Heritage Protection and Outdoor Lights
Heritage Protection and Conservation for Outdoor Lighting
Heritage conservation covers the technical, intellectual, craft, and artistic measures needed to preserve cultural monuments. Heritage protection, by contrast, refers to the legal provisions intended to ensure that conservation happens. Owners of listed properties are obligated under heritage protection law to preserve their monument, so it's essential to contact the responsible heritage authority early on, before planning any outdoor lighting. These authorities are glad to help and advise on finding the right outdoor light, lantern, wall light, or post light.
Heritage Protection in Germany
Because cultural affairs fall under the authority of the individual states, heritage protection and its legislation are matters for Germany's federal states (Länder).
Heritage Protection in Austria
In Austria, heritage protection is a federal matter. Under the title "Protection of Monuments Due to Their Historical, Artistic, or Other Cultural Significance (Denkmalschutzgesetz – DMSG)," this federal law governs the affairs of the Federal Monuments Office (Bundesdenkmalamt) and the Monuments Advisory Board (Denkmalbeirat).
Heritage Protection in Switzerland
In Switzerland, the cantons are responsible for heritage protection. At the federal level, the Federal Act on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage (Natur- und Heimatschutzgesetz, NHG) provides a framework within which the individual cantons enact their own laws.
For other Countries
If in doubt, please contact your local heritage protection authority.
Finding the Right Outdoor Light
Anyone who wants to get an initial sense of which type of outdoor light might suit their listed property, without contacting the authorities right away, has a few options:
- Are there historical photographs or plans showing the property's original, period outdoor lighting?
- What antique outdoor lanterns hang on neighboring listed buildings, or are used for street lighting nearby?
- What does the antique outdoor lighting in the old town look like? Is it, for example, a so-called Schinkel lantern — the hexagonal lantern type with a crowned arcade top, seen in countless variations from Kiel to Zurich? Or, as is typical especially in rural areas of southern Germany and Austria, is the barn-light style with a reflector and cylinder glass more common? Or do plain, square lanterns define the streetscape instead — as in Munich, for example? Or is it more likely round-shade lanterns with cylinder glass, as in Hamburg?
This can only serve as initial orientation, though — the heritage authorities must always be involved when planning outdoor lighting for a listed property.
We've already equipped many listed houses and parks with the right outdoor lighting, and we're happy to help with yours too.
