The Upper Bavarian municipality of Apfeldorf has been recognised with a New European Bauhaus 2026 award for its sustainable development project. In Brussels, the European Commission honoured the conversion of a former multi-purpose hall, built in 1974, into an energy-efficient community centre, which is also connected to a sustainable district heating network.
This district heating network not only supplies the new village community centre but also the local kindergarten, school and fire brigade with CO2-free heat. The project was awarded in the 'Boosting Small Communities' category, a category specifically aimed at promoting smaller municipalities. The EU Commission endows this prize with 30,000 EUR and promotes the initiative across Europe.
Regional and European Significance
Bavaria's Minister of Construction, Mr Bernreiter, congratulated the municipality on this European honour. He emphasised Bavaria's long tradition of sustainable building and the role of urban development funding in supporting Bavarian municipalities in this context. Approximately 8.5 million EUR was provided for the realisation of the village community centre and the CO2-free heating energy network, financed by the Free State of Bavaria, the federal government and the European Union.
Mr Bernreiter highlighted that projects of this kind develop a European impact beyond their regional effect. Apfeldorf's award is part of a series of accolades for Bavarian projects within the framework of the New European Bauhaus. As early as 2021, the RoSana guesthouse in Rosenheim was recognised, followed by Munich-Neuperlach in 2022 and Vilsbiburg the following year, which received recognition for the sustainable and inclusive design of its town centre.
The repeated awards for Bavarian initiatives underscore the innovative approaches and quality of the projects developed in the region, which receive European attention. This is reflected in the various categories of the Bauhaus awards, ranging from architectural design to comprehensive urban development concepts.
