Inventory Historical Stone Walls Vorarlberg 2016 – Nüziders-Part 2, Lustenau, International Restoration of Dry Stone Walls
Abstract
The project ”Inventory of Historical Stone Walls in Vorarlberg”, which is in its eight year by now, aims at research and documentation as well as preservation and maintenance of historical natural stone walls in municipalities of Vorarlberg. In 2016, the observed municipalities are Nüziders-Part 2 and Lustenau. Small structures like natural stone walls are characteristic elements of varied cultural landscapes. They give evidence of cultivation and social history of a region as well as of the construction trade, craft knowledge and skills of their builders. Nüziders is located at the valley bottom on the bright side of the valley Walgau, in the south of Vorarlberg. The inventory of Nüziders will close an important gap in the valley Walgau, which is very rich in important historical wall structures. The wall of Lustenau, an extraordinary construction of dry stone to protect against floodwater, is a relict of the „Rheinkorrektion“. It occured in the beginning of the 20th century and is one of the first large-scale projects in cooperation of Austria and Switzerland to stopp the danger of the river Rhein between the two countries. The documentation of construction and inventory of the walls in the municipalities are the basis for further analysis of the cultural landscape and detailed source research in order to classify their age and value. Additional important emphases are development goals and measure concepts for handling the historical elements of cultural landscapes. Planning and organizing an implementation project and carrying out the reconstruction of one of the researched objects should be the beginning of maintenance and conservation of the historic walls. According to this the third part of this year’s project will be an exceptional international project in restoration. Experts from Austria, Germany and Switzerland will work together and reconstruct the walls of one of the most important historical routes in Vorarlberg, witch goes back to the 15th century. On the basis of the restaurant concept worked out by the Institute of Soil Bioengineering und Landscape Construction and under the lead of swiss experts, students from BOKU Vienna and HS Weihenstephan, Germany and some builders from the region with experience restored parts of the wall. This international project is a first important step to protect an outstandig ensemble of dry-stone-wall structures in Vorarlberg. Benefits of the project This project is intended to contribute to a respectful, professional and foresighted dealing with cultural heritage in cultural landscapes and settlement areas. In addition to the inventory of preserved historical natural stone walls, particular attention is given to historical wall construction methods and the future maintaining and renewing measures.
history of construction technique cultural landscape research dry stone walling cultural heritage sustainability
Publikationen
Project staff
Anna Maria Drexel
Ass.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.nat.techn. Anna Maria Drexel
am.drexel@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-87407
Project Leader
01.07.2016 - 31.07.2017