Bernhard Marte and Stefan Marte reflect on the mysterious power of old castles and palaces: “They stand like landmarks in the open landscape”.
Claypotts, Bernhard Marte & Stefan Marte, 1569 AD.
In their book “Reminiscence”, Benedict Esche and Benedikt Hartl portray the special relationship between building and architect. There, pioneering architects have their say, writing about their architectural influence and its impact on their own work. Here, Bernhard Marte and Stefan Marte reflect on the mysterious power of old castles and palaces:
“Castles and palaces are strong and mysterious. They stand like landmarks in the open landscape, in exposed locations, always with an unrestricted view. Made of solid stone, seemingly effortlessly chiseled out of the rock, they fill the viewer with humility. As forbidding as the hermetically sealed exterior may seem, the interior is magical and mysterious. Fortified, meter-thick walls enclose mysterious chambers, hidden staircases and deeply cut embrasures. They can be found everywhere, depending on their strategic importance, they are just individual, free-standing towers – often developing into large city-like complexes with fascinating, dense spatial sequences.”
Elke Büdenbender and Prof. Dr. Thomas M. Weber-Karyotakis in front of the torso of Aphrodite. Photo: Birte Ruhardt/Gerda Henkel Foundation
The Gerda Henkel Foundation is committed to protecting cultural heritage in Jordan. In addition to an archaeological excavation in the city of Gerasa, the foundation is also supporting a digitization programme for historical finds in Amman. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier drew attention to the funding projects by visiting both sites at the end of January 2018. On his trip to Jordan, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier not only visited […]
The Gerda Henkel Foundation is committed to protecting cultural heritage in Jordan. In addition to an archaeological excavation in the city of Gerasa, the foundation is also supporting a digitization programme for historical finds in Amman. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier drew attention to the funding projects by visiting both sites at the end of January 2018.
On his trip to Jordan, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier not only visited Abdullah Il ibn Al Hussein, the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, schools, refugees and young entrepreneurs, but also the excavations in Gerasa and the Citadel Hill in Amman. The Gerda Henkel Foundation is involved in both locations.
In Gerasa, it supported the excavations by a team of Jordanian, French and German archaeologists. They excavated in the eastern baths of the city of Gerasa, which are among the largest Roman baths in the area. During this excavation campaign, the archaeologists found 100 fragments of marble figurines as well as a figurine of Aphrodite with an inscription testifying that it was donated by the Gerasa citizen Demetrios in 153/154 AD.
Digital documentation of the finds from Amman
Under the title “Patrimonies”, the Gerda Henkel Foundation promotes the preservation of cultural heritage in crisis regions. This endangered cultural heritage also includes finds that have already been recovered, preserved and exhibited in the Archaeological Museum at the Citadel in Amman. They are all being photographed and scientifically described with the help of the foundation. The digital database is intended to protect 100,000 years of human history from robbery, destruction and oblivion. Because what is recorded in the database is more difficult to trade, making theft less worthwhile.
The Gerda Henkel Foundation has accompanied the work of Dieter Vieweger, archaeologist and theologian, and Jutta Häser, project manager in Amman, and is showing several films on its website that give an excellent impression of the situation on the ground, the scope, the difficulties and the importance of the work. The eight films can be viewed at: www.lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de
“With his visit, the Federal President honored the valuable commitment of the Foundation – also representative of the commitment of German institutions and institutions in the field of cultural property protection,” said the Federal President’s Office at the request of RESTAURO.
02.01.2025
“We now have great rooms to go with our great collections”
After 16 years, the Staatsbibliothek Unter den Linden in Berlin has now been extensively renovated and extended. The Stuttgart-based firm hg merz was responsible for the project. After 16 years of lengthy conversion and renovation processes and 470 million euros spent, the Berlin State Library Unter den Linden opened digitally last Monday. This means that one of Berlin’s largest construction projects […]
After 16 years, the Staatsbibliothek Unter den Linden in Berlin has now been extensively renovated and extended. The Stuttgart-based firm hg merz was responsible for the project.
After 16 years of lengthy conversion and renovation processes and 470 million euros spent, the Berlin State Library Unter den Linden opened digitally last Monday. This marks the completion of one of Berlin’s largest construction projects. Founded in 1661, the research institution is considered one of the most important libraries in the world and is the largest academic library in the German-speaking world. Due to its importance, the monumental building has been adapted to the requirements of the 21st century since 2005 while it has remained in operation. Originally, the work on the 100,000 square meters of floor space was not due to be completed until 2012 and then 2016.
The research library, which was badly damaged during the Second World War and rebuilt during the GDR era, proved to be in greater need of renovation than originally assumed. For example, new supports had to be installed in the building to secure the old, listed concrete arches of the large dome. The overall concept for the general refurbishment and extension of Unter den Linden was the brainchild of Stuttgart star architect hg merz, who also modernized the State Opera diagonally opposite. In 2000, he won first prize in a Europe-wide competition. Individual construction tasks, such as the lighting concept or the material and color concept, were solved by hg merz in collaboration with artistic and technical offices.
The best-known feature of the old building, which has been renovated in line with its listed status, is the implanted glass cube of the central reading room, which opened in 2012. Now, after more than 70 years, it is once again accessible along the historical axis through the building complex via the entrance hall, fountain courtyard and the elegant main staircase and vestibule. The original spatial concept can now be experienced again. The reconstruction of the barrel vault in the main hall also restores the original cubature of the room.
In the reading room itself, the bright orange carpet has been renewed. The special reading rooms have also been redesigned and modernized: dark wooden shelves surround the books on the walls, with work areas in between whose linoleum table tops pick up the color of the carpet.
“We now have great rooms to complement our great collections,” says a delighted General Director Barbara Schneider-Kempf. The collections, which have grown over 360 years – including four pieces of world documentary heritage by Beethoven, Bach and Luther – are supplemented by around 100,000 media and extensive digital materials every year. The collection currently comprises more than 33 million different items, including 12 million books, autographs, printed music, magazines and newspapers as well as maps, globes and bequests.
The 620 workstations in the seven reading rooms currently have to remain empty. Due to the coronavirus, students and academics can only explore the redesigned library digitally for the time being. Important: From February onwards, lending operations will be restricted.
