UNESCO
Techno and mountaineering now heritage
The entrance area to Club Berghain: Culture is lived here. photo
© Britta Pedersen/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
The intangible cultural heritage in Germany has grown. In addition to Berlin’s techno culture, numerous other regional traditions were also included in the directory.
Berlin’s techno culture and mountaineering in Saxony are now part of the intangible cultural heritage Germany. The federal and state culture ministers have expanded the nationwide directory accordingly.
According to information, the Finsterwalder singing tradition in Brandenburg, the Kirchseeoner Perchtenlauf in Bavaria, the Schwalm whitework from Hesse and the Viez, and winemaking from apples, pears or quinces in the Moselle-Franconian region were also recorded.
Since 2003, there has been an agreement on the preservation of intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, the United Nations agency responsible for culture. Germany has been a party to the contract since 2013. The nationwide directory, which now has 150 entries, honors creative, inclusive and innovative forms of culture. Individual entries from the national registers can be proposed for one of three international UNESCO lists.
“Culture is lived every day in Germany,” said the chairman of the Conference of Culture Ministers, Hesse’s Culture Minister Timon Gremmels (SPD). “The most recent entries underline the diversity and vibrancy of cultural practices.” Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) sees the list supplemented by important cultural forms. “The new additions not only illustrate the regional diversity and thematic breadth of the lived culture in Germany, they also represent an expanded concept of culture,” said the Green politician, referring to the inclusion of Berlin techno culture.