Preserving and Securing the Cultural Memory of Transylvanian Saxons: A Panel Discussion

München – A panel discussion on preserving and securing the cultural memory of Transylvanian Saxons will take place this Friday, October 27th, at 7 p.m. in the House of the German East (HDO) in Munich (Am Lilienberg No. 5). The event is organized in collaboration with the Transylvanian Institute at Heidelberg University and the Transylvanian Library Foundation.

The Transylvanian Institute at the University of Heidelberg at Horneck Castle in Gundelsheim am Neckar with its core, the Transylvanian Library and Archives, is the most important research institution for the Transylvanian Saxons in Germany. It serves to preserve and secure books, documents, photographs, film and sound recordings as well as to research the culture and history of Transylvania and the Transylvanian Saxons. An important (survival) sponsor of this institution is the Transylvanian Library Foundation, which has set itself the task of ensuring the existence of the Transylvanian Institute as a cultural institution.

The aim of the panel discussion at the HDO is to introduce these two closely linked institutions and to discuss with the participants how the Transylvania Institute can be preserved and secured in the long term as a repository of the cultural memory of the Transylvanian Saxons.

The guest speakers will give short lectures followed by a discussion. Dr. Konrad Gündisch, former chairman of the “Transylvanian Cultural Center Horneck Castle eV” association, commented. Dr. Ralf Thomas Göllner, who studied political science, history of Eastern and Southeastern Europe and economics at the LMU Munich and is a research associate at the Hungarian Institute at the University of Regensburg, will speak about “The Transylvanian Library Foundation and its work”. Dr. Ingrid Schiel, managing director of the Transylvanian Institute, will present “The Transylvanian Library with Archives and its holdings” and finally Dr. Johann Schmidt, lawyer and member of the federal board of the Association of Transylvanian Saxons in Germany, will deal with the “requirements for a legally secure will”.

Admission is free.