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12.06.2024
In Passau, the abandoned Bergfried monastery is being transformed into a venue for the independent cultural scene.
Like the phoenix from the ashes
Landrichterhof, spa, monastery ... vacant. A cultural association saves a beautiful complex from decay. The members organize an annual cultural festival for young and old. Then strangers burn down almost everything and the rebuilding starts all over again. How the Passau keep defies the destructive rage and revives a magical place.
The flames leap from the roof of the keep into the night sky. Julia Willeitner stands in front of it and has to watch as her "life project" falls victim to the fire. All the treasures and little things you need for a cultural festival, plus the time-honored buildings ...
But you won't find a "keep", as the defense tower of a fortress is called, here. The building complex above Passau's city center has only been called that since 1896, when a Mr. Müller ran a spa in it and was looking for a catchy name for it: "Bergfried". But the history of the keep is longer. The first buildings used for agricultural purposes were probably erected here in the 13th century.
Willeitner's history with the keep also goes back a few years, although not quite as far. The 30-year-old was baptized in the keep as a child, grew up nearby, attended church services here and became friends with the monks. In 1918, the Benedictine monks of Schweiklberg Abbey had taken over the farm and added further buildings and a chapel.
An association for culture and preservation
The freelance cellist Willeitner returned to her hometown of Passau in 2021 after studying at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. The monks had long since moved out of the keep. The buildings stood empty for fifteen years and fell into disrepair, while the grounds and orchard became overgrown. Willeitner, who did not want to give up her "magical" keep, contacted the owner at the time. However, he died before the meeting could take place. The community of heirs gave Willeitner the right to interim use of the keep.
She looked for and found fellow campaigners, many of them freelance creatives themselves, who wanted to support her in reviving the Bergfried "through art and culture". 2021, the second year of the pandemic, was not exactly the best time for a cultural relaunch. There was to be an annual music festival with a large accompanying program. The first edition in fall '21 attracted around 1,000 visitors despite coronavirus restrictions. The concerts were all played twice due to social distancing rules. "It went surprisingly well," says Willeitner.
In 2022, they founded Bergfried Kultur e.V. as a non-profit association with seven active members and around 20 helpers. "It's now a vocation. A life's work," says Chairman Willeitner.
Three further editions of the three-day festival in May and October 2022 and in June 2023 each attracted up to 1,500 people. This is well distributed across the extensive grounds. In addition to the concerts and exhibitions, culinary delights, arts and crafts market, children's program, fire show, yoga and dance workshops open the festival to the whole population.
Rape of the flames
But in the fall of 2023, it happens. Willeitner, who lives near the keep, tells us:
The fire department does its best, but two buildings burn out completely and one is damaged. Once inside, it becomes clear that the cause is not a cable fire or a forgotten fan heater, as initially feared. The fire department assumes it was arson. The police are still investigating.
The club members are shocked. But they are not giving up on the keep. The chapel and the orchard are intact. The other buildings have to be demolished, the ruins are not safe, they say. The planned festival will still take place, the association decides the day after the disaster. Albeit under difficult conditions. The warehouse and office, the piano, the percussion, the harpsichord - a victim of the flames. Likewise the works of art, studios and exhibition rooms in the former monastery cells. The entire technology and seating. "Apart from the new look of the keep, nothing will change," says Willeitner. The artists booked for the festival, all renowned people, will perform and exhibit. The State Prize for Bavarian Creative Venues 2024 comes at just the right time and encourages the organizers to stick to their plans.
New ideas for the future
As long as the arsonists are not caught, club members will keep night watch on the keep. Plans for the future need to be rethought. Markets and workshops where local creative businesses can present themselves and exchange ideas are still possible. The inspiring location, close to the city and yet in the middle of nature, is ideal for this.
The association's efforts have not gone unnoticed by the city leadership either.
"The city of Passau and those responsible for the Bergfried are delighted to have been awarded this year's state prize for Bavarian creative locations. With this special honor, the commitment shown to strengthening the cultural landscape in Passau receives special and well-deserved recognition."
- Lord Mayor of the City of Passau Jürgen Dupper
Concerts, summer cinema, readings, workshops, a Solawi in the community garden - a cultural center in the truest sense of the word is to be created where the entire Passau creative scene can meet and network. As both a newcomer and a long-established venue, the Bergfried would be the perfect host. In Passau, so many creative people are looking for suitable spaces, says Willeitner. A place like the Bergfried invites people to come together and learn from each other. How to find new uses for unique locations, for example. There are over 300 companies in the cultural and creative industries in Passau, the leader in Lower Bavaria, as well as around 100 cultural associations, not to mention the countless creative professionals.
And the "charm of the improvised", the do-it-yourself, was always part of the new Bergfried anyway. The equipment is financed via crowdfunding or collected as donations in kind. Instead of sitting on designer stools, you can listen to the musicians in hammocks.
From 1996 until their departure, the monks offered participation in "contemplative retreats", guided exercises in religious self-contemplation. There is still a lot of these ideas in the walls today.
"Spirituality and art meet in the keep. In this way, the people who live, work and operate in this place are inspired by its power and positive radiation, and vice versa, the place regains significance for the many seekers of our time."
- Dr. Christian Freundorfer, as Father Martin one of the last monks on the keep until 2006, today an employee of the Munich City Archives
