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A new specialist training cycle for CHRU volunteers was launched at the start of spring 2026. The specialist training aims to bring together experts from a particular CHRU unit – IT, Movable Cultural Assets (MCA), or

Since 2022, the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) have been active partners in the European projects PROCULTHER-NET (2022–2023) and PROCULTHER-NET2 (2024–2025). Both projects have achieved major results in

The Cultural Heritage Response Unit (CHRU), developed by German partners as part of the KulturGutRetter project, has been officially registered in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism since the end of February 2026 and is thus reported

When a disaster strikes cultural heritage sites, the first crucial step is to document and assess the damage. The analysis of the collected data determines the roadmap for all subsequent measures, answering questions such as: What

In 2025, the KulturGutRetter project continued the training of volunteer CHRU members that had begun in 2024 and further expanded the pool of volunteers. At the same time, national and international exchanges were maintained to promote

In 2025, two in-depth specialist workshops were organised for volunteers from the CHRU’s Immovable Cultural Assets (ICA) and Movable Cultural Assets (MCA) units. Participants were encouraged to improve their knowledge of work processes by applying them

From September 22 to 24, 2025, around 60 volunteer team members participated in a practical station training at the THW logistics center in Hilden as part of the KulturGutRetter project. The training specifically prepares the Cultural

On 3 and 4 July 2025, the KulturGutRetter project presented equipment specially developed for the ‘Cultural Heritage Response Unit’ (CHRU) to European partners at the THW logistics centre in Hilden. This equipment is intended for the

At the end of April 2025, IT experts from the Cultural Heritage Response Unit (CHRU) and colleagues from the THW’s ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) department came together in Berlin as part of the KulturGutRetter project’s

In April 2025, the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), with the support of the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW)and the Leibniz Center for Archaeology (LEIZA) organized an online workshop entitled “Yesterday-today-tomorrow: where does the protection

Natural hazards and anthropogenic land-use pressures are causing destructive events to occur with increasing frequency, causing severe damage to Archaeological and Cultural Heritage (ACH) sites. As part of the project KulturGutRetter, the Remote Sensing and Monitoring

The Cultural Heritage Response Unit (CHRU) is implementing a digital documentation system to document both the objects themselves and the measures carried out during response missions to protect cultural heritage. The unit is equipped with its

As we look ahead to 2025 and plan for a new year of intensive project development – with the aim of reaching operational readiness and deployability – it is worth taking stock of what has been

From 17 to 20 October 2024, Venice hosted an EU MODEX, which for the first time in its history, thanks to the consortium partners of PROCULTHER-NET2 and to the mobilization of the Cultural Heritage Response Unit

From 25 to 28 September 2024, the first full-scale exercise of the Cultural Heritage Response Unit (CHRU) took place at Demerthin Castle (Brandenburg). In a fictitious earthquake scenario, experts from Germany were trained in the international

The aim of the Cultural Heritage Response Unit (CHRU) of the KulturGutRetter project is to secure monuments and other cultural assets quickly and professionally in the event of a disaster. Experts such as Dr Wanja Wedekind

At the end of June, 80 volunteers from the KulturGutRetter project and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) started their training in Hilden. In a two-day practical course, the cultural heritage experts were trained to

On 10 and 11 June, THW forces checked and stored for the Cultural Heritage Response Unit (CHRU) of the KulturGutRetter project at the logistics centre in Hilden. When cultural heritage is threatened by a disaster, it

In 2024 KulturGutRetter volunteers will be trained the first time to assist in disaster situations worldwide with the Cultural Heritage Response Unit (CHRU). These days the training of the cultural heritage experts begins. More than 100

Geodatascientist Pouria Marzban (German Archaeological Institute, DAI) works in the field of remote sensing in the KulturGutRetter project. Before the Cultural Heritage Response Unit (CHRU) flies out to the disaster area, remote sensing data, maps, and other data are gathered.

