Heimatpflegeverband SüdtirolAssociation for Heritage Protection South Tyrol

Another attempt of Heimatpflegeverband Südtirol in cooperation with the state Department of Nature and Landscape in South Tyrol to get small peasant monuments and defining landscape features such as wooden fences, straw and shingle roofs, stone walls, shrines, ovens and mills as part of the cultural heritage to the future generations of the particular nature of the country to preserve South Tyrol.

The Tyrolean cultural landscape is far more than a piece of environment or a for nostalgic reasons be protected thing. It is the heritage of our ancestors and in this way it is an essential element of cultural identity of the Tyrolean populatio. The cultural and social landscape forms our what we call ‘Heimat’. ‘Heimat’ includes physical landscape, music, song , dance, language, traditional custom and dress. ‘Heimat’ is the familiar surrounding or social landscape and provides security and orientation. This source of experienced value seems to be indispensable, especially in an increasingly globalized world which could less and less be easily perceived. The unity of Europe, from which many fear, has triggered a counterbalance towards the culture of the small spaces and the regional perspective. The essence of Europe is currently in its diversity. The diversity of the regions makes its cultural wealth. ‘Heimat’ is our regional identity as a common origin, history, and survival as a common ground where people have the feeling of togetherness. ‘Heimat’ is also the traditional cultural landscape, where our natural heritage still has a place, the plants and the animals , habitats and natural monuments. The cultural landscape is a fundamental parameter for the quality of life of the local population and the tourism value. For at least tourism scenic beauty and ecological stability are essential prerequisites. The cultural landscape is natural diversity and landscape features. It is a valid formula for crucial things in today’s and future living, working and recreation Tyrol.

Objectives and Guidelines

• for the conservation of natural and cultural landscape
• for the protection of natural resources (water, air, soil)
• for the preservation of industrial and small monuments
• for the preservation of historic buildingsprotection
• for the ensemblefor a neat and thrift committed Planning
• for an environmentally friendly solution to transport problems and the promotion of public transporthome
• for research and local history
• for the preservation of the entire Tyrolean heritage
• for the promotion of ethnographic knowledge and folk culture
• for the maintenance of dialectfor the preservation of the costume
• for the solution of the historical place names regulation
• for an open, values​​-oriented examination of current cultural and social developments

Structure and Members

The Heimatpflegeverband Südtirol incorporate 36 organisations on local and regional level and has 3.894 personal members. The daily work is carried out by a central office and 99 volunteer workers all over South Tyrol. They are called ‘Ortbeauftragte’ and are working as local agents and care takers for the association.