Historic buildings and sites are not per se significant parts of cultural heritage. They only become so when certain values are associated with them. Monument values are as dynamic as the society that produces them. The lecture traces the historical development of monument recognition and preservation in Switzerland since 1798.
Learning objective
Students will be able to name the most important actors in Swiss heritage conservation and describe developments in the field. They know methodological approaches and can place them in their historical context. They can identify the necessary principles and instruments in different situations and use them in their professional environment.
Content
In the 20th century, the most important impulses for the theory and practice of restoration came from the Federal Commission for the Preservation of Monuments, whose theoretical discourse and work are traced in detail. However, the activities of the cantons, private-law organisations and universities are also examined within the course. The institutionalisation of monument preservation is analysed in the context of social developments, whereby the evolution of its self-image from a patriotic civic duty in the age of industrialisation to monument preservation as environmental protection in the sustainability discourse of the 21st century is also examined. In the second half of the semester, the theoretical foundations, actors and instruments that are relevant in Switzerland today will be presented and their interaction explained. Central questions will be examined in greater depth using concrete case studies. Among others, the following will be discussed: the restoration of Chillon Castle from 1897; the mountain village restoration of Vrin in 1944; the restoration of the Augustinian Church in Zurich in 1958; the controversy surrounding the reconstruction of the Predigerchor in Zurich in 1987; the extension of the Stadtcasino Basel (2016-2020); the struggle for the preservation of medieval wooden buildings in the canton of Schwyz (2000-2021).
