Monument Day

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The onion of the Glanegg castle chapel has been restored - five guided tours reveal more on Monument Day on Sunday, September 29 - from 10.30 am every two hours until 6.30 pm.

(Bild: Burgverein Glanegg)

On just one day a year, the doors of special buildings are open: Monument Day. What is on offer in Carinthia and why craftsmanship helps us to move away from the throwaway and repair society.

"The special tour of Dornbach Castle - one of the few moated castles in Carinthia - is fully booked," says Geraldine Klever from the Federal Monuments Office in Carinthia. Nothing better could happen to an organizer! This shows the great interest of Carinthians in visiting and marveling at special buildings that are often privately owned and therefore not usually open to the public.

The Day of Monuments has been making this possible throughout Austria for 26 years. In Carinthia, guided tours for adults and children's programs will be offered at 18 extraordinary locations this year. The motto is: "HAND//WERK gedacht + gemacht" (HAND//WORK thought + done), because craftsmanship and restoration are the foundations of monument preservation.

"Basically, we want to move away from a throwaway society and towards a repair society," says Klever, recalling the trend of taking broken things to a repair café or using the repair bonus. Restoring old things and working with sustainable, organic materials is part of everyday life in heritage conservation. "At the Mauerbach Charterhouse near Vienna, the Federal Monuments Office offers courses in traditional techniques for craftspeople," says Klever.

Monument

The term monument covers a broad spectrum, from Stone Age burial grounds to Classical Modernist residential buildings, and refers to unique structures that have cultural and economic value.

Monument protection does not restrict the existing use.

Conversions are possible to a certain extent.

Restoration can be subsidized.

On September 25, 1923, the National Council of the Republic of Austria passed the Monument Protection Act to protect cultural heritage in the public interest.

The Monuments Office emerged from the k.k. Central Commission.

Old craftsmanship was also in demand at Glanegg Castle, the third largest fortified complex in Carinthia after Hochosterwitz and Landskron: the onion dome of the castle chapel was rebuilt based on an old photograph.

Sustainable materials and traditional craftsmanship are part of everyday life for the Moravi family, who are renovating an 800-year-old town house in Friesach and already live in it.

(Bild: Jürgen Moravi BDA)

Back in the Middle Ages, wine was served at the Vulgo Weinwirth in Tiffen to pilgrims on the Way of St. James. "The business obviously flourished; the farm was given a prestigious makeover at the end of the 16th century," says Werner Rauchenwald about the Tiffnerhof, which has been in the family for nine generations. Arcades, sgraffito plasterwork and vaults with floral stucco will be explained by building historian Jürgen Moravi from the Federal Monuments Office on Monument Day (2pm and 4pm).

Provincial curator Gorazd Živkovič leads us through the Middle Hall of the Klagenfurt Concert Hall: the halls, which opened in 1900, were badly damaged by bombs during the Second World War and then rebuilt in a slightly different way. In 2020, the Middle Hall, formerly known as the Mozart Hall, was restored and the original room was discovered and restored under six layers. The special guided tour with music starts at 10 am. Registration under: 0463/ 53616302.

Every year, someone celebrates their birthday on Monument Day, comes with family and friends and enjoys an exciting guided tour.

Geraldine Klever vom Bundesdenkmalamt in Kärnten

Violin maker Johanna de Hoop (guided tour: 2.15 p.m.) and shoemaker Sepp Götz (guided tour: 4.15 p.m.) let you look over their shoulders in the crafts museum in Liesing in Lesachtal. Cobbler show: 2 to 5 pm.

Castle and palace
Clay building specialist Peter Breidenbach is the owner of Großkirchheim Castle, which he will be guiding visitors through from 10 am to 6 pm. Next to it is the "Schlössl" of Maria Hauser, which also opens its doors (10 am - 6 pm).

In 1964, Anton Mahringer was commissioned by the Drau power plants to create a mosaic in collaboration with the Spilimbergo mosaic school, which can now be seen at the Kelag headquarters - Paul Mahringer gives a guided tour at 3 pm.

There are guided tours of the excavations at Burgbichl Irschen at 10 am and 2 pm. The question is still: where did the ivory on the marble shrine, which was discovered in 2022, come from?

Peter Wiesflecker has a lot to say about the Millonig field chapel in Achomitz from 2.30 pm.

More and more people are coming to us and asking if they can join us on Monument Day. The program also includes some things that are not listed, but are highly interesting.

Geraldine Klever

Archaeologist Stephan Karl gives a guided tour of the Spitzelofen marble quarry in the Lavanttal, where tools can also be seen (10 am and 2 pm).

Children are in the right place at the Lavanthaus museum, mining enthusiasts at the museum in Bad Bleiberg. The Leonhardi Church in Bad St. Leonhard, the Nazi memorial in Greifenburg, the scythe museum in Himmelberg (3 pm), the open-air museum in Maria Saal and the stone house in Steindorf also welcome visitors on Monument Day on Sunday (September 29) - with free admission. Program details: https://tagdesdenkmals.at/programm?bundesland=K%C3%A4rnten&q=