Landstein church ruins

Excerpt from our speech at the inauguration ceremony of the Landstein ruins on 23.08.2024:



'A core task of landscape architecture - formerly also referred to as landscape conservation - is the protection and preservation of landscapes - especially cultural landscapes - as cultural assets, as cultural places. In this context, it is important for the landscape architect to enter into a dialogue with the environment in order to recognize what is there, to highlight it and to make it visible.



It is not every day that we as landscape architects have the opportunity to engage with such an important cultural site.




The Landstein ruins are such a special, extraordinary place.



Its centuries-old history, the myths and legends that surround it (the Landstein ruins) give it a special aura. At the same time, however, it is also a building block of our current canon of values, which must be preserved.



How do you deal with such a place, how do you design it without losing its unique character but still meeting all functional requirements?
How do you create a harmonious combination of new and old, while preserving the value of the old and making the historical site tangible and usable in the present?


You can see our answer to this today:

We have left space, created freedom and exercised restraint.

The restrained design of the surroundings puts the church ruins in the center, provides a discreet platform for the building and sets it appropriately in scene.



It's like a painting: it needs a high-quality frame that never distracts from the actual work. This symbiosis leads to the perfection of both elements.


The ruin merges with its surroundings and we can experience and feel both the historical site and the surrounding nature in a new way.