Bund Heimat und Umwelt in Germany

Federation of Homeland and the Environment in Germany (BHU)
purpose	Preserving natural and cultural landscapes and making them liveable
Chair:	Herlind Gundelach
Establishment date:	March 30, 1904
Number of members:	approx. 500,000
Seat :	Bonn
Website:	bhu.de

The Bund Heimat und Umwelt in Deutschland e. V. ( BHU ) is a German culture and nature conservation organization founded in 1904 .

The BHU acts as a mediator between the various specialist disciplines and the people in their living environment in the respective regions and forms an interface between citizens who are committed to nature and monument protection and the municipalities. The Federation of Home and Environment has declared the preservation of the cultural landscape and its elements worth protecting as its main focus. He treats his topics, which are examined in depth in specialist groups, in an interdisciplinary and practical manner.

history

On March 30, 1904, it was founded by the musician and nature conservationist Ernst Rudorff as the Bund Heimatschutz in Dresden , at the same time as the Dürerbund . As a nationwide association, it integrated regional homeland security organizations. He saw its purpose in the protection of the German homeland in its natural and historical character . Activities according to the statutes in 1904 were:

• Monument preservation
• Maintenance of the traditional rural and bourgeois building methods, preservation of the existing stock
• Protection of the landscape including the ruins
• Rescue of the native flora and fauna as well as geological peculiarities
• Folk art in the field of movable objects
• Manners, customs, festivals and costumes

The magazine Mitteilungen des Deutschen Bundes Heimatschutz ( German Federal Heritage Protection) was published in 1904, the irregular supplement of which was published in the Heimatschutz Chronik from 1923 in the magazine Die Denkmalpflege .

In 1914 the association was renamed the Deutscher Bund Heimatschutz . The architect Werner Lindner was appointed managing director until 1945 . There were several points of contact between the Völkisch movement and the organizations active in the homeland security movement. The first chairman of the Federal Homeland Security, the architect Paul Schultze-Naumburg , was also a member of the management committee of the Dürerbund, was one of the employees of the magazine Der Kunstwart and finally made a National Socialist career. In 1937 it was renamed the Deutscher Heimatbund .

In 1998 it was renamed to its current name.

structure

The BHU is the umbrella organization for other associations with the same goals and, apart from a few honorary members, has no personal members. The regional associations are members of the umbrella organization. Herlind Gundelach has been president since 2000 . Inge Gotzmann has been federal manager since December 2006 .

Regional associations

The association unites around half a million members through its regional associations. The organization of the regional associations has grown historically and differs slightly from the current territorial division of the 16 federal states. There are traditionally two regional associations each in Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Mutual membership exists with the German Castle Association .

Specialist groups

The BHU specialist groups support the content-related work of the association. The BHU member associations have taken on the sponsorship of the individual specialist groups. The respective professional group members are appointed by the sending BHU member associations and by the BHU Presidium at the suggestion of the BHU federal office. The specialist groups develop and support projects, carry out problem analyzes and lobby work.

The BHU specialist groups are:

• Building culture and monument preservation
• Digital engagement (since 2019)
• Homeland and regional research
• Intangible cultural heritage (since 2015)
• Cultural landscape, nature and environmental protection
• Media and public relations
• Language - Low German, minority languages, dialects

The temporarily set up BHU specialist group "Civic Engagement" (2010–2015) was dissolved by the general assembly in 2015, as this cross-cutting issue runs through all areas of the association.

Networks

The association is involved in networking with other institutions on a national and international level. For example, the BHU launched the German Cultural Landscape Forum . This is an information network of over 50 nationwide organizations in the field of cultural landscapes.

Projects

The following projects are examples of the activities of the BHU:

• Recording of cultural landscape: The preservation of the cultural landscape as well as the collection and inventory of cultural landscape elements is an important prerequisite for the protection of the same. Only when it is known which elements are worthy of protection and the population is involved can the existing cultural heritage be preserved. There are already some initiatives across Germany for the creation of cultural landscape cadastre and information systems. In the long term, however, it is necessary to coordinate the various surveys for better comparability and the establishment of a sustainable methodology on a European scale. The prerequisite for this is the agreement on quality standards and technical networkable systems.
• White Paper on Historic Gardens and Parks in the New Federal States; Book publication with exemplary attachments; the "first copy" was handed over to Federal President a. D. Richard von Weizsäcker and Minister of State Christina Weiss
• Forms of government shape architectural styles; Book publication that shows the connection between architecture and political leadership; the “first copy” was handed over to the President of the Bundestag, Norbert Lammert .

