On Friday, March 17, 2006 the city of Tübingen and BERGHOF Analytik + Umweltengineering were jointly presented with the "Baden-Württemberg Land Recycling Award". The award is presented to them in Stuttgart by the Environmental Minister for Baden-Württemberg, Tanja Gönner for the successful restoration of the French Quarter in Tübingen.

The award, which was conferred for the first time, will give distinction to innovative, hands-on" practical land recycling methods, which succeed in remediating contaminated abandoned commercial and industrial sites and restoring them to a new use. The environmental and economic enhancement of the location must be given top priority.

The site, the Hindenburg barracks in Tübingen, was used as a French army garrison until the beginning of the Nineties. After they left it, this "French Quarter" was transformed into an urban area for people to live and work in.
Owing to its previous usage, however, the soil and ground water were highly contaminated. So, apart from having to restore the buildings extensive work was required to remediate the contaminated land.

The measures carried out have transformed the former site of the barracks into a delightful, lively urban district justifying its name, the "French Quarter".

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