Capitalising on the cultural heritage of Fortifications

The Central European landscape is rich with historical fortresses and fortified structures. This unique cultural heritage has been recognized by UNESCO and represents the special identity and attractiveness of Central Europe’s cities and regions.

It is a testament to European history, and marks important historical events and fallen empires, like the Prussian or AustroHungarian epoch. The Central Europe Programme 2007-2014 funding allows transnational cooperation to develop new instruments and solutions to capitalise on this heritage with several activities until the end of 2014.

It includes the development of touristic products and their market implementation, like a designated Culture Route “Forte Cultura” between the Baltic Sea and the Adriatic Sea. Of importance are the development of e-marketing instruments, implementation of the best practices in the monument management and monument economy, improvement of monument financing and generation of income. A special task is the gathering and recording of the best practices in the monument protection, restoration and conservation in scientific data banks.

The project invites all interested fortress organisations, public authorities and specialised institutions to join the project activities and to participate in the planned benefits for the future maintenance of the Central European fortified cultural heritage.

European dimensions and scientific contributions to the project

In times past, fortresses separated regions, today they join Europe together. The project aims at a trans-national political, economic and scientific cooperation for the transformation and integration of historical fortresses into modern European society.

Successful project start with a Kick-Off meeting in the fortress city Kostrzyn nad Odra / Poland

Project “Forte Cultura” being constituted The funding project of Central Europe Programme “FORTE CULTURA” started the trans-national cooperation with a kick-off meeting at a place that has a strong symbolic meaning for European integration: the city Kostrzyn nad Odrą on the German-Polish border.

Twelve Project partners from eight Central European countries and seven Associated Institutions from five nations started the ambitious working program, creating six work packages for the next two years.

Dr. Andrzej Kunt, mayor of the city of Kostrzyn nad Odra acting as Lead Partner, confirmed in his opening presentation, that this project stands for high-quality European cooperation to support the preservation of fortification heritage in the context of the demands of modern society. There is a high potential for new offers in cultural tourism.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE AND PARTNERSHIP

City of Kostrzyn nad Odra – experienced project Lead Partner

The fortress city of Kostrzyn nad Odra has experience in the realisation of INTERREG Projects since Poland joined the European Union in 2004. The first project under the lead of the city was the transnational cooperation project “Baltic Fort Route” in the Baltic Sea Region. Kostrzyn is responsible for the whole project realisation, the correct project contracting, financing and reporting.

Constitution of Steering Committee

During the kick-off meeting the 12 project partners set up a Project Steering Committee as a general assembly responsible for questions regarding project realisation, evaluation of results, discussion about main project outputs and its legal, financial and organisational obligations.

Technical Board

The Technical Board is the executive body between the Steering Committee Sessions. It has 6 members to monitor and support the project progress and to analyse, discuss and decide on the upto-date questions in the running phases of the project. The Technical Board reports on the project progress, advices on solutions to problems and submit proposals for decisions at the assembly.

THE WORKING PROGRAMME OF PROJECT FORTE CULTURA

Work package 3: Capitalisation and market implementation of fortified heritage to support economic growth of cities and regions

Focus: Fortified monuments are a cultural resource which should be capitalised on with the help of new means to generate income, to stimulate investments
and to create new jobs in such fields as monument management, monument economy and financing, fortress marketing with modern electronic instruments and with establishment of a transnational fortress network

Main Results:

• Strategies to improve monument economy, financing and investments
• Development of innovative management models and utilisation concepts
• Creation of e-marketing tools for fortified heritage market implementation
• Implementation and dissemination of e-marketing instruments
• Foundation of a Central European network of fortified heritage

Work package 4: Strengthening the impact of fortified heritage for urban, rural, cultural and social development

Focus: Implementation of fortified heritage into urban modernisation to enhance the attractiveness and identity of cities and regions; to increase the cultural and social quality in people’s mind by modern utilisation of the heritage

Main Results:

• Implementation of fortified heritage into cities and regions modernisation
• Enhancing of the cultural and social identity associated with fortified
  heritage
• Transnational Information System and database of fortified heritage in
  Central Europe
• Strategies for infrastructural interconnection of fortress heritage
• Knowledge transfer to develop fortified heritage

