Siegfried Siegesmund - Monument Future

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Anyone who works at the German Parliament, whether they are an elected representative or a member of the administration staff, comes into contact every day with one of the most striking stone witnesses to German history: the Reichstag Building.

What takes place within the building itself is already worth a look – this is after all where policy is conceived and implemented for a population of 83 million. It is rare, however, for a European parliamentary building to reflect the destiny and fate of the nation it was designed to serve in a more vivid, dramatic and unsparing way than the Reichstag Building in Berlin does.

The Hohenzollern had no love for the building, shortly after the Nazis seized power it was set ablaze, and when the Red Army ultimately seized it on 1 May 1945 after many days of battle, it was left in ruins. Soviet soldiers left victors’ graffiti on the walls of the building and while these inscriptions were initially covered up during the years of division in Germany, when the building was restored following the fall of the Wall, they were made visible once more.

All of this is history set in stone.

The city of Berlin is awash with these stone witnesses to history: the Olympic Stadium, the main building of the Messe, the Brandenburg Gate, the New Guardhouse, the newly constructed Berlin City Palace, the towers at Frankfurter Tor – to name but a few. Successful and less successful attempts at restoration can be found everywhere, in the east of the city as much as in the west. They all reflect a piece of urban history, a piece of German history. They are object lessons and stone-hewn witnesses to success and failure, to acts of heroism and barbarity. It is the responsibility of the state to preserve such buildings in order to make the history of Germany tangible for future generations too.

And that is why it is a particular honour for me to welcome you to a congress such as “Monument Future, Decay and Conservation of Stone”, a meeting of academics, conservators, architects and engineers, here in Göttingen.

Researching the implications of climate change alone on the condition and life expectancy of all buildings, whether they are privately owned or public property, is a task for generations. Even a layperson can recognise that environmental influences increasingly affect not just the patina of the stone. Many things that would have survived for a long time to come if the air were clearer are already crumbling.

There is no doubt that new methods of digitalisation enable a much more exact means of monitoring changes in stone structures. It is fascinating to observe how interdisciplinary paths and solutions develop during a congress such as this, viewing the stone of a building almost as an object undergoing transformation, the changes to which we can influence.

6Your work is historic preservation in the best sense of the term. Too much has been destroyed in this country, even in the aftermath of war in numerous cases and without necessity, many say without any sense of reason and understanding. That is why we need to preserve what remains for us. Your congress makes an important contribution towards achieving this.

For those who are dedicated to preserving these stone witnesses to history are dedicated to the future of those who have learned from history and who wish to continue to learn from it.

Thomas Oppermann Vice-President of the German Bundestag

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Photographs of crumbling stone figures – along with impressive photos of the demolition of historical buildings – became symbols of environmental pollution and the increasing loss of built cultural heritage in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The ever increasing criticism and concern about the loss of built cultural heritage in Europe led to a rise in civic and state engagement. The “Stone” congresses, the first of which took place in 1972, were part of the international heritage movement and continue to be so today.

Two years later, in 1974, the founding of the Deutsches Nationalkomitee für Denkmalschutz (DNK, German National Committee for Monument Protection) in the Federal Republic of Germany was an important step towards the acceptance of monument protection as a social and national objective.

First the DNK prepared the German activities for the European Cultural Heritage Year 1975. In the following years the DNK gave a lot of impetus into society, but acted itself as a seismograph for conservation and restoration issues, too.

Since then, the DNK has assumed responsibility for bundling the expertise of science, craft, preservation and conservation expertise. In 1984, for example, a trip with journalists was devoted to the topic of stone deterioration.

Today, half a century after these years of departure, many of the demands of that time have been met. The cooperation between basic research and owners, preservation authorities, architects and engineers, craftsmen and restorers is particularly pronounced in the field of natural and artificial stone.

Nevertheless there are new challenges to be overcome: the climate change with droughts, high temperatures, heavy rain and storms is affecting stone, plaster and mortar. Emissions from industry and car traffic will decrease, but will not disappear. Thus, we cannot rest on our laurels.

The “Stone” congress is a long-standing and important platform for bundling and disseminating new findings on stone conservation topics.

I admire the level of expertise and commitment with which scientists and practical users continuously share their results.

The “Stone” congress is a prime example of the transfer of knowledge between basic research and practical application on built heritage and back.

I also wish “Stone 2020” to continue this remarkable tradition. May the shared insights benefit our heritage in Europe and the world!

Dr. Gunnar Schellenberger State Secretary for Culture and President of the German National Committee for Monument Protection

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Our built cultural heritage is a great source of inspiration. It provides us with a sense of belonging and identity in a complex world. And much of this heritage – from buildings to monuments and sculptures – is made of stone. Therefore, it is key for preserving our cultural heritage for future generations to better understand, manage and mitigate the deterioration processes that affect stone-based structures and thus rob us of our past.

Preserving stone requires a deep understanding of the various environmental factors that affect the material and innovative approaches to counter the decay they cause. This is why the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU) has been a funding partner for research in this field for many years. With our funding programme “Environment and Cultural Heritage” we are supporting pioneering projects at the intersection of environmental science and cultural heritage protection. Since the foundation began its work in 1990, we have provided funding for nearly 830 cultural heritage projects. Special emphasis is placed on problems caused by anthropogenic environmental factors such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen, or climatic changes.