Collective Effort to Preserve Cultural Heritage to be Presented in Schmidmühlen, Bavaria
Collective Effort to Preserve Cultural Heritage to be Presented in Schmidmühlen, Bavaria
Within this year’s European Heritage Days in Schmidmühlen, Bavaria, two cultural events and one project will be presented on Sunday, 11th September. The programme is a part of Open Monuments Day, a countrywide celebration of European Heritage Days in Germany, whose goal this year is to highlight the successful involvement of people in heritage conservation.
Supporting the slogan “Preserve the Monuments Together” and the common theme focused on “Heritage Communities,” the programme in Schmidmühlen will showcase the collective effort to protect the heritage sites in and around the town. The focus will be on the active participation of private parties and local groups in heritage protection, whereupon the histories of several notable landmarks in the area will be revealed to welcome local visitors eager to learn more about their town’s history.
Free tours will be offered in Winbuch, an old village that participates in the event for the second time and whose industrial heritage attracted over 500 visitors in 2015. In addition to this, the history of the old Hammerschloss castle will be presented in a documentary about its restoration, while an exhibition of figurines of Morris dancers will revive the 15th/16th century tradition in the area. Another event that will constitute a part of the celebration is a series of educational tours dedicated to the history of the Church of St. Jacob in Emhof. Dating from 997 A.D., the church offers an insight into the history of the entire area with its specific carvings and architecture.
The programme for Schmidmühlen was presented in May by the city’s cultural committee council, which also announced an upcoming implementation of another project intended to celebrate the rich history of the town. Coupled with the already announced September Open Monuments Day events, this project has a great potential to put the heritage of the area on the map of Europe. Altogether, these initiatives are expected to encourage local visitors to join the pan-European celebration of shared heritage by exploring heritage sites in their immediate surroundings. More importantly, they will be a valuable representation of the power of heritage communities to contribute to the protection of important cultural and historic sites.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