From November 12th to 22nd, 2023, experts from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA) took part in a field school in Elephantine, offered by the KulturGutRetter project and the Cairo Department of the German

The emergency conservation of mobile and immobile cultural heritage was tested in a fictive disaster scenario involving staff of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), the Leibniz Center for Archaeology (LEIZA) and the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW). The large-scale field test took place in Dresden on 18 and 19 October 2023 and was undertaken as part of the KulturGutRetter project.

Authors: Elvira Iacono, Research Assistant, and Bernhard Fritsch, Data Manager, German Archaeological Institute – DAI Also published in: Technical Bulletin #2, June 2023, PROCULTHER-NET. Emergency rescue of built or movable cultural heritage in the event of

During a one-day workshop in Mainz in June 2023, 28 cultural heritage professionals from various Leibniz Research Museums and from the Mainz Notfallverbund were familiarized with the KulturGutRetter response mechanism and tested its modular equipment for the emergency conservation of movable cultural heritage.

KulturGutRetter is developing technical characteristics for procedures, teams and equipment, enabling the Unit to cover the tasks of damage assessment, evacuation of movable heritage, and emergency intervention on movable and immovable heritage.

Specialists of the KulturGutRetter project at Leibniz-Center for Archaeology (LEIZA) are developing and trialling a multifunctional, scalable and air-transportable system for salvaging cultural property in disasters.


Our team wishes you all the best for the new year! 2022 was a very eventful year. In our review of the year, we offer an insight into the work of the KulturGutRetter project. The KulturGutRetter

The German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), both partners of the KulturGutRetter, are involved in the PROCULTHER-NET project.

Aid from KulturGutRetter’s logistics network of the DAI, THW and other partners consisting of about 10 tonnes of packaging material and supplies for the protection of collections, libraries, monuments and museums in Ukraine has been distributed to 13 cultural institutions.

A delivery of aid from KulturGutRetter’s logistics network with about 10 tonnes of packaging material and supplies for the protection of collections, libraries, monuments and museums in Ukraine has reached Kyiv.

The German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and KulturGutRetter, supported by the DAI, the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) and the Leibniz Center for Archaeology (LEIZA), have, in collaboration with other cultural institutions, set up a logistics network to deliver material assistance for the safeguarding of museums, archives and monuments in Ukraine. The Federal Foreign Office supports these aid supplies, which supplement measures taken as part of the initiative Safeguarding Cultural Heritage in Ukraine.

Dipl.-Ing. Tobias Busen, building historian and ArcHerNet coordinator, and the archaeologist and IT specialist Dr. Bernhard Fritsch (KulturGutRetter, DAI) speak together in the interview below about digital apps that are developed within the KulturGutRetter project for safeguarding cultural property during crises.

The German KulturGutRetter-project and the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums practise the saving of mobile cultural heritage with prototypes of rescue modules for the documentation and conservation of objects of cultural heritage.

One year after the devastating explosion in Beirut, experts gathered for the workshop “Built Heritage in Crisis” where they discussed their experiences on site and the challenges they were confronted with in the crisis situation. The experts were invited to the workshop by the German Archaeological Institute and the KulturGutRetter project.

The German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) is an important partner in the development of KulturGutRetter and thus also in efforts to protect endangered cultural heritage. The coordinator of the project KulturGutRetter (KGR) – An Emergency Mechanism for Cultural Heritage in Crisis Situations at the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Christoph Rogalla von Bieberstein, recently completed basic technical training with the THW alongside his work at the DAI.

The sixth Lange Nacht der Ideen (“Long night of Ideas”) took place on 7 June 2021, under the heading Wie bald ist morgen? (“how soon is tomorrow?”). At the event the cultural heritage rescue unit KulturGutRetter presented its project KulturGutRetter in Action – Demonstration of an Emergency Salvage Operation.

Experts from the KulturGutRetter project travelled with the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief to Beirut. In an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Fless, President of the German Archaeological Institute, speaks about the KulturGutRetter operation. The project is currently being developed in the framework of the Archaeological Heritage Network.