In favour of a structurally strong rural area

01/20/2026

The Nordhalbener Erklärung aims to draw the attention of state and federal politicians to structurally weak villages and small towns. Researchers from the Würzburg Institute of Geography and Geology support the petition.

Increasing vacancy rates are a problem that many citizens in rural areas are familiar with. (Image: Christian Schwier / Adobe Stock)

Vacancies in villages and small towns are no longer unusual. Doctors' surgeries, inns, bank branches, churches, pharmacies and shops are particularly affected. What's more, local authorities often lack the financial resources to change course. This worsens the living conditions of the local population, overburdens local politics and diminishes trust in democratic institutions.

Researchers at the Katholische Universität (KU) of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt have launched the Nordhalbener Erklärung to draw the attention of politicians at state and federal level to this problem. This is named after the Upper Franconian market town of Nordhalben, where the conference "Kommunalfinanzen in der multiplen Krise" took place in March 2025.

Researchers from the University of Würzburg involved in the declaration

Professor Marit Rosol, Professor Matthias Naumann and student assistant Charlie Busch, all from the Institute of Geography and Geology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), were among those who co-authored the declaration.

"We consider the declaration to be very important, especially in the current local election year. It clearly identifies the structural underfunding and excessive demands on many rural municipalities, including in Bavaria. It also shows the resulting risk of limited capacity to act and the dwindling trust in democratic institutions," said the JMU researchers, adding that it also formulates concrete demands for the federal and state governments, from greater basic funding and a change in the project funding logic to fairer participation by municipalities in the proceeds of renewable energies.

According to the researchers, the declaration thus opens up the opportunity to unite science, politics and society behind a joint reform package, raise public awareness and ultimately initiate a noticeable improvement in local living conditions.

Both individuals and organisations can support the Nordhalbener Erklärung by signing it.

To the declaration (In German)

Further information can be found in the press release of the KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.