30/09/2026
Herrnhut: Restrained Baroque, a worldwide legacy
Symmetrical Baroque settlements and a clear architectural language shaped by the Christian community, with the prayer hall as a recurring focal point: within a short period of time, settlements were established from Herrnhut in the Lausitz that remain connected across countries and continents to this day. In this interview, Dr Uwe Koch, President of Europa Nostra Germany, discusses both living and endangered cultural heritage, the light and dark sides of the Moravian Church’s missionary history, and the new connections that can emerge at denkmal in Leipzig.
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30/09/2026
Preserving knowledge, safeguarding cultural heritage: Traditional craftsmanship in Saxony
How can traditional craft knowledge be preserved and passed on to the next generation? In an interview with Ron Claus from the Leipzig Chamber of Crafts – a long-standing denkmal exhibitor – we explore training, hands-on experience, digital knowledge transfer, and the importance of international exchange for heritage conservation.
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24/08/2026
Slate for historic roofs – Does its origin matter?
Restoring a historic slate roof is far from straightforward. The “original” slate from the quarries of the past is often no longer being extracted. So, how to deal with this? One option is to repair the existing roof. The other is to re-roof it. New slate is available, for example, from Spain. However, who extracts it and, above all, how important is its origin? And is that really the key question when it comes to slate?
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24/08/2026
“The bridge we are building is called communication”
How can innovations in heritage conservation be brought into practice more quickly? And why is dialogue between science and the skilled trades so crucial to this process? In this interview, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Stahr of HTWK Leipzig talks about DENK(M)AreaL, one of the new features at this year’s denkmal, and about the question of how much heritage we can still afford.
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24/08/2026
The colours of Protestant Baroque in a Jena crypt – and online
Four Baroque coffins stand in the princely crypt of St. Michael’s Church in Jena. They tell the story of a ruling family that governed Saxe-Jena for just 18 years, of Protestant burial culture and of an arson attack dating back to the GDR era. In recent years, the coffins have undergone a restoration process and, beyond that, have been digitally documented. The digital colour reconstruction shows just how magnificent burials could be in Baroque Jena – a city that sought to emulate Versailles at the time.
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24/08/2026
Applying technology? How Benediktbeuern brings research into practice
How can historic buildings be made more energy-efficient without compromising their architectural heritage value? What opportunities do digital technologies and artificial intelligence offer? And how can new knowledge be effectively transferred into heritage conservation practice? Volker Schweizer and Claudia Neuwald-Burg from the Fraunhofer Information Centre for Planning and Building IRB discuss these questions. Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP, the IRB operates the Fraunhofer Centre for Energy-Efficient Renovation of Existing Buildings and Heritage Conservation in Benediktbeuern. There, the IRB develops formats for sharing specialist knowledge, building expertise and testing new learning technologies. At denkmal 2026, the partners will bring the Benediktbeuern learning site to Leipzig virtually.
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