Work package 5: Creation of Central European cultural route to capitalise on fortified heritage

Focus: Development of a cultural route “Forte Cultura” as a tourist product to foster the fortress tourism as economic basis of cities and regions, to
generate investments, income, employment, social and cultural outcomes in interregional cooperation

Main Results:

• Development of culture route Central European fortified heritage
• Elaboration and implementation of tools for route organization
• Marketing concept, branding, marketing instruments and certification of
  the culture route Forte Cultura
• Product placement and implementation of culture route at markets
• Creation of route management and building of institution

Work package 6: Exploitation of traditional knowledge and expertise for protection of fortified heritage

Focus: Saving and using traditional knowledge, expertise and technologies for conservation of fortress monuments, organising trans-national experience ex
change and research in fortress reconstruction and restoration, as well as promoting initiatives for European heritage protection

Main Results:

• Identification, collection and experimentation of historic construction
  technologies
• Organisation of trans-national exchange to share knowledge and expertise
• Capacity building to save traditional knowledge and expertise
• Protection of fortified heritage by joining the European Heritage Label

THE FORTIFIED CULTURAL HERITAGE OF CENTRAL EUROPE

Fortress Hohensalzburg
It belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage Salzburg – famous for its prominent citizen W. A. Mozart as well as for its baroque architecture. The Fortress is well preser
ved. Elements from the 15th century to the 18th century form a particular ensemble and reflect the architecture as well as the culture of Austrian history. Aside from being an excellent museum, the fortress is nowadays the venue for festivals and concerts with an extraordinary ambiance.

Fortress Rosenberg Kronach
The baroque Fortress Rosenberg is a great representative of the Frankonian fortification heritage. The fortifications encircle a castle. They are an extraordinary en
semble exposing the evolution of military defence architecture in Central Europe from the 13th to the 18th century. Napoleon himself used the fortress as a camp
in 1806. Birthplace of Lucas Cranach the Elder, today the Fortress Rosenberg is a well attended place for cultural tourism.

Fortified Ideal City Josefov
The Austrian Emperor Joseph II built Josefstadt as a rare “Fortified Ideal City”. It was created by the French architect de Querlonde to protect the northern terri
tories against Prussia. The casemates and underground defence systems form a labyrinth of estimated to be 45 km in length. The garrison accommodated
about 10.000 soldiers. The neo-classical buildings are used mainly as residences.

Fortress System Verona
The famous fortress system of Verona is a part of the regional quadrilateral defence system with Mantua, Legnano and Villafranca. During the Austrian period it was surrounded by massive walls, are well preserved and can be visited as so called Park of the walls, to learn the functionality of fortifications. Military buildings in
neo Romanesque style are visible inside the historical city. Additionally, one finds, west of Verona, some well-preserved Austrian fortress relics, originally built
against the Italian Kingdom

Citadel Petersberg Erfurt
The fortress Petersberg, formed as a citadel to protect and control the city of Erfurt is today a peaceful and beautiful place. Most of the defence architecture has been preserved. From the reconstructed walls and bastions, visitors may observe the picturesque medieval parts of the city. Gardens and flower-beds atop of walls and bastions offer relaxation and recreation in this enchanting historical setting. Museums and guided tours explain the prominent role of the fortress in the last 4 centuries.

Fortress System Kostrzyn n.O.
On the embankment of the river Odrą and Warta, in the 15th century, was built the
Fortress Cüstrin. In the following centuries, the Fortress was extended to a for
tified city with a garrison and additional forts. At the end of the Second World War the fortified town was completely destroyed. Today it’s a memorial that let’s one feel the destructive power of war, some what like Pompeii. The City manages the reconstruction effort and organises some annual events.

Fortress System Komarom
Fortress Monostor is a part of the fortress system of Komárno (SK)/ Komárom (H) across the river Danube. It was built to defend the Austrian territories and the capital Vienna against Turkish troops in the 16th century. In the last 100 years, the fortress has served mainly as a garrison. Right now the Hungarian fortresses offer space for exhibitions and festivals.

