Everything about the protection of cultural property
One of the most important aims of cultural policy is to protect cultural property, which bears witness to the cultural history and identity of peoples and nations. This section contains further information about the protection of cultural property in terms of its objectives, the measures to be implemented, the key pieces of legislation and the relevant legal bases.
This section contains links to the registers of cultural property of national significance maintained independently by each of the Länder. Our database provides a comprehensive overview of the entries contained in all of these registers, and can also be used to carry out targeted searches for individual items of cultural property of national significance.
This website provides information on the legal situation regarding the protection of cultural property in other countries, in implementation of the provisions of Section 4 (1) (2) of the German Act on the Protection of Cultural Property (Kulturgutschutzgesetz, KGSG). Particular emphasis is placed on the signatory states to the UNESCO Convention of 14 November 1970 on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, and the information is updated on an ongoing basis.
The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. The transition period which followed, and during which all previous regulations remained unchanged, ended on 31 December 2020. What this means for the cross-border movement of cultural property is summarised in this section.
This section contains details of the contact persons within the authorities with jurisdiction for the protection of cultural property, as well as links to downloadable forms, publications, leaflets and other information, particularly regarding the expert committees of the Federal Government and the Länder. If you are unable to find the information you require, please feel free to get in touch with us using the contact form.