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The preservation of cultural heritage is a central task of cultural policy at all levels. Especially within the framework of monument preservation and in museums, the tangible evidence of cultural traditions is promoted and illustrated. Cultural infrastructure: monuments, museums, world heritage list According to the report on building culture, monument protection and monument preservation (2017), there are approximately 1 million individual buildings gardens, land, movable monuments and monument areas in Germany, 63 per cent of which are architectural monuments another 37 per cent are ground monuments. The proportion of listed buildings in the building stock is 2.9 per cent. According... read more →

After the Bundestag elections in autumn 2021, the new coalition agreement concluded between the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Bündnis90 / Die Grünen and the Free Democratic Party of Germany under the title "Mehr Fortschritt wagen. Alliance for Freedom, Justice and Sustainability", the following priotiries for cultural policy were agreed upon: "We want to make culture possible with everyone by ensuring its diversity and freedom, regardless of form of organisation or expression, from classical music to comics, from Low German to record shops. We are convinced that cultural and artistic impulses can promote the awakening of our society, they inspire... read more →

Cultural diversity in general Cultural diversity has become increasingly important in Germany in recent years. This can be seen in a variety of publications[1], studies[2], programmes[3], events and projects by cultural institutions[4] on this topic. In 2013, a separate institution on diversity was established in North Rhine-Westphalia - the Zukunfts-akademie NRW as a centre for diversity in art, culture and cultural education – which, however, ceased to work due to the end of funding in late 2019, with the dossiers and handouts created remaining as a store of knowledge on the academy’s internet platform. Other important players in this area... read more →

In addition to the long-standing international town twinning arrangements, there are now bi- or multilateral partnerships of regional actors (e.g. municipal communities) with comparable territorial authorities of other states in many German states, primarily but not exclusively in Europe. This cross-border cultural exchange is particularly lively in the so-called "Euregios" (Germany is involved in 26 European regions), e.g. EuRegio Saar-Lor-Lux-Rhine, Euregio Egrensis, Euroregion Erzgebirge e. V., Euroregion Elbe / Labe and the Euroregion Spree-Neiße- Bober. Since the 1970s, many private actors, professional associations (e.g. theatres, museums or libraries) and informal networks have begun to develop their own international relations and... read more →

International cooperation in the cultural field has gained importance in recent years. In February 2007, the German Bundestag adopted the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and, at the same time, the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property) (see also Chapter 4.2.2). In December 2012, the Federal Cabinet decided on Germany's accession to the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Europe-wide cooperation in the field of culture has developed since 1992 on the basis of... read more →

Article 32 (1) of the Basic Law states: "The maintenance of relations with foreign states is a federal responsibility". According to this article, the federal authorities and parliament are responsible for foreign cultural policy. Nevertheless, the structures of the Federal Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy (AKBP) reflect the social diversity and independence of the actors: the Federal Government creates the framework conditions for cultural and educational work abroad through strategic guidelines, and the implementation is then carried out by partner or intermediary organisations. The most important partners include the Goethe Institute, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Institute for... read more →

In view of the cultural policy autonomy of the Länder - and also of the municipalities - the scope and focus of cultural support can vary greatly from Land to Land and from municipality to municipality. Although there are numerous committees at the various levels of cultural policy, binding agreements in the form of committee resolutions or binding recommendations are extremely rare in the cultural sector. The exchange of experience - and to a certain extent voluntary self-coordination - is ensured at the level of the Länder by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of... read more →

According to Article 30 of the German Basic Law, "cultural sovereignty" lies with the federal states (Länder), and is regarded as the core of the Länder' sovereignty (see 1.2.1). Each of the 16 federal states has its own cultural policies, which are characterized by their respective legislation, their own priorities and differently structured funding: All of the 16 federal states (Bundesländer) have their own Parliaments, Parliamentary Committees that deal with cultural affairs and Ministries responsible for culture. As a rule, culture is combined at the Ministerial level with other policy areas, mainly education or science. In such cases, there are... read more →

The tasks of the Federal Government in the field of cultural policy are concentrated in the following areas: representation of the state as a whole, establishing a regulatory framework for the development of art and culture, promoting cultural institutions and projects relevant to the state as a whole, preserving and protecting cultural heritage, foreign cultural policy, fostering historical awareness and promoting Berlin as a capital city. In 1998, the Federal Government created, for the first time, a Federal Government Commissioner for Cultural Affairs and the Media (today: Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media / die Beauftragte für Kultur... read more →

Germany is a federally organised country with different levels of government: the federal state or federation (i.e. the national authorities, parliament, etc.),the federal states (as autonomous states),and the municipalities (cities, municipalities, districts). The German Constitution (Grundgesetz) sets out the division of responsibilities and competences between the different levels of government. Article 30 of the German Constitution assigns most competencies to the federal states (Länder): "the exercise of state powers and competencies is a matter for the federal states (Länder), except where specifically stipulated or permitted by the German Constitution". At the moment, there is no general constitutional clause giving the... read more →