Der Umgang mit Denkmalen als Sinnstiftungsprozess am Beispiel der Schlösser und Herrensitze in Brandenburg

Many listed castles and stately homes—not only in the new federal states—are threatened by vacancy and decay. How can we find suitable new uses and responsible owners for such buildings? How do we lend fresh, significant orientation to the historical cultural landscape without neglecting issues of preservation? This publication investigates such questions, examining strategies to deal with listed buildings and correlated, often vacant architectural and social spaces; strategies that pay attention to preservation and—in a broader sense—create meaning in a social context. As a case in question, it looks at the listed rural castles and stately homes of Brandenburg and the experience gained there since 1990. In the process, the author examines framework conditions, forms of ownership and usage, and the possibilities and limitations of architectural preservation and transformation, focusing on ways to handle these buildings’ qualities as historic monuments.

Although often criticized, the european city is still regarded as a model in urban development; one that has proved itself for centuries. However, in the sphere of constantly changing interests and specific values, it has changed in a way that there is a continual need for new experiments, innovative concepts, and a new understanding to develop and preserve it with caution and creativity. IntraURBAN reflects on successful ideas and strategies and presents detailed case studies. Target-oriented urban development solutions are formulated, considering the quality of european cities.

The architecture and the urban planning of the 1960s and 1970s are currently the focus of a wide-ranging discussion. They are contested ground between a reevaluation that began only recently plus the adoption of their buildings as listed structures, and the need to adapt cities to contemporary standards. The phrase that is frequently tossed around is “ageing, but not yet historic.” Many of the relics of the 1960s and 1970s have already been destroyed or extensively changed. In East Germany, the situation is exacerbated by the fact that these buildings represent an overthrown political system. On the other hand, experiencing the loss of some buildings has made people more interested in the buildings that remain—particularly the younger generation. A high-profile international symposium that took place at the Bauhaus Universität in Weimar in January 2011 brought together the different but often parallel discourses on this theme and collated a wide variety of experiences. This conference included Eastern Europe, with its political heritage and the associated problems, as well as the scientific, didactic and artistic issues connected with listed structures.

Architecture and urban development of the 1960s and 1970s have now become part of everyday heritage protection and the subject of an interdisciplinary discourse. It is redevelopment practices that have emerged as the actual hurdle with regard to responsible and careful approaches to this heritage. It is not the basic heritage worthiness of this construction era that is questioned, but the possibilities to preserve it successfully. Therefore examples and evidence have to be found to show whether and how these heritage buildings can be adapted to present-day economic, safetyrelated and ecological requirements. Denkmal Ost-Moderne II is based on the conference of the same name and presents current viewpoints and examples from heritage protection practice, including inventorization: how can one make and justify a selection from the enormous range of buildings available? The credibility of heritage protection with regard to post-war modernity depends on this to a significant extent.