“In the beginning was the iron” – in 1725 iron is produced in Riesa for the first time. In 1843 the establishment of an ironworks in Riesa starts and the technological foundations for steel production are laid. Until the political change in 1990 the Riesa steelworks is the biggest employer in the region. Because of both the technically obsolete equipment and the collapse of traditional markets in the Eastern bloc the steelworks did not have any chance of survival in 1990. The biggest employer in Riesa dismisses 10,000 workers into unemployment. In Lombardy/Italy, in the region of Brescia, the iron and steel production starts in 1954. The history of the Feralpi Group begins in 1968 with the foundation of a new steel factory location in Lonato. In 1992 it is the investment of the Feralpi Group at the location in Riesa which leads to the rebirth of a steel factory location of long tradition under the company name Elbe-Stahlwerke Feralpi GmbH. Riesa celebrates the beginning of a new era of steel production. After consultations with the management board of the Feralpi steelworks and the town museum of Riesa there is huge interest in the historical review of the development of the steel industry in Riesa and Lonato. The topic of the project “In the beginning was the iron” is interesting and useful for both schools in Riesa and Lonato when our students describe the history of both steel factory locations in Riesa and Lonato in a parallel way. In different activities separate groups will look through historical documents, will consult contemporary witnesses, will exchange the results in workshops, will bring out common ground and differences in development and will finally present the results in an exhibition in Riesa and Lonato. Accompanying tasks for the students deal with metallurgy, the technology and the environmental protection of steel production during the course of history. During the whole period of the project the students deal intensively with the historical, economic and social development of their home country and the partner country. With the help of the chosen topic the students experience very closely what the historical development in their direct sphere means. They detect the connections between social and economic development. They will have a critical look at the role of the steel industry during both world wars. But the students are also supposed to recognize how important a strong industrial development is for technological advance and social prosperity. In accompanying tasks involving different school subjects the students examine the development of metallurgy, the technology and the environmental protection in steel production. With their project results and the public presentation they contribute considerably to filling historical gaps, to increasing the population’s acceptance of a steelworks in town and to a rising willingness of young people to start a dual professional training. On the way into the European community the aim is to prepare the young people also for the requirements of the European labour market and for the cooperation with people from the European countries. The ability to adapt to the national particularities of other countries requires the sensitization for the culture and the spheres of life in Europe. So far, the students of the grammar school at the vocational school centre BSZ für Technik und Wirtschaft Riesa and the grammar school students of IIS LUIGI CEREBOTANI Lonato have mostly gained their experiences of life within their national setting. The project is meant to take up the first contacts with the partner countries and convert them into a continuous cooperation between both schools. By means of a starting point involving different school subjects, communicative (with regard to foreign languages and media technology) as well as intercultural aspects a further aim is to make students aware of the European challenges and to enable them to act throughout Europe. The chosen topic resumes the students’ sphere of life and the experiences in their region, sharpens their way of looking at and detecting historical connections and helps them to sort these out into topical social challenges. The exemplary knowledge about cultural and economic common ground and differences will enable the students to tackle economic and technological, social as well as cultural problems more intensely. The students of both schools consolidate their competences in using English as working language as well as in using modern media and communication technology.