Philipp Gutbrod has been director of the Mathildenhöhe Institute since spring 2015.

But since then he has never been able to use the exhibition building.

The last show “A House Full Of Music” in summer 2012 was set up by his predecessor Ralf Beil.

And then the exhibition halls, in which presentations such as “Russia 1900” and “Total Work of Art Expressionism” had been shown in previous years, were closed.

Katharina Deschka

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

  • Follow I follow

The Darmstadt exhibition building planned by Joseph Maria Olbrich and built in 1908 is still a construction site, even if a banner is now emblazoned on the fence.

“We are World Heritage!” Is written there in large letters.

The director is therefore accepting many congratulations these days.

“I'm really happy,” he says of the Mathildenhöhe acquired on July 24th.

"The applications are not a sure-fire success."

Development is monitored internationally

It was a long way from the decision of the Darmstadt municipal authorities in 2012 to take the first step towards world heritage - that is, to first submit the application for inclusion in the German tentative list of Unesco world heritage sites - to the award by Unesco this summer.

This path, lined with submissions, evidence and discussions, also explains why the construction work dragged on and the reopening of the halls was postponed time and time again. With the decision to apply, all changes to the ensemble came into focus. Every measure had to be coordinated with an international "Advisory Board", a specially established group of experts, reports Gutbrod, who has been closely involved with the Mathildenhöhe application from the start, after joining Mathildenhöhe as a curator in 2011.

The trouble was worth it.

The many agreements took up time, but they ensured quality, reports Gutbrod.

Now the Mathildenhöhe with its artist colony founded by Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig in 1899, with its exhibition buildings, artist houses and parks, which document its unique role in the development of the arts and architecture on the way to modernity, is being monitored internationally: “This site should be protected as much as possible will.

We hand over some of the sovereignty to Unesco. "

Already more visitors

Anyone who visits the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt these days can already see the effects of being a World Heritage site despite the construction sites. Already in the mornings, visitors roam the grounds individually and in groups, and before the Museum Artists' Colony opens, a dozen visitors are impatiently waiting in front of the door. “The rush has increased significantly,” says Gutbrod on the way from his office on Olbrichweg over to the halls, while avoiding a group of tourists. He noticed that immediately after the report was in the "Tagesschau".

A strong increase in interest is always expected at World Heritage sites, which is why the city had to create a suitable transport concept with shuttle buses that run every half hour from the city center to Mathildenhöhe. On the eastern slope, where the bus already stops, the visitor center is also to be built, which, like traffic calming, is one of the conditions to be met that Unesco has in the management plan. “It's been a long journey, but it goes on,” says Gutbrod.