Department of Heritage Conservation Studies

The Department of Heritage Conservation Studies is concerned with the various aspects of conserving and preserving historic architecture -- and heritage in the wider sense -- and with the protection of cultural assets. At the centre of research and teaching in Bamberg is the historical object in its traditional materiality as the necessary focus of all efforts at conservation and preservation. Emphasis is also placed on the cultural and social processes of value ascription and negotiation that produce heritage and that are subject to constant change.

Researching, safeguarding and communicating architectural and urban heritage are tasks which can only be fulfilled, in our opinion, by a broadly interdisciplinary approach, as represented by the seven professorships of the Department:



The research priorities of the four professorships are reflected in the divisions of the Centre for Heritage Conservation Studies and Technologies (KDWT).  

In addition, the Department of Heritage Conservation Studies has its own dendrochronological laboratory (German only), which has made Bamberg a leading centre for the research and dating of historical timber structures, particularly timber frameworks and roofs.