19 Schloss Hartenfels in Torgau an der Elbe, Außenfassade der Schlosskapelle unten rechts im Bild Hartenfels Castle in Torgau on the Elbe, exterior facade of the Castle Chapel in the bottom right of the picture (iv) and (vi) that are used to justify the Outstanding Universal Value to be demonstrated (cf. the overview World Heritage Criteria on p. 21). The focus is placed on the art- and architectural-historical significance of the chapel as a prototype of Protestant church architecture, including the innovations in its interior design and the history of its reception. The contributions examine the value of the Torgau Castle Chapel as a testimony to the history of the church, religion and rule in relation to the establishment of the Reformation and as a place of activity and influence of Martin Luther. In music historical terms, the chapel is significant as the place where the forefather of Protestant church music, Johann Walter (1496–1570), was active. As part of the conference, this was vividly demonstrated in a prayer service and a concert by the Dresden Boys’ Choir (Knabenchor Dresden) and the Johann Walter Choir Torgau (Johann Walter Kantorei Torgau) under the joint direction of Matthias Jung and cantor Christiane Bräutigam (fig. p. 298/299). The question of the manifestation of intangible heritage in a spatial setting constitutes a leitmotif. Finally, the integrity and authenticity of the Castle Chapel as a cultural-historical testimony to this broad spectrum of aspects, and as a memorial site, will be examined in detail. The table on page 21 lists the preliminary choice and justification of the criteria selected for scrutiny as well as the attributes that constitute the proposed Outstanding Universal Value according to the Tentative List entry. The opening section examines the chapel’s relevance to art and architectural history. The central aim of the conference was to describe the significance of the Torgau Castle Chapel as a prototype of Protestant churches on the basis of its architectural history and typological classification using relevant comparative examples. The focus here is placed on the history of the reception of the interior design with regard to the interchange of values and ideas, which is the focus of the World Heritage criterion (ii). This can be seen in predecessors such as medieval palace chapels on the one hand, and in the immediate successors such as the castle chapels in Dresden, Augustusburg and Schmalkalden or stately sacred buildings in the Baltic region through to the parish churches of Reformed communities in Europe and North America on the other. The comparisons illustrate both the reorientation that took place in Torgau within the context of the history of church construction in general and the tradition of Protestant church architecture in particular. One challenge regarding the classification of the spatial effect of the building and its reception is the only fragmentary surviving and not yet conclusively researched pictorial decoration of the chapel from the original period of construction, including its wall finishes. In his introductory lecture, Armin Kohnle traces the historical change in significance of the Torgau The Torgau Castle Chapel is the only Protestant church ever to be dedicated by Martin Luther. Reflecting the Reformer’s ideas about Protestant worship, it has been regarded as the prototype of Protestant church architecture in the specialist literature on art, architecture and church history since the first half of the 20th century at the latest. On this basis, the Torgau Castle Chapel has been on the German Tentative List for World Heritage as an individual application since February 2024, and will undergo UNESCO’s new Preliminary Assessment procedure in 2025 and 2026. New insights into the chapel at Hartenfels Castle, which were gained following the withdrawal of an extension application for the Luther Memorial Sites in Eisleben and Wittenberg in 2017, are of relevance here.1 In light of this, the District of North Saxony organised an international conference on 16 and 17 January 2025 together with the Saxon State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and with the support of the Saxon State Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development. The aim of the conference and the present conference proceedings is to examine and enhance the current World Heritage application of the Torgau Castle Chapel in the context of an academic exchange. The structure and content are therefore based on the preliminary justification of potential Outstanding Universal Value, which has been available since the inscription in the German Tentative List.2 The strategic framework of the World Heritage Convention takes precedence over all academic considerations: the “Global Strategy”3 seeks to achieve a balanced and representative UNESCO World Heritage List in terms of thematic, typological, chronological and geo-cultural aspects. A systematic evaluation of the Christian World Heritage sites shows that pre-Reformation, Roman Catholic and Byzantine or Orthodox sites are disproportionately represented on the World Heritage List (fig. 1). The development of the Protestant denominations and the associated architectural history are barely represented, although the Reformation at the beginning of the early modern period decisively influenced European cultural history and the development of denominations and value systems characterised by humanism, which live on in many societies today. Numerous scholarly treatises on the Torgau Castle Chapel and its history of reception exist. Depending on the particular academic discipline, each of these develop their own questions and interpretations of meaning. The aim is to consolidate and categorise the current state of knowledge and unite this in a cross-disciplinary manner in order to substantiate the application for World Heritage status. Three thematic sections scrutinise the selection and argumentation of the World Heritage criteria (ii),
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