Intangible Cultural Heritage
Craft techniques and customary practices of cathedral workshops, or Bauhütten, in Europe, know-how, transmission, development of knowledge and innovation
The workshop organization or Bauhüttenwesen appeared in the Middle Ages on the construction sites of European cathedrals Now as then these workshops are home to various trades working in close collaboration The term Bauhüttenwesen in German refers both to the organization of a workshop network dealing with the construction or restoration of a building and to the workshop itself as a place of work Since the end of the Middle Ages these workshops have formed a supraregional network extending beyond national borders The workshops safeguard the traditional customs and rituals of their professions as well as a wealth of knowledge transmitted across the generations both orally and in writing Faced with the progressive shortage of technical skills and in an age of increasing mechanization and cost optimization the workshops created or reestablished in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have become institutions that preserve transmit and develop traditional techniques and knowhow Their commitment to safeguarding and promoting living heritage through targeted awareness raising information and communication measures and close cooperation with shareholders in the field of politics the church monument conservation business and research can be considered as an example to be adapted and implemented in other contexts worldwide Through their organization and training system for onsite practice the workshops could be considered as a model for all types of buildings that need to be built and maintained
Norway, Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland