Yesterday evening, on the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Bavarian Monument Protection Act, Art Minister Markus Blume and Conservator General Prof. Mathias Pfeil awarded the 2023 Monument Protection Medal to 18 individuals, foundations, associations and municipalities. The ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Bavarian State Office in the Renaissance courtyard of the Old Mint in Munich

Art Minister Markus Blume and General Conservator Prof. Mathias Pfeil awarded the 2023 Monument Protection Medal to 18 individuals, foundations, associations and municipalities yesterday evening, on the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Bavarian Monument Protection Act. The ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Bavarian State Office in the Renaissance courtyard of the Old Mint in Munich.

Yesterday, on June 25, 2023, the Bavarian Monument Protection Act celebrated its birthday. To mark the anniversary – the law for the protection and care of monuments was enacted 50 years ago – the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts and the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments paid special tribute on Sunday evening at the Alte Münze in Munich to people who have rendered outstanding services to Bavaria’s monuments. Art Minister Markus Blume and General Conservator Prof. Mathias Pfeil awarded the winners of the 2023 Monument Preservation Medal at a ceremony yesterday evening: 18 individuals, families, municipalities, an association, a cooperative and a foundation were honored for their outstanding commitment to monument preservation. They have all invested a great deal of time and money in restoration work or passed on their heritage conservation expertise. And each one is worth a story. “In our fast-moving times, characterized by change, monuments are fixed points – anchors of stability that provide orientation,” emphasized Prof. Mathias Pfeil at the beginning of his speech yesterday. “This makes the commitment of our award winners to their preservation all the more valuable. They help to keep our history and culture alive. I would like to thank them all for their tireless commitment and courage.”

“Historic buildings were usually built cleverly, which is not necessarily the case in modern times,” explained general conservator Mathias Pfeil. “The throwaway mentality is an invention of the last few decades.” As a rule, monuments are climate-efficient and were built with the weather in mind, Mathias Pfeil continued. The construction expert emphasized how much we can learn from the past. In this context, the General Conservator also referred to the upcoming anniversary exhibition “Moment mal – Denkmal”, which can be seen from July 1 in the columned hall of the Alte Münze of the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and answers, for example, what monument protection has to do with climate protection.

• Evangelical-Lutheran parish of St. Sebald, represented by Pastor Dr. Martin Brons, for the restoration and conversion of the St. Sebald vicarage in Nuremberg, City of Nuremberg, Middle Franconia
• Constanze and Dr. Matthias Ermer for the façade restoration of two residential and commercial buildings, Kelheim district, Lower Bavaria
• JuraMarktStadel EG, represented by Dr. Thomas Feuerer and Thomas Semmler for the overall restoration of the Jurastadel Pittmannsdorf with the application of a lime tile roof, District of Regensburg, Upper Palatinate
• Markt Falkenberg, represented by the First Mayor Matthias Grundler for the restoration and revitalization of the Falkenberg castle complex, district of Tirschenreuth, Upper Palatinate
• Dr. Sandra Schütz and Johannes Maria Haslinger for the restoration and reactivation of the former Red Schoolhouse, district of Regen, Lower Bavaria
• City of Karlstadt, represented by First Mayor Michael Hombach for the restoration of the Karlstadt Museum, Main-Spessart district, Lower Franconia
• Stadtprozelten, represented by the First Mayor Rainer Kroth for the renovation of the old town hall and the construction of a barrier-free extension, district of Miltenberg, Lower Franconia
• City of Wunsiedel, represented by the First Mayor Nicolas Lahovnik for the renovation of eleven rock cellars in the Katharinenberg cellar alley, district of Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge, Upper Franconia
• Claudia and Stephan Merkl for the renovation and use of the Pschorrstadl as an event venue (monument protection medal in the climate protection category), district of Fürstenfeldbruck, Upper Bavaria
• Martina and Bernhard Nöbauer for the renovation of the Jostnhof farmhouse (monument protection medal in the climate protection category), district of Passau, Lower Bavaria
• Friedrich Graf von Rechteren Limpurg and Cosima Gräfin von Rechteren Limpurg for the renovation of Sommerhausen Castle, Würzburg district, Lower Franconia
• Verein Zeitreise Gilching e.V., represented by the first chairwoman Annette Reindel, for a wide range of voluntary work in researching and communicating archaeology, district of Starnberg, Upper Bavaria
• Oberfrankenstiftung, represented by the Chairwoman of the Foundation Council, District President Heidrun Piwernetz and Managing Director Stefan Seewald for targeted and flexibly adapted funding in the field of monument preservation in Upper Franconia
• Judith Spindler and Horst Traudisch-Spindler for the renovation of a former farmhouse, Ostallgäu district, Swabia
• Hans Well and Sabeeka Gangjee-Well for the complete renovation and restoration of a Einfirsthof (former residence of the Pollinger Klosterbraumeister) and seven other listed buildings, district of Weilheim-Schongau, Upper Bavaria
• Matthias Zink for the renovation of a former customs house of the Rothenburger Landhege, district of Ansbach, Middle Franconia
• Gerhard Hilpert for his voluntary work, particularly in the preservation of archaeological monuments, Main-Spessart district, Lower Franconia
• Former Ministerialrätin Dr. Birgitta Ringbeck for her outstanding commitment to the Bavarian cultural heritage sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Bavaria-wide

Preserving the cultural heritage of a region or country requires people who are committed to it – with passion and conviction. This requires perseverance, creativity and often also financial commitment. The Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts and the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments recognize this commitment to the preservation of monuments and bring it to the attention of the public by awarding the Medal for the Preservation of Monuments. The Monument Protection Medal has been awarded since 1978. The medal shows a portrait of King Ludwig I, the founder of monument preservation in Bavaria, on the front. Since 2018, the reverse has featured the inscriptions: “Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts” and “For special services to the preservation of monuments”.

