as the home town of Paul the psychic octopus, is uncertain. But now a Hamburg theater group has come up with a radical solution to reverse the city's ailing fortunes.

This Friday, at a premiere organized in the town, performers of the Hamburg "Geheimagentur" ("Secret Agency&quot theater group will launch a new currency for the inhabitants of Oberhausen as part of a performance called "Schwarzbank" ("black bank&quot . The new money is named the Kohle, literally the German word for coal, but also slang for money and a reference to the city's location in the mining heartland of Germany.

For two weeks, locals will be able to use "coals" to pay for goods and services in over 50 businesses which have agreed to take part in the project. Those wishing to spend the newly issued "coals" can choose from a range of goods and services, including specially developed confectionary treats, tattoos, a new hairstyle, cinema tickets, tours of the town and tickets for a football match.