German contest to live in depopulated Soviet-era city proves global hit

Eisenhuttenstadt offered spacious central flats rent-free for two weeks in effort to attract valuable professionals

An innovative contest by a city in formerly communist east Germany to curb depopulation by offering a fortnight of free housing has stunned local officials with its success.

The competition drew more than 1,700 applications from around the world to try living in Eisenhuttenstadt, a Soviet-style planned city on the Polish border, near Berlin, which was built around a steel plant in the aftermath of the second world war.