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OH-H06 ALEMANIA Magdeburg CONS/STUDY 04/08/2019 17/08/2019

Traditional Wooden Techniques

Erxleben Castle

CONS/STUDY  04.08. - 17.08.2019   

 OH-H06   

 

Restoration of historic windows and doors
 in a Renaissance castle

 ACCOMMODATION: shared rooms with beds, warm showers, toilets in the community centre

LOCATION: Next town: Magdeburg (40 km)

Region: Sachsen-Anhalt

TERMINAL:

Next railway station: Magdeburg

Next airport: Hanover (HAJ, 118 km); 

AGE: at least 18

FEE: 40,00 €

Motivation letter related to the project 
and CV + photo required

 

Erxleben Castle is an originally mediaeval mooted castle that was built by the Alvensleben family which lived there till 1945. Afterwards it was used as a technical school, and since 1990 it had been out of use. 

 

Relevant parts of the castle – also called “Joachimsbau” (Joachim’s building) – are dating back to Late Gothic., Renaissance and Baroque periods. A “donjon” from the 14thcentury is still preserved as well as a big Renaissance hall. The building contents medieval fire places, spiral staircases and sandstone door frames from the Late Gothic period, roof constructions from Renaissance time, a Renaissance kitchen with huge fireplaces and chimneys, Baroque stucco ceilings, a library in a neo-Romanic style, ornamental paintings from the early 20thcentury – all showing the high historic and architectural quality of the castle which belongs to the most important heritage sites of the region. 

 

Due to lack of maintenance the castle was highly endangered – roofs and ceilings were damaged, walls in decay. Beside the imminent loss of an important heritage site, the dramatic situation of the castle had negative influence on the image of the community and lead to a decreasing identification of the inhabitants with their village. The community, consisting of seven villages with all together less than 3, 000 inhabitants, could not effort the needed preservation of the castle on its own. 

 

Thus in 2015, Deutsches Fachwerkzentrum Quedlinburg (German Half-Timber Centre Quedlinburg) started with interventions and achieved while repairing the ceilings, the roof construction and the roof as a first step the constructive stabilization of the building and it s protection against climatic influences. Currently, the step-by-step preservation of the interior of the building is going on.   

 

 

Heritage Projects

 

Traditional Wooden Techniques

Erxleben Castle

The project consist of two parts– a practical working partwhich will last 6 hours per day and a study part, which takes place in the evenings and during weekends.

 

For more than fifteen years Deutsches Fachwerkzentrum Quedlinburg, a non-profit association, has been working on the preservation and restoration of historic buildings as an authentic living testimony of architectural heritage. Practical work and seminars take place at cultural heritage sites of national significance in Saxony-Anhalt. While doing so, Deutsches Fachwerkzentrum’s approach is characterized by the use of sustainable and resource conserving technologies for the preservation of historic buildings. In addition, Deutsches Fachwerkzentrum aims not only to protect and sensitively to restore heritage sites, to convey their value and significance and to teach traditional crafts, but to involve in the process people of different origin and different cultural backgrounds as for instance when involving refugees in the preservation of monuments.    

 

The project will focus on the restoration of a Renaissance hallwhich had been used during the second half of the 20thcentury as class room. By careful restoration the room shall be transformed into a Renaissance hall again. During the Training Course “Traditional Wood Techniques” the participants will gain practical skills in restoration of historic windows

 

They will learn methods as boat-shaped insetting, the use of fish and bone gluein the restoration of historical wooden elements and others. The works will focus on windows from the Baroque time as well as from 18thand 19thcenturies. Depending on the progress of the work the restoration of doorscan be included in the programme, too. In addition, therestoration of historical half-timbered structuresfrom the 18thcentury will be taught. The participants will gain theoretical knowledge about traditional timber jointssuch as mortise and tenon joints and gain practical skills in their restoration. 

 

The Training Course will be lead by conservators and masters of handicraft. Within the framework of the educational programme, excursions to heritage sites restored by Deutsches Fachwerkzentrum will be organised.