17 October 2016 marked the start of the new university master programme 'Cultural Property Protection, MSc' at the Department for Building and Environment. Participants will now spend six semesters learning the basics of applied cultural heritage and monument protection.

The first week of the module was dedicated to the basics of heritage protection. The focus was on strategic aspects of cultural property protection, cultural property protection as a cross-cutting issue, international approaches and non-governmental organisations.

An excursion to the Göttweig Military History Trail took place on 19 October 2016. The participants learned more about the military significance of the area around Göttweig Abbey, which is not called Austria's Monte Cassino for nothing, during the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War.

In the course of their studies, the participants will have to deal with Göttweig again and again, as the site and its surroundings play an important role in the protection of cultural property.

What else can students expect to learn?

The 'Cultural Property Protection, MSc' covers national and international law, in particular the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the so-called Hague Convention of 1954 and its two Protocols of 1954 and 1999. The university course teaches inventory, museum collection management, architecture and art history, as well as psychological aspects of cultural property protection - a current topic in world affairs due to the destruction of cultural property in the Middle East.

In the practical part of the course, participants will prepare basic material for possible operations, assess hazard scenarios, apply the Tactical Management Procedure as a standardised tool, and create real emergency plans for small and medium-sized museums and depots. These emergency plans will be tested in simulation games with various emergency organisations.