Federal Monuments Office

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Bundesdenkmalamt
plaque on a building in Salzburg indicating "Cultural property" in four languages: German: Kulturdenkmal
, English: Cultural Property, French: Bien culturel
, and Russian: 'Kul'turnoe Dostoianie
. Kulturdenkmal 4 Sprachen.jpg
Bundesdenkmalamt plaque on a building in Salzburg indicating "Cultural property" in four languages: German: Kulturdenkmal, English: Cultural Property, French: Bien culturel, and Russian: 'Культурное Достояние.
Early medieval oven, uncovered during excavations in Gaweinstal by the Bundesdenkmalamt
. FMA Backofen Gaweinstal.jpg
Early medieval oven, uncovered during excavations in Gaweinstal by the Bundesdenkmalamt.
Poster for the Tag des Denkmals, the Austrian version of the European Heritage Days, sponsored by the Bundesdenkmalamt
. Logo Tag des Denkmals 2011 - 02.jpg
Poster for the Tag des Denkmals, the Austrian version of the European Heritage Days, sponsored by the Bundesdenkmalamt.

The Federal Monuments Office (BDA; German : Bundesdenkmalamt) is a department of the Federal Chancellery responsible for cultural heritage in Austria.

Contents

History

The BDA was established in 1853 under Emperor Franz Joseph I, as a central commission for the preservation of National Heritage Sites. Its duties include the preservation, restoration and cataloging of immoveable cultural heritage. The BDA also monitors the export provisions of the Austrian monument protection act for moveable cultural heritage. The BDA is divided into one central bureau and nine "land conservation districts" in the provincial capitals. At their disposal are the following central departments:

Art and property restitution

The BDA is also responsible for restitution of some 8,000 objects and works of looted art which Austria in the time of National Socialism had acquired by devious means. Since often the original owners and all of their relatives had been killed during the Holocaust, restitution took place in the manner of auctions for the benefit of the Jewish community or to pay for material restitution of destroyed property, as in the case of the Jewish cemetery in Währing. Austria first did little to restore property to the damaged owner, but in the late 1940s and 1950s was put under pressure to make more of an effort according to the Moscow Declaration. As access to archives has slowly opened over time for provenance research, new clues and details such as stickers on the backs of auctioned objects that were photographed, have resulted in the discovery of previously "unfindable" owners. A set of such results was published in early December 2008 and exhibited at the Museum of Applied Arts.

Periodicals

Literature

See also

Related Research Articles

The International Council on Monuments and Sites is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was founded in 1965 in Warsaw as a result of the Venice Charter of 1964 and offers advice to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic preservation</span> Preservation of items of historical significance

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 philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries' development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property</span> Process of preservation of historically significant buildings

Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of any immovable cultural property are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator-restorer. Decisions of when and how to engage in an intervention are critical to the ultimate conservation-restoration of cultural heritage. Ultimately, the decision is value based: a combination of artistic, contextual, and informational values is normally considered. In some cases, a decision to not intervene may be the most appropriate choice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural heritage</span> Physical artifact or intangible attribute of a society inherited from past generations

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 society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural heritage management</span> Vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage

Cultural heritage management (CHM) is the vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage. It is a branch of cultural resources management (CRM), although it also draws on the practices of cultural conservation, restoration, museology, archaeology, history and architecture. While the term cultural heritage is generally used in Europe, in the US the term cultural resources is in more general use specifically referring to cultural heritage resources.

The Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites is a set of guidelines, drawn up in 1964 by a group of conservation professionals in Venice, that provides an international framework for the conservation and restoration of historic buildings. However, the document is now seen by some as outdated, representing Modernist views opposed to reconstruction. Reconstruction is now cautiously accepted by UNESCO in exceptional circumstances if it seeks to reflect a pattern of use or cultural practice that sustains cultural value, and is based on complete documentation without reliance on conjecture. The change in attitude can be marked by the reconstruction in 2015 of the Sufi mausoleums at the Timbuktu World Heritage Site in Mali after their destruction in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauerbach Charterhouse</span> Former monastery in Lower Austria, Austria