Since 2023, the State Ministry of Science and the Arts and the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation have also awarded a monument preservation medal in the “Climate Protection” category for monument preservation projects that are particularly innovative or exemplary in terms of climate protection.

Every year, the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation asks the circle of eligible nominees for proposals for the award. From these, it makes a pre-selection, which it passes on to the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts. The Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts makes the final decision as to who receives the Monument Preservation Medal.

Since 2009, the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments has published an annual brochure with the award winners. It presents the winners and the reason for awarding the medal. You can download the brochures from previous years as PDF files here.

The group of authorized nominators includes

• the district presidents
• the presidents of the district councils
• district home preservationists
• the Bavarian State Association for the Preservation of Local History
• the dioceses and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
  

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Bavarian Monument Protection Act, there are events throughout Bavaria – lectures, city walks and workshop visits. Munich residents in particular can look forward to the monument summer at the headquarters of the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments. Because from the day after tomorrow, from Wednesday, July 1, 2023, the beautiful Renaissance courtyard of the Old Mint will be transformed into a cultural beer garden (until September). There, the “Wirtshaus und Theater im Fraunhofer”, known as the operator of the Herzkasperl festival tent at the “Oidn Wiesn”, invites everyone to join in the celebrations from Thursdays to Sundays with music and entertainment in a modern Bavarian style. Come and have a look!

There is currently a heated debate in Nuremberg: The Altstadtfreunde e. V. association has proposed restoring the façade of the Pellerhaus to its 16th century state. However, the current listed façade would have to be demolished first. Hard to imagine. We spoke to Brigitte Jupitz, first chairwoman of the BauLust e. V. association, Initiative for Architecture and […]

There is currently a heated debate in Nuremberg: The Altstadtfreunde e. V. association has proposed restoring the façade of the Pellerhaus to its 16th century state. However, the current listed façade would have to be demolished first. Hard to imagine. We spoke to Brigitte Jupitz, first chairwoman of the BauLust e. V. association, Initiative for Architecture and the Public, about this.

Destroyed buildings are being reconstructed all over Germany. What is your position on this “trend” as the BauLust architecture association?

Over 20 years ago, our founders advocated, among other things, the compatibility of new construction and contemporary architecture with the historical environment and thus took a deliberate stance against the reconstruction of buildings that no longer exist. We consider the “trend” to be out of date, even backward-looking, as in many cases it negates the history of the city, which is reflected in its buildings. The city thrives on change and cannot be frozen to an arbitrarily fixed period of time.

The reconstruction of the Renaissance courtyard of the Pellerhaus is therefore not in your interests either.

Correct, the almost completed reconstruction of the Renaissance courtyard in the Pellerhaus is not justifiable in our view and has the character of a museum or “Disneyland” type intervention. In terms of design and use, it takes no account of the listed status of the current Pellerhaus.

Now the Altstadtfreunde want to demolish the façade of the Pellerhaus from the 1950s in order to reconstruct the Renaissance façade. Irresponsible, isn’t it?

Yes, because the façade of the Pellerhaus, like the entire building, is a listed building (with the exception of the ongoing “reconstruction”, of course!). It stands in a row with Nuremberg buildings and facades from the same years of construction, such as the Plärrerhochhaus from 1953, which is currently being restored, or the Quelle mail order company, built at the end of the 1950s. These buildings are also listed as outstanding examples of reconstruction in Nuremberg and, like the Pellerhaus, are internationally recognized. Any change would destroy an important part of our post-war history.

Who will ultimately decide what happens to the façade of the Pellerhaus?

The Pellerhaus is owned by the City of Nuremberg. The final decision lies with the Lower Monument Protection Authority of the City of Nuremberg, as it is the approval authority responsible for enforcing the Monument Protection Act. The expert opinion of the State Office for the Protection of Monuments must be taken into account in the procedure and should be included in the consideration. However, the Lord Mayor of the City of Nuremberg has always stated that demolition is out of the question for him.

What will happen next?

We will continue the discussion objectively and continuously with experts and representatives of the City of Nuremberg in the interests of preservation. Specifically, events for the preservation of the façade are being prepared by architectural associations, the Technical University and the Nuremberg Old Town Citizens’ Association.

The interview was conducted by Alexandra Nyseth.

You can also read a commentary on the situation and discussion surrounding the Pellerhaus in RESTAURO 8/2016.