Preservation of Written Cultural Heritage Funding Program of the Federal Government State Minister for Culture and Media

The special program for the preservation of written cultural heritage by the Federal Government has been supporting public institutions at the federal, state, and municipal levels since 2017 in the long-term safeguarding of historical files, manuscripts, and books. With a total funding volume of approximately €2.3 million from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, measures such as deacidification, cleaning, packaging, restoration, and damage assessment are supported. The goal is to preserve valuable written collections from deterioration and to ensure their usability for future generations. The selection of projects is based on recommendations from the expert advisory board of the Coordination Office for the Preservation of Written Cultural Heritage (KEK), thereby ensuring a high level of professional quality.

Applications can be submitted continuously and are exclusively aimed at public-law institutions in the fields of culture, education for sustainable development, media, and music. A prerequisite for funding is proof of the written cultural heritage as well as a precise location description of the collection to be secured. Funded projects may also include collection-related preparatory measures to document the scope and condition of the objects. This program thus offers municipalities and state authorities the opportunity to professionally conserve their historical collections and to keep them available as cultural memory in the long term.