The Tag des offenen Denkmals (Day of Open Monuments) is an annual event all over Germany. The day of action has been coordinated by the

Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz The ''Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz'' ("German Foundation for Monument Protection") is a German private initiative founded in 1985 that works for the preservation of cultural heritage in Germany and to promote the idea of cultural heritage man ...

since 1993. Historic monuments are open to the public free of charge. It takes place on the second Sunday in September and attracts several million visitors . The largest cultural event in Germany is the contribution of the country to the

European Heritage Days European Heritage Days (EHD) is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission involving all 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention under the motto, ''Europe: a common heritage''. The annual programme offers o ...

.70.000 kulturelle Veranstaltungen an den Europäischen Tagen des kulturellen Erbes 2019
(in German) europa.eu 9 August 2019, retrieved 9 September

Description

The aim of the day of action is to make the importance of the architectural heritage tangible. Organised by the

, it is Germany's contribution to the

held throughout Europe. On the day, many monuments that are otherwise inaccessible are opened to the public, often with guided tours.Buchholz, Barbara
Tag des offenen Denkmals Spuren der Geschichte
(in German)

Kölnische Rundschau The ''Kölnische Rundschau'' is a regional, independent daily newspaper for the Cologne/Bonn area. It is edited by Cologne Heinen-Verlag, which has its own independent local editorial office. The production of the national section was taken over ...

11 September 2008 Typically, around 7,000 monuments in more than 2,500 municipalities are open on the day.Geschichte erforschen am Denkmaltag / Über 7.000 geöffnete Denkmäler am 14. September
(press release, in German) Tag des offenen Denkmals 2014

History

The idea of a heritage day originated in France. In 1984, the then Minister of Culture Jack Lang launched the ''Days of Open Doors in Historic Monuments'' (''Journées Portes ouvertes dans les monuments historiques''). Due to the great response, other countries followed in the next few years. In 1991, the Council of Europe took up these initiatives and officially founded the ''

''.Vaupel, Bettina
Jahre Tag des offenen Denkmals
(in German) In ''Monumente''. 2018 In Germany, , then president of the , began in 1991 an action ''Tag der offenen Tür'' (Day of open door) in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

. The city of Halle (Saale) followed a year later. Kiesow was a founding member and then deputy president of the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz. He suggested, that the foundation adopt the cause and coordinate a nationwide day of the open monument. The first Tag des offenen Denkmals was held in 1993, modeled after the Dutch Open Monumentendagen. In the first year, 3500 monuments in 1200 municipalities were opened, and attracting 2 million visitors. In 1998, an official opening of the German event took place in

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

. In 2006, the Tag des offenen Denkmals was awarded the distinction "Ausgezeichneter Ort" (Excellent place) of the campaign (Germany – Land of Ideas). In 2013, around 4 million visitors were recorded. In 2020, the event was held virtually for the first time due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Germany The COVID-19 pandemic in Germany has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. On 27 January 2020, the first case in Germany was confirmed near Munich, Bavaria. By mid February, the arising cluster of cases had been fully containe ...

. Monuments from all over Germany were posted in more than 1200 contributions for virtual visitors.

Program

Each year, the action has a different motto, and is opened in a different city. It is supported by several thousand local initiatives and partners – from volunteers to the Landesdenkmalamt (Monument office). In addition to private monument owners, more than 2,600 municipalities participate. They can register their monument with the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz by 31 May each year. The visit to the monument on the day of action has to be free of charge. The program is published in August.Programm zum Tag des offenen Denkmals 2021
(in German) In: Tag des offenen Denkmals, 2021, retrieved 6 September 2021. Until 2017, there was also the youth photo competition "Focus on Monument". Photographers up to age 20 could submit their photos corresponding to the year's motto. A jury of monument experts awarded prizes to the three best photos, each with prize money of 300 euros. Currently, there is the annual "Monument Snapshot" photo campaign.

Mottos

Every year, the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz chooses a motto to focus on a specific aspect of

heritage preservation Heritage Preservation (active 1973-2014) was an American non-profit organization. Its mission was to preserve the nation's heritage for future generations through innovative leadership, education, and programs. As of June 30, 2015 the organization ...

: * 1999: ''Europe – a common heritage'' * 2000: ''Old Buildings – New Opportunities'' * 2001: ''Monument as School – School as Monument'' * 2002: ''A memorial rarely stands alone – streets, squares and ensembles'' * 2003: ''History up close – living in a monument'' * 2004: ''How's it going? – Focus on water'' * 2005: ''War and Peace'' * 2006: ''Lawns, Roses and Borders – Historic Gardens and Parks'' * 2007: ''Places of contemplation and prayer – historical sacred buildings'' * 2008: ''Past Uncovered – Archeology and Building Research'' * 2009: ''Historical places of enjoyment'' * 2010: ''Culture in Motion – Travel, Trade and Transport'' * 2011: ''Romanticism, Realism, Revolution – The 19th Century'' * 2012: ''Wood'' * 2013: ''Beyond the good and the beautiful: Inconvenient monuments?'' * 2014: ''Color'' * 2015: ''Craft, Technology, Industry'' * 2016: ''Preserving monuments together'' * 2017: ''Power and Splendor'' * 2018: ''Discover what connects us'' * 2019: ''Modern: Upheavals in art and architecture'' * 2020: ''Chance Monument: Remember. Obtain. Rethink.'' (virtual presentation) * 2021: ''To be and appear – in history, architecture and monument preservation'' * 2022: ''"A case for preservation of monuments'' ("Ein Fall für den Denkmalschutz")

Associated commemorative day

From 2021, the Deutscher Orgeltag (German Organ Day) will take place at the same time as the Tag des offenen Denkmals (Open Monument Day).Deutscher Orgeltag 2021 und Instrument des Jahres
(in German) ''Deutscher Orgeltag'', 2021, retrieved 6 September 2021.

References

External links

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Tag des offenen Denkmals

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tag Des Offenen Denkmals September observances 1993 establishments in Germany Cultural heritage of Germany Doors Open Days