Terezin 2022: International Fortress Conference


Funded by the Cooperation Programme Free State of Saxony - Czech Republic 2014-2020.

COMMON EUROPEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE FORTIFIED MONUMENTS
Initiatives for Transnational Cooperation and Networking
5.-7. April 2022
The International Fortress Conference in Terezìn aims to draw attention to today's challenges for the cultural heritage of fortified monuments and to present best practices in cross-border cooperation, projects and networking.



The Fortress Conference is part of a cross-border funding project in the Euroregion Elbe/Labe DE-CZ. Project partners are Terezín - město změny, the Fortress Königstein gGmbH and the FORTE CULTURA Network.
The conference was divided into four main content topics (conference programme):
- THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF FORTIEFIED MONUMENTS IN EUROPE
Fortress Networks for the Issues of the Fortresses in Europe - THE CULTURAL HERITAGE ELBE-FORTRESSES
Cross-Border Cooperation for Fortress Tourism on the Elbe - COMMUNITY PROJECTS TO ENHANCE THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE FORTIFIED MONUMENTS
- OPENING CEREMONY OF THE EUROPEAN FORTRESS SUMMER 2022
- Visit to the Terezín Memorial National Monument and wreath-laying ceremony
- Visit to the National Monument Fortress Prague Vyšehrad
Overview of speech abstracts and speaker CVs (pdf)
Terezín Memorandum signed

During the Internationalen Fortress Conference Terezin, René Tomášek (Mayor City Terezín), Dr. Jan Roubínek (Director Terezín Memorial) and Vendula Bláhová (Director of institution “Terezin – City of Change”) signed a Memorandum for local partnership on the preservation and development of Terezín Fortress as an educational and tourist destination. The memorandum is the beginning of a long road, but Terezín has good basics and great potential as well as strong partners such as the international fortress networks FORTE CULTRA and EFFORTS. Experts from 7 countries presented European best practices and methods for the revitalisation of historic fortresses at the conference.
We Stand With Ukraine

Part of the programme was a minute's silence in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and a joint declaration against war, for human rights and democracy.
FORTE CULTURA also declared Medzhybizh Fortress in Ukraine (Державний історико - культурний заповідник "Межибіж") a new official stop on the European Cultural Route. The annual fees for this are borne by FORTE CULTURA. Together with the partner network EFFORTS Europe, a partnership initiative was also launched to connect Ukrainian fortress monuments with fortresses of the two networks on the basis of sponsorships.
European Fortress Summer 2022 started


The opening of the European Fortress Summer 2022 with gun salutes was part of the conference programme. The initiative of FORTE CULTURA and EFFORTS brings together events in over 200 European fortresses in the period from April to October.
Other components of the meeting included a visit to the Terezin Memorial in the Small Fortress and a visit to the Vyšehrad Fortress in Prague. A summary report (DE/CZ/EN) will be made available shortly.
Visit to the National Theresienstadt Memorial and wreath-laying ceremony

Visit of the National Monument Fortress Prague Vyšehrad

List of presentations:
Minute of Silence for Ukraine - Statement of the conference participants
Dirk Röder (FORTE CULTURA ass. – Network of the Culture Route Fortified Monuments, DE)
Opening Speech: The European Fortified Heritage - Distribution, categorization, significance
Dr. Hans-Rudolf Neumann (ECCOFORT – European Coopera-tion Centre of Fortified Heritage, Founder FORTE CULTURA, ICOMOS / ICOFORT Germany)
Dirk Röder (FORTE CULTURA – Network of the Culture Route Fortified Monuments, DE)
EFFORTS Europe Network: European Federation of Fortified Sites “From stronghold to welcoming arms”
Rafaël Deroo (EFFORTS Europe)
Dirk Röder (FORTE CULTURA – Network of the Culture Route Fortified Monuments, DE);
Rafaël Deroo (EFFORTS Europe)
Đurđa Vrljević Šarić (Fortress of Culture Šibenik, Croatia)
The Fortified Ideal City Theresienstadt (Terezín)
Jiri Hofman (Information-Centre City Terezín, Fortress Vyšehrad Prague)
Simon Krbec (Terezín Centre for Genocide Studies)
Marcin Gorski (Warsaw University of Technology)
The Ravelin 2 Magdeburg - Rising from the Ruins
Josephine Kroneberg (Fortress Construction Association Ravelin 2, Magdeburg)
Masterplan of Vyšehrad Fortress
Petr Kucera (National Monument Prague Vyšehrad)
Simone Voigt (Fortress Königstein gGmbH)
Frauke Vos-Firnkes (Fortress Town Germersheim)
FORTITUDE project Historic Fortresses Intensifying cross-border Tourism Development
Đurđa Vrljević Šarić (Fortress of Culture Šibenik, Croatia)
Jiri Hofman (Information-Centre City Terezín, Fortress Vyšehrad Prague);
Rafaël Deroo (EFFORTS Europe)
Videoplaylist in addition to the presentations
Impressions
Pictures: Jana Hofman-Formankova
Press Releases
Glas Istre: "EUROPEAN FORTICATIONS - FROM THE PLACES OF WAR SUFFERINGS TO CROSS-BORDER CULTURAL AND TOURIST CORRIDORS" (PDF, Croatian)
Pfalz Express: "Germersheim was there: International Fortress Conference in Terezín 2022" (PDF, German)
Speyer Kurier: "International fortress conference in Terezín 2022" (PDF, German)
TV reports „Regionální televize Ústecka“ (litomericko24.cz)