Fortress System Lviv
Lviv region’s strategic position as the gateway to the Carpathians has caused it to change hands many times over the centuries. Many famous and important fortifications are located in this region. Fortress systems from the 19th century like the eastern part of Premysl and Lviv’s citadel are a testimony to the Habsburg Hungarian epoch. A plethora of fortified castles, a fortified Ideal City like Brody and other fortifications attracts many tourists to the region.

SPECIAL PROFILED INSTITUTIONS SUPPORT THE PROJECT RESULTS

Austrian State Archives War Archive

Competences

With about 180.000 boxes of files and 60.000 books on 50 kilometres of shelves, the Vienna War Archive (“Kriegsarchiv”) may indeed legitimately claim to be the biggest military archive in Central Europe. The most important department consists of collections, in particular the collection of maps and plans, pictures, manuscripts and very significant legacies of military writings.

Contribution to the project Forte Cultura

The Austrian State Archive is an excellent partner for studying the fortress history, the architecture and the technologies of fortress construction. Such information is the basis for reconstruction, restoration and monument protection concepts. A trans-national exchange of experiences will be organised under the steering of the Austrian State Archive and an Initiative Conference will be held to join the European Heritage Label aimed at protecting the category.

TIAW Thuringian Institute for Advanced Studies and Education reg.ass.

Competences
The TIAW is a recognized Institute for Advanced Studies, with projects in the priority areas of Labour and Economic Development, Education and Regional Development. Commissioned by the city of Erfurt, the Institute realised many projects to revitalise, use and restore the Citadel Petersberg in Erfurt.

Contribution to the project Forte Cultura
TIAW acts as a manager in work package 2 and as communication manager. It coordinates the internal and external communication. Its specific contributions are the development of effective management organisation for fortresses, the connection of fortress development and city development and the integration of the citizens in the fortress utilisation.

Humboldt-University at Berlin, Department Ecology of the Utilization of Resources

Competences
The scientific department “Ecology of the Utilization of Resources” deals with nature protection and nature management in historical monuments. A Scientific Consultation Centre advises the fortress organisations on solving the typical conflict between nature and monument as well as on revitalisation and sanitation of devastated landscapes and military areas.

Contribution to the project Forte Cultura
Humboldt University in Berlin act as manager in work package 3 (capitalising and market implementation of fortified heritage) including the coordination of concept development and cooperation to qualify the fortress management, the monument economy and financing. Its specific task is the development of a Trans-national Information System Fortresses, a universal centralised database of the fortified heritage in Central Europe.

ECCOFORT European Cooperation Centre of Fortified Heritage reg.ass.

Competences
The European Cooperation Centre of Fortified Heritage (ECCOFORT) is a non-profit NGO of experts and institutions to promote the transnational cooperation in the field of fortified cultural heritage. ECCOFORT initiates and manages cooperation projects, advices fortress organisations in the fields of utilisation concepts, of development of fortress tourism and of effective fortress marketing.

Contribution to the project Forte Cultura
ECCOFORT is the manager of work package 5: development of the cultural route “Forte Cultura” as a tourist package to visit fortresses between the Baltic and the Adriatic Sea. It includes the branding of a new tourist label, the tools for route organisation, the creation of marketing products and websites as well as the set up of a management body. Furthermore ECCOFORT develops innovative e-marketing platform for the fortified heritage in Central Europe.

Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia Department of Monument
Protection

Competences
The institute was established under the past Cultural Heritage Service with 7 regional offices and a Conservation Centre with a Restoration Centre, a Research Institute and a Preventive Archaeology Centre. They perform public services in the area of protection and conservation of immovable cultural heritage as well as the related movable and intangible heritage.

Contribution to the project Forte Cultura
The Institute acts as manager in work package 6 (Exploitation of traditional knowledge and expertise for fortified heritage protection), including a deficit analysis in the knowledge of reconstruction, renovation and protection technologies. A new centralised database for best practices in fortress restoration using historical technologies will be created and established in the institute. The project results should be published in a handbook illustrating typical historical technologies of fortress restoration.