The ''Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz'' ("German Foundation for Monument Protection") is a German private initiative founded in 1985 that works for the preservation of

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

in Germany and to promote the idea of

cultural heritage management Cultural heritage management (CHM) is the vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage. Ann Marie Sullivan, Cultural Heritage & New Media: A Future for the Past, 15 J. MARSHALL REV. INTELL. PROP. L. 604 (2016) https://repository.jmls.edu/cg ...

Background

Since 1900, when

Georg Dehio Georg Gottfried Julius Dehio (22 November 1850 – 21 March 1932), was a Baltic German art historian. In 1900, Dehio started the "''Handbuch der deutschen Kunstgeschichte''" (Handbook of German Art History), published by Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, ...

published his ''Handbook of German Art Heritage'', Germany has not had a central list of

National Heritage Site A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regis ...

s. Each of the sixteen states keeps its own set of lists and many towns and cities keep their own lists, all based on varying criteria for inclusion.

Monument protection

Denkmalschutz works to coordinate efforts, promote public awareness, and also to act as a central contact for worldwide organizations such as

UNESCO World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by int ...

. They also organize and fund the

European Heritage Days European Heritage Days (EHD) is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission involving all 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention under the motto, ''Europe: a common heritage''. The annual programme offers ...

in Germany, which are called

Tag des offenen Denkmals The Tag des offenen Denkmals (Day of Open Monuments) is an annual event all over Germany. The day of action has been coordinated by the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz since 1993. Historic monuments are open to the public free of charge. It takes ...

. This "open monument day" has been held yearly with a different theme since 1993 on the second Sunday of September. For example, in 2011 on September 11, the theme ''Romanticism, Realism, Revolution - The 19th Century'' opened in

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

. Protecting heritage site homes with a listing in a regional ''Denkmalschutz'' list is not always appreciated by everyone, since such a listing may come with legal

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

obligations. Other protected sites such as

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on Cobble (geology), cobble-sized stones, and is used for Road surface, pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Sett (paving), Setts, also called ''Belgian blocks'', are often referred to as " ...

streets can be seen as a nuisance for cyclists and wheelchairs. Many sites are marked with a tag according to the Hague Convention of 1954 regarding the protection of cultural heritage in times of armed conflict. File:Denkmalplakette Deutschland.JPG, ''Denkmal'' plaque marker for buildings in various states, incorporating the symbol of the Hague Convention of 1954. File:Denkmalplakette Nordrhein-Westfalen 2010.svg, ''Denkmal'' plaque in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

References

External links

''Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz''''Deutsches Nationalkomitee für Denkmalschutz''www.denkmalliste.org
List of ''Denkmal'' sites {{Authority control Heritage organizations Heritage sites in Germany Charities based in Germany Organisations based in Bonn Organizations established in 1985 History organisations based in Germany Non-profit organisations based in North Rhine-Westphalia 1985 establishments in West Germany