The selected stakeholders are companies that work hard in the filed of promotion and protection of cultural heritage from the risks that threaten it, heritage conservation institutes, associations of activists involved in the fight against climate change and many many more. Each stakeholder will have a fundamental role for the realization of the project activities: the vast experience and knowledge of the professionals involved will bring greater qualitative value to the project results.
Burghauptmannschaft Österreich, the sustainable conservation of Austria’s cultural heritage
Today we present one of the stakeholders who wanted to support us in the implementation of the project’s activities: Burghauptmannschaft Österreich, a subordinate entity of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy of Austria.
The Burghauptmannschaft Österreich guarantees the sustainable preservation of the architectural heritage of the Republic of Austria and therefore takes care of holistic construction and property management for the preservation of the historical building fabric, taking into account contemporary requirements and the different needs of the users of the buildings.
In the field of tension between modern use, monument protection and revitalization of the historic building fabric, the Burghauptmannschaft Österreich works flexibly, competently, economically and expediently.
Due to the existing know-how, experience and intensive cooperation with other institutions and civil engineers, tailor-made solutions are developed, while maintaining state and cultural policy interests, which are used in the following business areas: sustainable preservation of the cultural heritage of the Republic of Austria; sustainable management of the cultural heritage of the Republic of Austria; sustainable culture and tourism in the cultural heritage of the Republic of Austria; presentation of the historic building substance.
We interviewed them to learn more about the organization and to know its position on the issues that will be dealt with in the project, as well as on the reasons that led to collaborate in the activities.
What is the mission of your Organisation and how does it support cultural heritage?
The Burghauptmannschaft takes care of the transferred architectural heritage of the Republic of Austria. The Burghauptmannschaft Österreich is a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Economics.
With a change in the law in 2000, those buildings and properties within and outside of Austria that are part of Austria’s cultural and historical heritage were transferred to the Burghauptmannschaft Österreich. Among them are the Hofburg Vienna, the Federal Chancellery and the Belvedere Palace as well as the government building on the Stubenring (former Imperial and Royal Ministry of War) and several palaces in Vienna.
The Imperial Hofburg in Innsbruck, Ambras Castle, Hof Castle and the former Mauthausen concentration camp are among the 105 properties in total. Due to their structural condition, the properties managed by the Burghauptmannschaft Österreich have limited usability, are subject to certain international or legal obligations or are used by the supreme organs of the federal government for state political or sovereign tasks.
The central tasks of the Burghauptmannschaft Österreich include sustainable maintenance and management as well as sustainable culture and tourism in the architectural heritage of the Republic of Austria.
What kind of initiatives related to any field of cultural heritage does your Organisation promote or is actively involved in?
In addition to the core task of preserving historical walls as best as possible, the Burghauptmannschaft Österreich has initiated, accompanied and implemented numerous (EU) projects since 2013.
As a result, important concerns such as further education in the field of preservation of historic buildings could be tackled and implemented. In addition to EU projects, the Burghauptmannschaft Österreich has also given space to other innovative ideas and artistic expression, which has resulted in diverse and exciting synergies.
On our website, you will find all current and previous (EU) projects of the Burghauptmannschaft Österreich. You can also find information in the International Projects newsletter. You can find out more about our partners in the Project Partners section. You can find themed events under Events International.
Our current projects:
BIMherit: is the creation of a guideline for the introduction of BIM, especially for historic buildings, which should offer concrete guidelines for the introduction of BIM in historic buildings in Austria and should be generally applicable in heritage buildings
COL: The aim of the project is to set up the Center for the Renewal of the Common Cultural Heritage (COL).
Erasmus+ project VI-TRAIN: meets the challenge of developing innovative training courses for traditional and/or endangered crafts and dealing with structural damage
FLIP 2 – INCREAS: ensures the active continuation of the measures taken in recent years and represents the development of the cultural heritage sector at the European level. The goal is a European competence centre for practical monument preservation
PRO-Heritage: makes it its mission to protect traditional craftsmanship and pass it on to the next generation
Our international cooperation projects:
European Heritage Label: recognizes important historic sites in European history
European Heritage Volunteers: for over 20 years they have been trying to establish a connection between volunteering and the preservation of cultural heritage
Does your Organisation policy advocate for sustainability and resilience in view of climate change?
Culture
The BHÖ, as a real estate manager of historic buildings, guarantees the long-term preservation of Austria’s cultural heritage. As early as the planning phase, consideration is given to the preservation and conservation of natural resources.
Construction and energy
The close cooperation with the Federal Monuments Office guarantees the preservation of the historical structure. As part of our construction projects, we maintain ecological and economic balance throughout the planning process. The use of renewable energies, ecological materials and the protection of natural habitats are a matter of course for us.
Waste and the environment
By using new collection and/or sorting systems, we take precautions to avoid, recycle and separate waste and develop disposal concepts with the involvement of the customers concerned.
Customers/employees
Our dedicated environmental team works continuously on improvements and optimizations and is available to our employees and customers as a central point of contact. We motivate, inform and train our employees to act in an environmentally friendly manner and involve them in improvement measures. We support our customers to act energy-efficiently in the use of the objects and to implement environmental projects together in other objects managed by us.
Right
We continuously work to improve and save resources, find ideas and subject ourselves to internal and external controls. We are committed to complying with environmental regulations. However, our responsibility goes far beyond the legal environmental regulations.
In your opinion, what could be the main skill(s) and expertise that a Risk Manager of Cultural Heritage should have?
A cultural heritage risk manager should have the following skills and expertise:
– Understanding, sensitivity and appreciation for the movable but also the immovable cultural heritage of a country.
– Understanding of building culture and traditional crafts.
– Knowledge of civil protection, especially the fire brigade.
– In addition, specialist knowledge of historical building physics and statics.
– Knowledge of the geographic characteristics of an area.
