EHV - Classical Weimar - Historic Gardens and Parks

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Германия, Тюринген, Веймар

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When

17.08.2019 — 31.08.2019

Minimum daysNot specified

Maximum daysNot specified

Application deadlineNo end date

Who is needed

Male, Female

from 18 to 30

Number of Working Hours30 per day

Days Off Per Week2

Description

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the small town of Weimar in Thuringia saw a remarkable cultural flowering. Enlightened ducal patronage attracted many leading German writers, composers and artists to the town, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and Franz Liszt, thus making Weimar the cultural centre of Europe at that time. This development is reflected in the high quality of many of the buildings and parks in the surrounding area. The Classical Weimar was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998 and comprises twelve individual buildings and ensembles: Weimar’s City Castle, the Duchess Anna Amalia Library, Goethe’s and Schiller’s residences, the Town Church, the Ducal Vault with the Historic Cemetery and many others. The project consist of two parts – a practical working part which will last 6 hours per day and a study part, which takes place in the evenings and during weekends. The practical part usually consists of two elements – a park restoration part on one hand and a maintenance part on the other hand. Due to a rotating system the volunteers have the opportunity to get to know during the project both fields. The restoration part will take place at the so called "kitchen garden" at the Southern edge of Belvedere Park that had been arranged in the 19th century as a combined fruit, vegetable and flower garden. The dry stone walls as the formative element of the garden are ruinous and shall be protected against progressive decay. Since the dry stone walls are an important habitat for wild bees and other rare insects the restoration needs to be carried out extremely carefully. Plants that damage the walls will be carefully taken away, the walls will be documented, the stones that had fallen down over decades will be collected, their original places determined, smaller areas will be restored and the cap stones will be placed back. The works will be guided by a bricklayer specialised on historic walls and traditional techniques that will provide during the study part more theoretical knowledge in this field. Another part of the group will carry out maintenance works in other parks and gardens of the site, thus supporting Weimar Classic Foundation, the responsible site management, in works that can be undertaken only manually, such as cutting long-grass meadows on slopes. At the same time the volunteers will gain a detailed knowledge about the different parks and gardens of the World Heritage site and the challenges in managing them. The educational part of the project will inform the volunteers about the background of the project, provide knowledge about historical garden and park architecture, traditional gardening and other related topics and will include lectures and guided tours about Classical Weimar as well as excursions to related heritage sites. The opportunity of free entrance to museums and exhibitions will enable in addition individual study.