On 5th September, the 25th edition of the Romanesque Award Ceremony of the Route of the Romanesque in Saxony-Anhalt took place at St. Mary’s Church of Naumburg Cathedral. Every year, the Ministry of Economy, Science and Digitalisation Saxony-Anhalt as well as the Tourism Association of Saxony-Anhalt honour outstanding commitment dedicated to raising the awareness for the Route of the Romanesque. The winners were selected from a total of 18 suggestions.
We congratulate the awardees of the following prices:
Special Award of the Ministry of Economy, Science and Digitalisation:
Presented by Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann (Minister of Science), the Quedlinburger Tourismus Marketing GmbH for the “Kloster St. Marien – ein Museum macht Geschichte erlebbar” project (Monastery of St. Mary – a museum makes history come alive) received this Award for a successful symbiosis of private, voluntary and communal commitment, achieved through excellent work with the „Klosterkirche auf dem Münzenberg e. V.“. This museum is one of the most unusual places along the Route of the Romanesque. Erected in 986 with the foundation of the Benedictine monastery, it existed until 1536 and was used for profane purposes in the centuries that followed. It was rebuilt with twelve residential buildings being built over the original one and besides. From 1994, on the basis of a private initiative of the married couple Behrens, the essential parts of the monastery church that had been preserved and were made accessible to the public again. The aim of the association, which was founded in 2003 by residents and sponsors of the Munzenberg, is to make the museum accessible to the citizens and visitors of the city of Quedlinburg within regular opening times and as a part of public, city and night watchman tours. This has largely succeeded for many years without municipal subsidies or other public funds, but only through membership fees and donations.
Golden Romanesque Award:
Förderkreis Klosterbauhütte Merseburg e.V.
The „Förderkreis Klosterbauhütte Merseburg e. V.“ has been honored for its voluntary work around the St. Petri Monastery in Merseburg. With a history of over 1200 years, St. Petri is one of the oldest and largest Romanesque buildings in the city of Merseburg. When the local history museum moved out in 1960, the cultural use of the monastery ended. This circumstance changed with the establishment of the „Förderkreis Klosterbauhütte Merseburg e. V.“. The association re-integrated the monastery into the public life of the city and the region, preserved the historically extremely valuable building structure and made it accessible. It has set itself the goal of not only reviving the Monastery of St. Petri, but also of preserving it as a place of cultural and artistic creation.
Silver Romanesque Award:
Verein Gelebtes Mittelalter Ballenstadt
The first Silver Romanesque Award honered the association „Gelebtes Mittelalter e. V.“ (Living Middle Ages Association‘). It was consecrated in 2009 and has inspired the visitors since then in different locations, like at the Romanesque location Burg Falkenstein (Falkenstein Castle). The aim of the association is to teach and convey historical customs and to acquire knowledge. Its approximately 50 volunteer employees, including many children and teenager, are intensively connected to the time of the Middle Ages. What convinced the jury was the age-independent comprehension with the topic of the Middle Ages The focus lies on dealing with children and young people through the imaginative implementation and communication of historical content. The award was accepted by Aron Steinki, from the society for the promotion, and Joachim Schymalla, director of the “Museum Burg Falkenstein” (Falkenstein Castle Museum).
Fotoclub Magdeburg 07
The second Silver Romanesque Award was accepted by Anja Koch on behalf of the „Fotoclub 07 Magdeburg“ (Photo Club 07 Magdeburg) . Particular in the last five years, the Photo Club has made a significant contribution to enlivening the Route of the Romanesque by providing impetus through outstanding, voluntarily made and professionally designed photos to support the Route of the Romanesque in public relations. Since 2014, the members have visited and photographed all sites along the Northern and the Southern Route of the Romanesque in Saxony-Anhalt. As a result, several exhibitions were designed and organized in the state representations of Saxony-Anhalt in Berlin and in Brussels.
Reinhard Schmitt
With the third Silver Romanesque Award Reinhard Schmitt was honered for his voluntary research repertoire and the extensive publications on building and art history topics in Central Germany. He has published over 450 publications on architectural and art history topics and has also done fundamental work for the methodology and knowledge transfer of research work on Romanesque Heritage. For the last 40 years he has put his voluntary work in the service of deepening knowledge of the preservation, documentation and communication of medieval cultural treasures in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The laudatory speech for the winners of the Romanesque Awards was hold by Lars-Jörn Zimmer, Member of the German Bundestag and Chairman of the Tourism Association of Saxony-Anhalt. The guests of the 25th Award Ceremony were welcomed by Roland Thrän, winner of the Golden Romanesque Award 2018. Götz Ulrich, District Administrator of the Burgenland district addressed the festival community with a warm welcome. Dr. Horst Rehberger, former Minister retd. and co-founder of the Route of the Romanesque Saxony-Anhalt remembered of the foundation 25 years ago. The words about the foundation of the Romanesque Award hold Dr. Marcus Faber, Member of the German Bundestag and Deputy Chairman of the FDP State Association of Saxony-Anhalt.
The ceremony was framed by a musical performance of the montealbâne Ensemble.
