NOWA AMERIKA

Founded at a clandestine meeting on March 20th, 2010,

Nowa Amerika is a federation made up of the 4 partial

states of Szcz-ettinstan, Terra Incognita, Lebuser Ziemia,

and Schlonsk. Nowa Amerika gives all pioneers and lov-

ers of freedom the opportunity to discover the mysteries,

traditions, and distinctive attributes of these four states.

We invite you to go on a journey of discovery through our

»country«.

THE BORDERS The borders of Nowa Amerika are fl uid. Sometimes the boundary expands from Poznań to Berlin, at other times it shrinks. However, the spine of Nowa Amerika is the former German-Polish border, consisting of the rivers Odera and Nyße. Nowa Amerika’s maps are oriented unconvention-ally: East is on top; West is below (though the north/south axis also plays a not insignifi cant role in the country’s re-lationships and activities). The capital of Nowa Amerika is Słubfurt; Szczettin, the metropolis; Las Forst, the gam-bling hole; Zgörzelic, our open air museum; Bad Łęknau, our park…and the Odera and Nyße, our passion. In addi-tion to German and Polish, the language of “Słubfurtian” plays an important role in the daily life of Nowa Amerika’s inhabitants. Nowa Amerika is young and needs your help to be able to grow and thrive. The size of Nowa Amerika depends on the number of people who believe in it.

NOWA AMERIKA TOURS:sponsors: Fonds Soziokultur, Beauftragter des Bundes für Kultur

und Medien, Deutsch-Polnisches Jugendwerk

Organisator: Słubfurt e.V.

Das Projekt wurde gefördert vom FOND SOZIOKULTUR, Deutsch-Polni-schen Jugendwerk und vom Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur

und Medien aufgrund eines Beschlusses des Deutschen Bundestages

SZCZETTINSTAN TERRA INCOGNITA LEBUSER ZIEMIA SCHLONSK

„Sedina” ©

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Disappearance of the ancient boundary postsThe fl ag of Nowa Amerika at the townhall of Chojnaberg

Michael Kurzwelly explains SłubfurtMichael Kurzwelly tłumaczy Słubfurt Thomas Burchardt explains the slow disappearance of Sorbian culture Ceremony of handing-over the fl agThe Nowa Land Akademia in Zgörzelic

You can enjoy many natural wonders here Typical fl at of a Nowo-Amerikan

Editorial team: Florian Firlej, Marie-Antoinette Grünter,

Michael Kurzwelly, Andrzej Łazowsk i, David Pidde,

Kai W. Reinschmidt, Bartek Wójcik, Magda Ziętkiewicz

Fotos: (if not remarked) Andrzej Łazowski

Translation: Dorothea Braemer

NOWA AMERIKA in the Internet: www.nowa-amerika.net TRAVEL GUIDE

Szczettinstan extends from the state of Terra Incognita in the South up

to the East Baltics (Ostbałtyk) in the North. The capital of the region

and the biggest city of Nowa Amerika is Szczettin. Szczettin is located

on the Odera (though many maintain that it is located by the ocean).

In Szczettinstan, the German-Polish border region is not divided by

a river. This anomaly is the result of a natural shift of the tectonic

plates of the earth and its physical borders. Here the so-called bor-

der region was extended through the fi elds to the West of the Odera.

These days it expands in both directions and gradually disappears. Szc-

zettin is comparable to New York in the old America, while Słubfurt,

as the capital of Nowa Amerika, corresponds to Washington: Szczet-

tin has the biggest harbor and was built on a swamp. It is the center

for newcomers who arrive in Nowa Amerika from all over the world.

This is why one can also refer to this city as New Szczettin.

After World War II (1945), this area was partially taken over by Poland

and became a multicultural region. Refugees from Poland and war-

torn Europe settled here. Today the borders of Szczettin (and other

Nowa Amerikan settlements) are still open to immigrants from all over

Europe. In Szczettin you feel the wind coming from the ocean, there

is change in the air. That is why Szczettin is the city of free discourse,

of freedom, of transformation. It was here that the Solidarity union

[Solidarność] was born, causing a great rift in the walls of the state

of Berlin (back then divided into an Eastern and Western section). To-

day, freedom is embodied mostly by the people who live in Szczettin

and surrounding areas – in Löknicy, in Neuendołuje, and in Kołbatzow.

Szczettin is home to the cultural center Sedinas, the benefactress

of Nowa Amerika. Sedina is muse, goddess, patron saint of tradi-

tional values and new impulses. Not only is she the fi rst VIP of Nowa

Amerika, but also and especially the intellectual and spiritual compass

for all Nowa Amerikans. Emancipation and equality for men is made

possible because of Sedina’s femaleness. This is conceivable only

in Nowa Amerika.

The German-Polish events here are no longer labeled as “international.”

Many initiatives exist equally both on the left and the right side of the

Odera, such as the European documentary fi lm festival dokumentART,

held both in Nowobrandenburg and in Szczettin. During holidays the

post-German inhabitants of the region visit the theaters in Szcettin,

and the post-Polish citizens go for a swim in the lakes of Mecklemburg.

Post-Poles live and work in post-German towns, and post-Germans

wrote most of the projects for Szczettin.

Terra Incognita is an unknown land, a territory full of secrets, waiting

for those who inside themselves have or would like to awaken the pas-

sion of discoverers. The capital of Terra Incognita is Chojnaberg – an

old town that has the biggest sacred building in Western Pommerania,

the Marienkirche, which is being rebuild in a joint eff ort by former Ger-

man and current Polish inhabitants. On both sides of the Odera there

are numerous wonderful and magical places, such as the National Park

of the Lower Odera Valley, the Valley of Love, the Park of the Hugue-

not in Szwed, a dazzling number of precious heritage site Romanesque

and Gothic churches, forgotten monuments and milestones scattered

through little villages, and remains of old German and Jewish grave-

yards. The sites of the fi nal dramatic episodes during World War 2

in the spring of 1945 can also be found in this state. And then there

are those special places that are pulsating with life, such as the “Uck-

ermärkische Bühne Szwed” (the theater of Szwed), or Gryfi no, where

the Festival of Travel Destinations „Włóczykij” occurs every year. The

name Terra Incognita comes from an association of the same name,

which is one of the founding members of Nowa Amerika.

An unusual area where you can encounter people from all over the

world. They settled here after the last great European upheavals and

formed permanent bonds with the land of Lebuser Ziemia. Together

they form the multicultural society of this region, where we encounter

a cross-section of European culture. Only the dissolution of the artifi -

cial borders has brought out the beauty and culture of Lebuser Ziemia,

the hospitality and the ability to teach us many things. You can enjoy

many natural wonders here, the forests, the nature preserves, the ani-

mals and the strange birds; a fairy tale land of rivers and lakes, creat-

ing an interconnected system of waterways, unforgettable landscapes.

Here we can track along the trails of signifi cant historical events that

estates, castles, palaces, abbeys and many other buildings are telling

us about. The common culture, sports, economy and exchange of ex-

periences have created a high quality of life in Lebuser Ziemia. Fre-

quent visits help strengthen our association with this region. The best

evidence is Nowa Amerika itself, a country that brings people together,

rather than separating them. Signifi cant places in Lebuser Ziemia are,

of course, the capital of Nowa Amerika, Słubfurt, but also other former

border towns, such as Gubien and Küstrzyn. Gorzberg, Zielona Berg

and Las Forst also have their special charms. Słubfurt became Nowa

Amerika’s capital, because everything started here: Already in 1999 did

the two towns of Słubice and Frankfurt (Oder) join to form Słubfurt

before it was entered into the Register of European City Names.

In that way the crisis of identity of the people living on both sides

of the Odera transformed itself into a new identity to be proud of. The

chair of manipulative socio-technology at the Collegium Słubfurticum

and the Słubfurtian University Viadrina made a not insubstantial con-

tribution towards this development.

So often in life, fervent interest in the secrets of physics is a prereq-

uisite for a deeper understanding of Schlonsk. Assuming the universe

is fi nite, one will, on the straight path from the center of the earth

through Schlonsk up to the outer borders of space hardly fi nd a place

like this one – a place in which extreme spatial abundance and ad-

ministrative narrowness are in such close proximity. By all means this

tension has to be brought into a productive equilibrium, which at the

same time is permanently located on the verge of a crisis. One of the

treasure chests – Zgörzelic – is a wonderful example for what happens

when stale authorities do what they do best: fail. The Nazis were not

able to burn down the old synagogue; the warriors did not manage

to destroy the town; those who fetishize prefabricated public housing

were not able to tear down the old spaces, and investors did not fi nd

enough monetary incentives. In elegant Zgörzelic one fi nds, among

other things, the NOWA LAND AKADEMIA laboratory – an exciting

spark for free art and wide-open interfaces for neighboring sciences.

And: much room and a good place for NOWA AMERIKA!

OSTBAŁTYK

ODERA

OD

ERA

Nyße

Nyße

ODERA

Szczettin

Löknicy

SzwenncówkaNowe-Grambow

Pazywalk

Neuendołuje

Stolecburg

Szynhof

Nowewarp

Jasienitza

Brüszów

Wkrymünde

Kcyniasin

Penkóń

Turzegelow

Altwarpno

Trzebort

Polizei

Döbra

Kołbatzow

Gartzięć

Rossów

Mescherzyn

Tęntow

Tanowalde

Krakówek

Schönkamieniec

Gollniów

Altgard

Chojnaberg

Mieszkowalde

Cekürbis

Gryfinhagen

Fiddichowa

Szwed

Angerujście

Łazienka Freienlas

Słubfurt

Chrabiawalde / Fürstenlas

Bosyn

Eisenhutastadt / Stalowahüttenmiasto

Krosseno

RzeppenSłońskburg / Sonnenzamek

Drossośno

Łubus / Lebusz

Zübinka

Neukomórka / Nowycely

Gubien

Zelów / Seelowice

Wricyn

Nowalewin

Zgörzelic

Bad Łęknau

Las Forst

Zentowice

Zittynia

Großhennersdorf

Löbowo

Weißwoda

Bautszyn

Wschódritz / Ostricza

Mariendolina / Dolinamarien

Niesky

Hagostrów / Hagenstrów

Piënzig Zawiberg

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