The Stiftung Braunschweigischer Kulturbesitz (SBK) was established by ''Gesetz über die Stiftung Braunschweigischer Kulturbesitz'' of 16 December 2004 with effect from 1 January 2005 as a Stiftung öffentlichen Rechts with its seat in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

History of origins

Following the dissolution of the

Braunschweig (region) Braunschweig (German Regierungsbezirk Braunschweig) was one of the eight former administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke) of Lower Saxony, Germany. It was located in the southeast of the state. The region covers roughly the area of the former st ...

on 31 December 2004, which until that date had held the assets of the "Braunschweig United Monastery and Study Fund" (founded in 1569) and the Braunschweig Foundation (founded in 1934), the need arose to create an institution that would be responsible for the continuity of cultural and historical identity of the . This happened with the founding of the SBK, under whose umbrella the other two foundations were united.

Purpose of the foundation

The primary purpose of the foundation is the promotion and preservation of cultural and historical traditions of the

Brunswick Land Brunswick Land (german: Braunschweiger Land) is a historical region in the Southeast of the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, centred around the city of Braunschweig. It refers to the core territory of the historic Duchy of Brunswick and its s ...

and the former

. In addition to church, cultural and social projects, the

Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum (BLM) is a history museum in Braunschweig, Germany, operated by the state of Lower Saxony. The museum is scattered on four locations: ''Vieweghaus'', ''Hinter Ägidien'' (both in Braunschweig), ''Kanzlei'' (Wolfenbü ...

, the Staatstheater Braunschweig and the

Technische Universität Braunschweig The Technische Universität Braunschweig (unofficially University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology), commonly referred to as TU Braunschweig, is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. ...

are also supported from the foundation's assets. The SBK is responsible for organising regional cultural promotion for the State of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Foundation assets

The foundation's assets amount to over 275 million euros and consist largely of

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

s and financial deposits. The properties include, among others, cultural assets such as the Kaiserdom in

Königslutter Königslutter am Elm is a town in the district of Helmstedt in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography It is located on the northeastern slopes of the Elm hill range, within the Elm-Lappwald Nature Park, about east of Brunswick, west of the distric ...

, a large number of monasteries and churches, more than 20 foundation and monastery estates with about 7,500 hectares of arable land as well as 5,500 hectares of forestry land and more than 3,000 hereditary building rights. Projects are supported from the annual income of about two million euros. The City of Braunschweig plans to transfer part of the municipal real estate and land portfolio in to the SBK. Dazu gehören along others die Kloster Riddagshausen, die Gaststätte as well as the former . The SBK will lease part of this land to the .

Critic

In June 2017, the criticised in its annual report "inappropriately high expenses" of the Foundation, its president and its Director in their representation and entertainment costs, business trips to other European countries as well as inappropriately large official cars. Expenditure on administration rose from €150,000 per year to €930,000 within ten years.Michael Berger
''Braunschweigische Stiftung langte kräftig zu''
In ''Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung'', 7 June 2016, retrieved 29 March 2021.

References

External links

* {{authority control Culture in Braunschweig Awards established in 2005 German awards