Bread, carnival and shooting clubs: The German cultural heritage list is intended to honor creative, inclusive and innovative forms of culture. Now the directory is getting subcultural growth.
Berlin techno culture is one of six new entries on the list of intangible cultural heritage in Germany. According to its own information, the Conference of Federal States Ministers of Culture decided this together with Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth.
Also new on the list: mountaineering in Saxony, the Finsterwalder singing tradition in Brandenburg, the Kirchseeoner Perchtenlauf in Bavaria, Schwalm whitework from Hesse and the Viez, winemaking from apples, pears or quinces in the Moselle-Franconian region. There are now 150 entries in the list that show the diversity of cultural life in Germany.
Schwalm whitework dates back to the 19th century and is widespread in northern Hesse.
Over the course of the 1980s, the Berlin club scene developed into one of the world’s leading nucleus of the techno subculture that was popular at the time. The electronic music genre became a kind of soundtrack of the years of change after German reunification, symbolized by legendary clubs such as the “Tresor”, which opened in 1991, and the annual Love Parade.
Roth: Part of the cultural wealth
Roth praised the new recordings as an important sign of an expanded concept of culture that opposes “the absurd separation” between serious culture and entertainment culture. The reception of Berlin techno culture is typical of this. “Whether it’s subculture or traditional craft techniques, it’s all part of our country’s cultural wealth,” she explained in Berlin.
“The most recent entries underline the diversity and liveliness of cultural practices,” emphasized the current chairman of the Conference of Culture Ministers, Hesse’s department head Timon Gremmels (SPD). “The list of our intangible heritage continues to grow and with it the commitment to maintain traditions and preserve them in the long term for future generations.” Culture is “lived every day” in Germany.
From hip hop to carnival
Since 2003, there has been an agreement on the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO, the United Nations organization responsible for culture. Germany has been a party to the contract since 2013. The nationwide directory honors creative, inclusive and innovative forms of culture, including the hip-hop culture from Heidelberg, the Oberammergau Passion Play, the Rhenish carnival, the bakery and bread baking culture and the German shooting club tradition.