Mauerbach Charterhouse, in Mauerbach on the outskirts of Vienna, Austria, is a former Carthusian monastery, or charterhouse. Founded in 1314 and rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Baroque monastic complex is one of the most important structures of its kind in Austria. Since 1984 the former charterhouse has been undergoing restoration by the Austrian Federal Monuments Office, which has its workshops there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program</span> Allied program to help protect cultural property (1943-1946)

The Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section Unit (MFAA) was a program established by the Allies in 1943 to help protect cultural property in war areas during and after World War II. The group of about 400 service members and civilians worked with military forces to protect historic and cultural monuments from war damage, and as the conflict came to a close, to find and return works of art and other items of cultural importance that had been stolen by the Nazis or hidden for safekeeping. Spurred by the Roberts Commission, MFAA branches were established within the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of Allied armies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage</span> Non-governmental organization in India

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation is a German federal government body that oversees 27 museums and cultural organizations in and around Berlin, Germany. Its purview includes all of Berlin's State Museums, the Berlin State Library, the Prussian Privy State Archives and a variety of institutes and research centers. As such, it is one of the largest cultural organizations in the world, and also the largest cultural employer in Germany with around 2,000 staff as of 2020. More than four million people visited its museums in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservator-restorer</span> Professional responsible for the preservation of artistic and cultural artifacts

A conservator-restorer is a professional responsible for the preservation of artistic and cultural artifacts, also known as cultural heritage. Conservators possess the expertise to preserve cultural heritage in a way that retains the integrity of the object, building or site, including its historical significance, context and aesthetic or visual aspects. This kind of preservation is done by analyzing and assessing the condition of cultural property, understanding processes and evidence of deterioration, planning collections care or site management strategies that prevent damage, carrying out conservation treatments, and conducting research. A conservator's job is to ensure that the objects in a museum's collection are kept in the best possible condition, as well as to serve the museum's mission to bring art before the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heritage conservation in Hong Kong</span>

This article details the history and status of heritage conservation in Hong Kong, as well as the role of various stakeholders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural Property (Japan)</span>

A Cultural Property is administered by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and includes tangible properties ; intangible properties ; folk properties both tangible and intangible; monuments historic, scenic and natural; cultural landscapes; and groups of traditional buildings. Buried properties and conservation techniques are also protected. Together these cultural properties are to be preserved and utilized as the heritage of the Japanese people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kulturdenkmal</span>

Kulturdenkmal is the official term to describe National Heritage Sites listed by law in German-speaking areas of Europe, to protect and spread awareness of cultural heritage.

Denkmalgeschütztes Objekt is a protected object listed on the Austrian cultural property list as kept by the Federal Monuments Office known as the Bundesdenkmalamt (BDA).

The cultural monuments of the Czech Republic are protected properties designated by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. Cultural monuments that constitute the most important part of the Czech cultural heritage may be declared national cultural monuments by a regulation of the Government of the Czech Republic. Government may also proclaim a territory, whose character and environment is determined by a group of immovable cultural monuments or archaeological finds, as a whole, as a monument reservation. Ministry of Culture may proclaim a territory of a settlement with a smaller number of cultural monuments, historical environment or part of a landscape area that display significant cultural values as a monument zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evelyn Tucker</span>

Evelyn Tucker was one of a handful of women who were employed as "Monuments Men" after World War II. According to Bryce McWhinnie, a researcher with the Monuments Men Foundation, several "unsung female American MFA&A officers"—Rose Valland, Capt. Edith A. Standen, Evelyn Tucker, and Capt. Mary J. Regan, "put their personal interests in jeopardy in order to protect priceless art." All under the age of 40 when they entered their respective service positions, "each of these women left her own mark on postwar cultural heritage restitution policy."

Frederic ("Fritz") Wolff-Knize was a German businessman, owner of Kniže & Comp. and an art collector.

Oscar Bondy was an Austrian entrepreneur and art collector persecuted by the Nazis because of his Jewish heritage.

References

48°12′27″N16°21′59″E / 48.2075°N 16.3665°E / 48.2075; 16.3665