"Cultural Monument of the Month" - A look at Cultural Heritage 2025

The year 2025 is all about cultural heritage, and the Technical State Museum MV - phanTECHNIKUM is proud to support the "Cultural Heritage of the Year 2025" campaign as a cooperation partner. This year's focus is on the topic of “Landscape and Energy”, which was launched by the Bund Heimat und Umwelt in Deutschland (BHU) together with its member associations.

The campaign aims to draw attention to important cultural landscapes worthy of protection, which include both tangible and intangible elements. These include the numerous traditions and techniques that have contributed to the development and use of energy sources over generations. These range from the historical use of firewood in forests to the highly visible wind farms of today.

Cultural heritage “Landscape and energy”: a historical perspective

Historical energy landscapes are often closely linked to developments in energy production and use. In the Middle Ages, for example, the intensive use of wood shaped the landscape, and charcoal pits and coal roads still bear witness to this era today. However, the use of water as a source of energy in the form of watermills along streams and rivers was and is of central importance for industrial development, especially between the 16th and 18th centuries.

With the beginning of the industrial age, fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas came to the fore, bringing with them profound changes to the landscape. Mines, slag heaps and drilling fields are just as much a part of this cultural heritage as the numerous industrial monuments that are still preserved today as witnesses to past industrialization. As part of the campaign, the Heimatverband regularly presents special examples from the interface of “landscape and energy”. These sites are not only of historical significance, but also make a valuable contribution to education and the preservation of our cultural identity. Our aim is to raise awareness of these unique cultural assets and encourage people to take an active role in protecting them.

 

All results of the initiative as well as further information and publications on the individual monuments are shared on our Instagram channel. All contributions can also be found on the website of the Heimatverband MV.