On May 3, 1980, anti-nuclear activists occupied site 1004 (located in the vicinity of Gorleben in Lower Saxony) to stop the federal government from running drilling trials for a nuclear waste facility. A village of wooden huts was erected and the “Free Republic of Wendland” was proclaimed. It had its own flag and issued passports; approximately 300 people lived there for a time. Several thousand sympathizers also passed through the village; most were residents of the region. On June 4, 1980, the police and the Federal Border Guard finally cleared site 1004, ending the short existence of the “republic.”