Urban Gardening

Intangible Cultural Heritage in Bamberg

Urban
Gardening

The Market Gardeners’ District of Bamberg dates back to the Middle Ages. The historic structures of home gardens are protected as monument ensemble by the Bavarian Law for the Protection and Preservation of Buildings.

Urban gardening- Bamberg's intangible cultural heritage

Since the Middle Ages, urban gardening has been practiced in Bamberg. These late medieval structures of gardening from farmsteads to adjacent acreage have been exceptionally preserved to this day, in the centre of Bamberg. The Market Gardeners’ District with its wide and open spaces, within the World Heritage site and its buffer zone does not only characterize Bamberg’s townscape, but also forms an important contrast to the densely constructed town of Bamberg. The Market Gardeners’ District together with the City on the Hills and the Island District is an integral part of the World Heritage site.

Land use through farming has been evident in the area from the 14th century and continues to this day. Thus, not only tangible, but also intangible cultural heritage assets exist. These include traditions, knowledge, and processing techniques used by the gardeners. In 2014, Bamberg’s gardening tradition was inscribed on the Bavarian Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2016, it was included in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Learn more here.

The urban gardening project

Despite the great importance of urban gardening for Bamberg, commercial farming has declined sharply in recent decades. Consequently, several gardening fields have fallen fallow. In response to this, the urban gardening project connects aspects of city planning, heritage protection, tourism, and horticulture. The project aims at keeping Bamberg’s gardening culture alive. It consists of awareness raising activities, of a marketing campaign as well as a sustainable land use approach.

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Circular route through the Market Gardeners’ District

Where are the unique urban farming areas of the Market Gardeners’ District? What is the current state of re-cultivation of the former Bamberg export, the liquorice? What did a typical gardener's house look like from the inside? Visitors and locals will get answers to all these questions on a tour through the Market Gardeners’ District. The cultural, religious and economic life of Bamberg’s gardeners is conveyed at 18 selected stations on the circular route that also involves a viewing platform. The platform provides visitors with a unique view over the gardens that hide away from the street.

For more informationen take a look at our flyer.

The Gardeners‘ and Vintners‘ Museum

The Gardeners‘ and Vintners‘ Museum is located at the heart of the Market Gardeners’ District. It has a permanent exhibition that provides information about the work, religion, and private livelihood of Bamberg’s gardeners and vintners. The exhibition offers multimedia stations, films, and a bilingual audio guide that explore life more than 100 years ago. The adjacent garden features numerous local vegetables.

Further information about the Gardeners‘ and Vintners‘ Museum is available on the Internet at www.ghm-bamberg.de.

Association of Bamberg Gardeners

Local farming quality is ensured by 19 gardener families, who have joined hands to form the Association of Bamberg Gardeners to safeguard the local tradition of gardening of their ancestors. Their fields and products are branded “Gutes aus der Gärtnerstadt” meaning “Good quality from the Market Gardeners’ District of Bamberg”. The offers, opening hours and further information can be found in their shopping guide. In addition, the annual Open Garden Day attracts large numbers of visitors giving an insight into the market gardens.

More information about the Association of Bamberg Gardeners can be found on the Internet at www.gaertnerstadt-bamberg.de also at the digital Storyboard.

Bamberg’s Heritage Garden

In 2012, Bamberg’s Heritage Garden was established as a show and conservation garden. Situated on an area of just under 400 square meters, it presents about 30 different crop species from Bamberg and the surrounding area. The garden grows rare crop species, and rediscovered local crop varieties that were almost wiped out. Thus, Bamberg’s Heritage Garden contributes to the protection of biodiversity as well as cultural and environmental education.

More information about Bamberg’s Heritage Garden is available on the Internet at: www.bamberger-sortengarten.de.

Liquorice Society of Bamberg

In the late Middle Ages and early modern times, liquorice was a spice, a pleasure and medicinal plant, and one of the most important products of Bamberg’s gardeners. It was a figurehead and symbol for local agriculture. Notably, the knowledge about cultivating, harvesting and processing liquorice has diminished during the past 50 years. However, the Liquorice Society of Bamberg supports gardeners in their efforts to resuscitate the cultivation of liquorice in Bamberg.

More information about the Liquorice Society of Bamberg is available on the Internet at www.bamberger-suessholz.de and at the flyer of the Süßholz-Gesellschaft.

Educational approach

With its rich gardening tradition, Bamberg’s Market Gardeners’ District is an exceptional learning place at the heart of the World Heritage site. Different aspects of environmental education can be conveyed to the younger generation in a lively and participatory manner. Therefore, the Bamberg World Heritage Office promotes the establishment of school gardens in Bamberg and its surrounding areas and contributes to the culture education project kultur.klassen with corresponding teaching modules.

Get to know the Market Gardeners’ District on the internet

An innovative online platform of the Association of Bamberg Gardeners presents the Market Gardeners’ District in all its facets. The digital storyboard comprises personal stories, interviews, pictures and videos, which invite you to explore the horticultural businesses and the gardeners’ centuries-old traditions. It was created in cooperation with the Bamberg World Heritage Office and Mediengruppe Oberfranken.

The storyboard can be found at: http://storyboard.infranken.de/gaertnerstadt#100058.

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