As of: February 9, 2024, 9:00 a.m
By: Timo Aichele
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Archaeologists have found historical wooden posts on the town hall square in Dorfen.
© Baumgartner archeology/Neupert, Kozik & Simm
Relics have been preserved in the wet ground everywhere in Dorfen's old town.
The city council has controversially discussed the municipal monument concept.
Dorfen
– The people of Dorfen already know that Dorfen is something very special. Now they have confirmed it scientifically.
Archaeologist Dr.
Marcus Simm couldn't stop raving at the city council meeting on Wednesday.
“This city is a major monument, a single archaeological monument” – “A winning lottery ticket” – “I don’t know anything to this extent in Bavaria” – “The fact that the city of Dorfen was created here at all is a technological masterpiece.” This did not impress critical minds from the committee.
They took aim at the municipal monument concept.
The city commissioned the concept in 2022.
Representatives of specialist companies and the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation presented the 125-page study on Wednesday.
The many treasures are documented there: from the ensemble of the historic old town to around 40 listed buildings, small monuments and objects, to buildings that are not protected but are classified as defining the townscape and worth preserving.
“It is necessary that you know your roots,” commented Mayor Heinz Grundner (CSU).
It is certainly not about the owners of listed or historically significant buildings being harassed.
The aim of the municipal monument concept (KDK) is rather to create a guide on how to deal with these monuments.
The KDK is a good addition to the Integrated Urban Development Concept (ISEK) drawn up in 2015, explained geographer and urban planner Martin Späth.
This involves taking stock, identifying weaknesses that have arisen through the “reshaping” of the city center, and providing support with specific projects.
“There are complaints all over the country about bureaucracy,” criticized GAL city councilor Andreas Hartl.
In the case of individual building projects in accordance with Section 34 of the Building Code, the city can only act in an advisory capacity.
“And we already have excellent protection for monuments.
We shouldn’t add another level of bureaucracy.”
“We are not creating a museum that is inviolable,” countered Grundner.
This is about recommendations for action that can be published as a brochure.
“We have an unlikely treasure.”
For Barbara Lanzinger (CSU), however, the question was “to what extent we decide something over the heads of the citizens.
“To have a treasure, you have to be able to afford it first.”
Her parliamentary group colleague Ludwig Rudolf disagreed: “We have to develop the historical basis that we have in a knowledgeable way.
That’s why we urgently need this advice.”
“How much does it cost us as a city?” Lanzinger wanted to know.
It's about 70,000 euros, 65 percent of which is funded and two-thirds of which has already been spent, answered building authority manager Franz Wandinger.
Completing the project will now only cost “peanuts”.
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The part of the Neupert, Kozik & Simm office was the preservation of historical monuments.
Company owner Simm pointed out the huge effort to found the settlement in this exact spot in the 13th century - in the middle of an area at risk of flooding.
“Eight hectares of land were reclaimed here.” In the High Middle Ages, the groundwater was much higher and there were much more severe flooding events.
Because the entire soil in the area of today's old town had to be strengthened, says Simm, the area is a "single archaeological monument: we have the extraordinary situation here that wet soil conservation is maintained everywhere in the old town." You can find old wooden posts everywhere even plant remains.
With precise dating, you can learn a lot about the past from these relics.
“Winning the lottery is of course more important for archaeological research than for the investor,” admitted Simms’ colleague Sikko Neupert to the city councilors.
“Archaeology is perceived by developers as a cost factor.” However, the cultural and historical significance is immense.
“There is no city in all of Bavaria with this conservation value.” Citizen pride can arise through identification with it.
Sabine Berger (CSU) wanted to know whether there is an archaeological monument at Unterer Markt, where the city would like to build a fountain field.
“I actually think it’s impossible that there would be nothing,” Neupert replied.
Deputy Mayor Rudolf was interested in the costs of an archaeological investigation.
That depends very much on the situation, says Neupert, “but such a large area will definitely cost six figures.
There is a lot of information to be secured and it is difficult to work in this type of soil.”