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Welcome to the February issue of the newsletter!
This year is FRH's 10th year anniversary and to celebrate this, we'll be sharing a news article and flashback every month. We've also put together a timeline on our website in order to highlight the milestones that FRH has reached over the last decade.
The country of the month is Germany. A country with a diverse and unique variety of religious heritage architecture. This month's featured Religiana list takes a look at one of these unique styles, the famous half-timbered churches of the state of Hesse.
Our featured article was written by FRH member Uwe Otzen and FRH founding member, the late Angus Fowler. In this article they explore the endangered religious heritage sites in our country of the month, Germany as well as the work that is being done to protect them.
We are featuring one of our newest council members this month, Andrea Longhi. Andrea is a professor at the Polytechnic University of Torino, Italy in the department of Urban and Regional Studies and Planning. In our interview, we learn about his background, the work he does, and his thoughts on protecting religious heritage.
The "Herrenhausen Digital Symposium: Reusing Churches in a European Comparison" will take place from the 15-17 of February. Join FRH members and council members in exploring a European comparison on the topic of church reuse in one of the first meetings of its kind.
The European Commission has launched the design phase of the New European Bauhaus Initiative. This initiative is an environmental, economic, and cultural project aiming to combine design, sustainability, accessibility, affordability and investment in order to help deliver the European Green Deal.
As always, we are happy to feature members in our newsletter, so feel free to submit articles, event notifications, or anything else you would like to share with the network.
Jordi Mallarach Parés
FRH Executive Officer
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Deteriorated Church, Brandenburg, Germany. Source: Uwe Otzen
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ENDANGERED CHURCHES AND OTHER PLACES OF WORSHIP IN GERMANY
Our latest featured article takes a look at the situation of restoring endangered religious heritage in our country of the month, Germany. This article was written by FRH member Dr Uwe Otzen and FRH founding member, the late Angus Fowler, both of whom were also former chairmen of the Foerderkreis Alte Kirchen Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. This article takes a look at the state of religious heritage under threat in Germany as well as the efforts that are being made to protect them. As part of our 10th year anniversary, we would like to highlight the work of our founding members whose hard work and dedication have driven FRH to become an esteemed European organisation. READ MORE >>>
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FEATURED MEMBER: ANDREA LONGHI
This month's featured council member is Andrea Longhi from the Polytechnic University of Torino in Italy where he is a professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Studies and Planning. His research activities mainly concern the history of medieval architecture and settlements, medieval urban history, historical analysis of landscapes and the heritagization processes at a regional scale. In this interview, he tells us about his work as a researcher, his passion for religious heritage and the biggest threats to religious buildings in Italy. READ MORE >>>
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10TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR
This year marks the 10th anniversary since FRH's founding as a European organisation. Over the past decade, we have made great strides in safeguarding religious heritage from conducting extensive research to advocating for the recognition of its importance at a European level. All of this could not have been done without the hard work of our founding members and council members who continue their legacy. To celebrate this anniversary year, we will be featuring a new flashback or article each month of some of the great accomplishments we have made. Additionally, we have created a timeline on our website highlighting the most important events that have happened over the last 10 years. READ MORE>>>
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HERRENHAUSEN DIGITAL SYMPOSIUM: REUSING CHURCHES - NEW PERSPECTIVES IN A EUROPEAN COMPARISON
The conference “Reusing Churches. New perspectives in European comparison”, organised by the Volkswagen Foundation, will take place from 15-17 February, online and involve both FRH members and council members. In one of the firsts of its kind, this conference will involve experts from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Great Britain who will discuss the topic of church reuse in a European comparison with the goal of developing develop new perspectives. More information can be found on the event's website. READ MORE >>>
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SMART CULTURAL TOURISM AS A DRIVER OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPEAN REGIONS
SmartCulTour (Smart Cultural Tourism as a Driver of Sustainable Development of European Regions) is an EU Horizon2020 project coordinated by, FRH member, the University KU Leuven to support regional development in European regions, including those located in rural peripheries and the urban fringe, through sustainable cultural tourism. Partners of the project include UNESCO, several universities across Europe and research centres in the field of cultural tourism. Launched in January 2020, the project will run until June 2023. READ MORE>>>
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SKIVRE MULTIPLIER EVENT
