Threatened Town and Village Culture: Save the Good Things!

Not only churches and castles belong to the cultural heritage, but also more fleeting things.

Sometimes they are only noticed when they disappear: a meal, a dialect, a custom, the form of presentation on a stage.

UNESCO has awarded it the title of intangible cultural heritage.

Yoga in India, Sauna in Finland, Capoeira in Brazil.

In Germany, the theater and orchestra landscape is part of it, but so is bread.

But a property does not have to be on the list to be part of the cultural heritage of an area.

There are things like that in every town and village.

In the Taunus, this is easy to observe, because in the densely populated, better-off region, a number of hereditary goods are at risk.

After all, when times are good, a particularly large number of shops, pubs, stages and festivals are needed there because there are so many people with a zest for life.

But inflation, staff shortages, energy costs and ongoing Corona are causing problems for many.

The operator of the Äppelwoi-Theater in Bad Homburg can report on this, as can innkeepers, bakers and organic goods manufacturers.

No right to local culture

It is true that the residents and municipalities in the Taunus are still doing relatively well.

But even there, many are now counting.

Some institutions are disappearing even though they made life easier or sweeter for many.

The baker in the mountain village, the clothes shop in the city center, the fruit stand on the street.

It is often said that "politics" is to blame because they don't help the little ones enough financially.

But it is not that easy.

Of course, it is important that municipalities, just like the state and federal government, ensure that their citizens live well and that trade and culture are preserved, even in times of tight budgets.

But there is no general right to keep a shop open that is no longer running.

Not even if it has been part of the local culture for some time.

Time also passes over some things.

Or the quality isn't what it used to be.

Then the pandemic, the feared electricity bill and the shortage of workers are not the real reason anyway.

But others, depending on the financial situation, cannot always save the communities, at least not alone.

But with a little imagination and energy it could work out together with the citizens.

How about volunteer lighting technicians in the small theater, volunteer bread sellers at the weekend?

You might also set up an association that collects donations.

Above all, however, the following applies to all those who do not urgently need to save: go there, even if the prices are rising.

If it's worth it.