Kitzingen - Restoration of architectural elements in a historic garden

The setting for the project will be a Cistercian monastery landscape. These special kind of historical-cultural landscape represent a unique expression of European identity. As defined by UNESCO and the European Landscape Convention, the cultural landscape is a common work of man and nature in the course of History. Cultural landscapes showcase the most comprehensive examples of built heritage, as they contain monuments, historic structures, villages, sometimes cities and natural elements that together create vast collection of relevant components spread through a territory. Cistercian monastery landscapes reflect the forms and techniques of land use and settlement strategies employed by the Cistercian religious order, their adaptation to natural conditions and their strict spiritual guidelines. The historical cultural landscape is the bearer of this history, identity and of the vision the first Cistercians had for a place to cultivate and call home. For this reason, the local inhabitants believe that awareness raising, appreciation and preservation are essential goals for their landscape. The rich story of the Cistercian land-works is set with the background of a magnificent scenery with soft rolling hills and charming little villages of lower-Franconia in northern Bavaria, very close to world famous towns in one of the most representative regions of Germany. The works of the project will take place in the historic garden of the Ebrach Monastery's Courtyard. In 1500 the Ebrach Monastery established a monastery office in Mainstockheim. The place was administered by the Margraves of Ansbach , the Ebrach Abbey and the Lords of Fuchs. The joint administration lasted until the place became a property of the government of Bavaria in the course of the secularization process in 1806. A year later, the courtyard went into private hands and subsequently changed owners several times. The Brandner family acquired the Ebracher Hof in 1961. After extensive renovations, the retirement home "Schloss Ebracher Hof" was opened there and is now home to elderly people. The garden remains open to the public. About the garden: The Ebracher Abbot John V. Dressel built the Amtshof or tithe house from 1618 to 1630. An impressive garden was created between 1727 and 1734 under Abbot Wilhelm Sölner von Ebrach. The courtyard is classified as a monument by the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments. The rectangular complex with corner towers has richly structured Renaissance gables and an elaborate portal. The painted stucco decoration from the original period of its construction has been preserved in the chapel. Leisure time: The project will take place in a small village of rural northern Bavaria, so the participants should not expect busy places and normal city activities for the leisure time during the working days. Small trips and hikes within walking distances are possible in the afternoons. There will be a free day where an excursion to nearby places of interest may be planned. Usually average temperatures in Germany during the summer time are about 20º C to 30º C; during the night it will get colder. It is possible that there may be three weeks of non-stop sunshine, but every day rain is not impossible either.