The SKIVRE multiplier event, hosted by FRH, will take place online on 19 February from 13:00 – 14:00 CET. This multiplier event is an interesting opportunity for individuals working in the field of religious heritage or anyone interested in the topic of religious heritage protection to learn about the great achievements that have been made by FRH and the partners at SKIVRE. The output that will be presented will include our implementation guide, our publication, 30 good practice examples and more. We will also be showcasing our 10 training modules that are published in four languages and provide a training session for anyone interested in using them. Registration for the event can be found on our website. READ MORE>>>
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FRH MEMBERS PROMOTE #JUMPFORHERITAGE
FRH member Stichting Oude Groninger Kerken from the Netherlands is one of many FRH members who have been working hard to promote our campaign #JUMPFORHERITAGE. They are encouraging their own members to take a photo in front of one of their 96 churches in order to raise awareness of their local religious heritage. In order to inspire other members and supporters to promote our campaign, we are conducting an interview with the head of Stichting Oude Groninger Kerken, Patty Wageman, to understand why she believes this campaign is an important way to raise awareness of religious heritage and bring joy after a difficult year. We encourage everyone to participate in this campaign and to promote it as much as possible. Several other examples of how FRH members are promoting this campaign can be found on our website. READ MORE>>>
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PARCUM CROWDFUNDING INITIATIVE
Park Abbey is one of the best preserved abbey sites in the Low Countries of Belgium. In recent years, the abbey has been undergoing much restoration and their partner organization, PARCUM, a member of FRH has taken up residence on site. Step by step, the abbey has been opening up to the general public over the years. PARCUM and Park Abbey have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the new phase of restoration, which will double the space open for visits at the monastery complex. More information is available on their website. READ MORE >>>
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THIS SECTION IS FOR MEMBERS ONLY. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A MEMBER, MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE.
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION LAUNCHES THE DESIGN PHASE OF THE NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS
The European Commission has launched the design phase of the New European Bauhaus initiative. The New European Bauhaus is an environmental, economic and cultural project, aiming to combine design, sustainability, accessibility, affordability and investment in order to help deliver the European Green Deal. The core values of the New European Bauhaus are thus sustainability, aesthetics and inclusiveness. The goal of the design phase is to use a co-creation process to shape the concept by exploring ideas, identifying the most urgent needs and challenges, and to connect interested parties. READ MORE >>>
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COMMISSION SETS UP A CENTRE FOR DIGITAL PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE
On 4 January, the Commission launched a European competence centre aiming to preserve and conserve European Cultural Heritage. The centre, which will work for a period of three years, has been granted up to €3 million from the Horizon 2020 programme. It will set up a collaborative digital space for cultural heritage conservation and give access to repositories of data, metadata, standards and guidelines. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare in Italy co-ordinates the team of 19 beneficiaries that are coming from 11 EU member states, Switzerland and Moldova. READ MORE >>>
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A NEW WAY TO REPURPOSE RELIGIOUS HERITAGE IN FLANDERS
The repurposing of religious heritage sites is one of the most efficient ways to protect them when they are no longer used for their traditional purpose. Repurposing or reuse allows these sites to be used for the development of their local communities and ultimately gives the building new life. This article explores how religious heritage sites across Flanders, Belgium are being repurposed through the detailed example of Saint-Godelieve Abbey near the city of Bruges. READ MORE >>>
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UN APPROVES GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON PROTECTING RELIGIOUS SITES
The U.N. General Assembly has adopted a resolution condemning the damage and destruction of religious sites and asking the secretary-general to convene a global conference to spearhead public support for safeguarding places of religious heritage. The resolution condemns the increasing targeting of “cultural property, including religious sites and ritual objects” often resulting in destruction as well as theft and illicit trafficking of stolen items. More information on the new laws can be found on the UN website. READ MORE >>>
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FEATURED RELIGIANA LIST: THE HALF TIMBERED CHURCHES OF HESSE
One of the most notable styles of our country of the month, Germany, is that of half-timbered architecture. The state of Hesse is notable for applying this style to its churches. We've put together a list of some of the best village churches that portray this unique style. You can view this list and many more on www.religiana.com. READ MORE >>>
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FRH MEMBER OF THE MONTH: FÖRDERKREIS ALTE KIRCHEN BERLIN-BRANDENBURG
The Förderkreis Alte Kirchen Berlin-Brandenburg eV (FAK) has set itself the task of promoting the maintenance, repair and use of church buildings. It was founded in 1990 as a non-profit and voluntary association. It is independent of the church and focuses solely on preservation. The support group finances its work from donations, membership fees, the sale of its own publications, and the proceeds from its own events. The FAK has over 633 members (427 personal members, 129 associations, 69 church congregations or circles and 8 companies). READ MORE >>>
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