Municipal alliances in Oberallgäu: future projects in focus

Municipal alliances in Oberallgäu: future projects in focus

Cooperation between rural communities is the focus of a current exchange in Oberallgäu. Today, July 22, 2025, the mayors of the municipal alliance NM-Arge 10 from the eastern district of Neumarkt i.d.OPf. set off on a specialist excursion to Immenstadt, accompanied by three other mayors from the newly founded inter-municipal project “Upper Palatinate Jura” from the Amberg-Sulzbach district. Neumarkt Current reports that cooperation between cities and municipalities in 17 regions of the Upper Palatinate is a central element of their activities.

The excursion's agenda included not only a lively exchange of information, but also a visit to institutions that demonstrate innovative approaches in the field of rural development. Particular emphasis was placed on the support from the ILE implementation management and the Office for Rural Development Upper Palatinate in order to overcome the common challenges in inter-municipal cooperation.

Insights into sustainable projects

A highlight of the exchange was the visit to the heating plant in Oberstaufen, which generated energy from biomass. Forest wood chips are supplied to over 200 customers here, and annual consumption is around 30,600 MWh. This operation saves around 9,200 tons of CO2 per year, which speaks to the issue of sustainability. In addition, a power generator in the heating plant generates around 700 kW of ecological electricity per hour. The complete takeover of the heating plant by the community ensures a self-sufficient energy supply, which is of great importance in rural areas.

Another exciting item on the program was a visit to a social housing project in Sonthofen, which has the motto “Together instead of alone”. Here, 19 club members between the ages of 64 and 80 live in barrier-free apartments and use common rooms for an active social life. The Sozial-Wirtschaft-Werk Oberallgäu (SWW) promotes this self-determined living without care services, which is an important concern in times of increasing isolation.

Tradition meets innovation

The excursion then took us to a traditionally run village dairy in Untermaiselstein, which has been producing mountain cheese and Emmental cheese for more than 100 years. The dairy's original approach of working exclusively without artificial additives shows how well old craftsmanship can be combined with modern requirements for sustainability and regionality. Around 1.3 million liters of raw milk are processed here every year, which underlines the value of regional products and strengthens the population's identification with their homeland.

This excursion illustrates how crucial exchange between municipalities is for the future viability of rural regions. This is also the case in similar projects like this Streutal Alliance It is clear that inter-municipal cooperation has many facets - from quality of life and medical care to the challenges of demographic change and landscape management, which are important for all municipalities.

Overall, the exchange in Oberallgäu shows that it is worthwhile to think together and find solutions that meet the needs of the rural population - true to the principle “two heads are better than one”.