The region of Nemoland, in the forelands of the Izer-mountains, has received little attention from tourists and historians, even though the traces of the oldest glassworks, pagan worship places, beautiful weaver houses and many natural and agricultural monuments are located here. Nowhere else is in immediate reach such a rich variety of nature, culture and landscape. The special features of this region are traces of early cultivation (such as stone walls, terraces, mill brooks, fords and paths), which are mostly still intact. The richness of nature is unique. Plants that are already extinct in Western Europe, are still to be found here. Once the area was known as a big landscape park, the “Toscane of Middle Europe”. After the war the area became a ‘lost land’, because the German people who lived there and the Polish people who came to live there both lost their native land, while the landscape lost its names, monuments and memory. Like many other border regions in Europe, this area runs into danger due to lack of care and the threat of devastating mining projects. Protests against the mining plans made local inhabitants much more aware of their cultural and natural heritage. This resulted in all kinds of initiatives to protect nature and the ecological and historical values of the landscape, the value of community-building and local economy.