Rare insights on Memorial Day
All day long there are free guided tours on the subject of monument protection throughout Vienna. Among other things, you can find out how a ballroom is restored after a fire, which finds came to light during the construction of the subway and where the Habsburgs once dined in the Hofburg. Many of the monuments are already accessible on this day, but well-known monuments are also to be viewed from a new perspective through special tours.
Many of the items on the program are fully booked – but you can try to get the remaining places on the spot, according to the Federal Monuments Office. Some of the places are also accessible without guided tours: for example the small candle shop Retti on the Kohlmarkt and the traveling tramway museum. No pre-registration is required for the children’s program items such as the puzzle rally on the Academy campus.
Parallels between monument protection and climate protection
Across Austria, 280 monuments are accessible as part of Monument Day 2022. This year’s motto is “Monument ahead: Monument protection = climate protection”. According to a broadcast from the Federal Monuments Office, the preservation and care of important monuments has the same goal as climate protection: the careful use of resources. A spokeswoman said it was one of the goals of the Monuments Office that listed buildings should be used and not stand empty.
Monuments should be brought to life
The fact that the historical objects are normally not or only partially accessible to the public does not mean that they are empty. Companies, offices, religious institutions and private individuals use them as places to live and work, among other things.
Preserving historical buildings is important for the appearance of Vienna, and it is also about the architectural heritage. Architectural monuments would be repaired using natural, resource-saving and almost pollutant-free building materials. Energy efficiency in monuments should be ensured with many monument-compatible measures. The Federal Monuments Office issued its own, newly revised standard – more on this in vienna.ORF.at.
Styria: arouse curiosity about the well-known
The Federal Monuments Office has been organizing this festival since 1998. It’s not just about the beauty of the objects, but much more about the cultural, historical and artistic significance. Therefore palaces, castles and old towns such as those in Radkersburg in Styria, but also farmhouses and even bridges can be listed.
29 of these listed objects can be visited in Styria on Sunday. With free admission, curiosity should be aroused, said Karin Derler from the Federal Monuments Office: “On this day you may be able to take a look at a building that you have driven past a thousand times.”
In times of the energy crisis, monument protection should also be understood as climate protection, said Derler: “Everything that is already there needs fewer resources to be produced. That means that we are in an area of materiality that is sustainable.” Monument Day is also an important holiday to preserve Austria’s cultural heritage: “So that young people can also see what has happened, how the developments are, why we are where we are today and how we got there” – more on that in steiermark.ORF.at.
43 historical objects in Lower Austria
In Lower Austria, too, 43 historical objects are open to visitors – from castles and monasteries to mills and underground cellars. The items on the program are suitable for a broadcast for all age groups and are accessible with free admission.
Some special children’s programs are offered – for example in the Geozentrum Steinstadel in Aggsbach Dorf, in the MAMUZ in Asparn an der Zaya, in the Arnulf Rainer Museum in Baden, in the Ghega Museum in Breitenstein, in the City Museum of Korneuburg, in the Museumsdorf Krumbach, in the Kartause Mauerbach, in the Roman Museum in Mautern and in the Prehistoric Museum in Nußdorf – more on this in noe.ORF.at.