Publications

• Cottage gardens in rural areas - between tradition and innovation. BHU, Bonn 2018, ISBN 978-3-925374-51-7 .
• Underground cultural heritage - historical cellars. BHU, Bonn 2018, ISBN 978-3-925374-52-4 .
• The value of our floors. We love natural and cultural heritage. BHU, Bonn 2017, ISBN 978-3-925374-50-0 .
• Home - understanding the past, shaping the future. BHU, Bonn 2016, ISBN 978-3-925374-47-0 .
• Intangible cultural heritage forms the cultural landscape. BHU, Bonn 2016, ISBN 978-3-925374-48-7 .
• Cultural landscape and heritage - Conventions and their implementation in Europe. BHU, Bonn 2016, ISBN 978-3-925374-49-4 .
• Cemeteries in Germany. Discover and shape cultural heritage. BHU, Bonn 2016, ISBN 978-3-925374-42-5 .
• Natural stone - sustainable use of a valuable resource. BHU, Bonn 2015, ISBN 978-3-925374-41-8 .
• Mediation of cultural landscape to children and young people. BHU, Bonn 2015, ISBN 978-3-925374-95-1 .
• City and settlement: places of identity and home in transition. BHU, Bonn 2014, ISBN 978-3-925374-40-1 .
• Land under power. The energy transition as an opportunity for rural areas. BHU, Bonn 2014, ISBN 978-3-925374-39-5 .
• Coastal cultural landscapes: Experience the sea on the North and Baltic Seas. BHU, Bonn 2014, ISBN 978-3-925374-38-8 .
• Green Modern - Gardens and parks from the 1950s to 1970s. BHU, Bonn 2013, ISBN 978-3-925374-35-7 .
• Stone quarrying and cultural landscape. Opportunities and conflicts for natural and cultural heritage. BHU, Bonn 2013, ISBN 978-3-925374-33-3 .
• Religion and landscape. BHU, Bonn 2013, ISBN 978-3-925374-31-9 .
• How nutrition shapes our landscapes. BHU, Bonn 2013, ISBN 978-3-925374-30-2 .
• Mediation of cultural landscape to children and young people. BHU, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-925374-95-1 .
• Biodiversity - a topic for local museums. BHU, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-925374-94-4 .
• Water - the soul of a garden. BHU, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-925374-93-7 .
• Agriculture and cultural landscape. BHU, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-925374-92-0 .
• Agriculture - cultural landscape - regional food culture. BHU, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-925374-91-3 .
• Regional building culture as a contribution to the preservation of cultural landscapes. BHU, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-925374-90-6 .
• Paths to nature and culture. BHU, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-925374-89-0 .
• Cultural landscape in use. BHU, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-925374-88-3 .
• White paper on historical gardens and parks in the new federal states. BHU, Bonn 2009, ISBN 978-3-925374-69-2 .
• Historic kitchen gardens. Bean apple, houseleek, perpetual cabbage - new recipes for old kitchen gardens. BHU, Bonn 2009, ISBN 978-3-925374-86-9 .
• Communicate nature conservation in cemeteries and parks. BHU, Bonn 2009, ISBN 978-3-925374-85-2 .
• Mediation of cultural landscape. BHU, Bonn 2009, ISBN 978-3-925374-84-5 .
• Monument protection barrier-free. BHU, Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-925374-82-1 .
• Biodiversity in the village: discover, convey, promote. BHU, Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-925374-81-4 .
• Cultural landscape information systems in Germany. BHU, Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-925374-80-7 .
• Village churches in Germany. BHU, Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-925374-78-4 .
• Historic cemeteries in Germany. BHU, Bonn 2007, ISBN 978-3-925374-77-7 .
• Habitat monument. BHU, Bonn 2007, ISBN 978-3-925374-75-3 .
• Nature conservation and monument protection - two separate paths? BHU, Bonn 2005, ISBN 978-3-925374-73-9 .

Web links

• Official website of the BHU
• Publications of the BHU
• Literature from and about the federal home and environment in Germany in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bund Heimat und Umwelt in Germany. In: Bundesstiftung-Baukultur.de. Retrieved April 26, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Communications of the Federal Home Security in the journal database : 502069-4
3. ^ Deutscher Bund Heimatschutz (Ed.): Heimatschutz. Notifications of the German Federal Homeland Security. German Federation of Homeland Security, Berlin / Bremen 1908–1926, DNB 012622818 .
4. ^ The association structure of the Federation of Homeland and Environment (BHU) ( Memento from October 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive )