LOCAL ACTION PLAN City of Regensburg April 2011 Photograph: Nürnberg Luftbild, Hajo Dietz THE CITY OF REGENSBURG REGENSBURG HAS APPROXIMATELY 147.000 INHABITANTS OUT OF WHICH ABOUT 15.000 LIVE IN THE HISTORIC CITY CENTRE. BEING A UNIQUE EXAMPLE OF A MEDIEVAL TRADING TOWN THE OLD TOWN OF REGENSBURG HAS BEEN INSCRIBED ON THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST IN THE YEAR 2006. Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, locat- The most important cultural heritage sites are: ed at the confluence of the Danube and Regen • the Dom (Cathedral, very interesting example of pure rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. German Gothic, it counts as the main work of Gothic archi- Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian admin- tecture in Bavaria); istrative region ‘Upper Palatinate’. Its population • the Stone Bridge (built 1135–1146, a highlight of medieval is about 147,000. The town measures 81 km2, bridge building); the historic city centre is about 183 hectares in • the Church of St. James (Romanesque basilica of the size. 12th century); • the old parish church of St. Ulrich (a good example of the The first settlements in Regensburg date to the Stone Age. Transition style of the 13th century); The Celtic name ‘Radasbona’ was the oldest name given • the church of Obermünster to a settlement near the present city. The large medieval • and the abbey church of St. Emmeram (examples of centre of the city with well preserved original basic outline Romanesque basilica style); of the 14th century is since 2006 a UNESCO World Heritage • the Town Hall (dating in part from the 14th century); Site. It covers an area of 1.83 km2 with 15.000 inhabitants • St. Emmeram's Abbey (huge castle owned by the Thurn and 984 monuments. Public buildings, private residences and Taxis family). and the imposing grounds of churches, monasteries and religious foundations contribute to an authentic picture of Further information: medieval urban culture and architecture. http://www.worldheritage-regensburg.de The City of Regensburg (Photograph: Peter Ferstl, City of Regensburg) Local Challenges Regensburg historic centre is in a very good condition. heritage, in particular to international tourists and to guiding Most buildings are professionally restored and the heritage systems; values are preserved. There is a vital mixture of housing, • To secure the multi-functionality of the historic centre and retail facilities and restaurants. Nevertheless, Regensburg’s balance the (conflicting) needs of the stakeholders, in par- major task is to maintain its cultural heritage values. ticular the demands of retailers, tourists and inhabitants Furthermore, the overall city is growing rapidly, thus steadi- (e.g. increasing product offers for tourists and decreasing ly increasing the pressure on the housing market. The supply for inhabitants, lack of supermarkets in the Old demand for new infrastructure, modern buildings to cope Town); with new communal functions and for improvement of the • To improve the energy efficiency of historic buildings. public transport scheme needs is increasing and has to be well-balanced with the protection of the tangible and intan- Further Regensburg is going to focus on the following gible cultural heritage assets. issues: • Development of a management system for the historic Key problems and challenges concerning “Visual integrity” urban landscape together with relevant stakeholders; of the historic urban landscape are: • Setting up of a ‘Steering committee’ for the Old Town, • To develop and implement new instruments to preserve which serves to early recognize possible conflicts of urban the visual integrity of the historic urban landscape; planning developments and to warrant the compatibility of • To integrate new architecture into the historic cityscape construction measures with needs of the historic urban without harming the historic, spatial and townscape char- landscape; acteristics; • Improving communication and cooperation with and • To develop a methodology to adjust large-scale projects between the stakeholders in support of the protection and to the development needs of the historic urban landscape further development of the historic urban landscape. and to decide about their importance; • To integrate large-scale structures (e.g. large-scale retail) into the small-scale historic structure; • To integrate new telecommunication infrastructure into the historic centre; • To communicate the cultural heritage values to the dif- ferent target groups. Key problems and challenges concerning the “Integrated revitalisation to balance/adapt the uses/functions of the historic urban landscape to the different stakeholder needs” are: • To improve multimodal public transport in the historic centre (mobility); • To strengthen the historic centre as location for local and (sub-)regional retail trade, keeping a good balance of tra- ditional local stores and chain stores; • To support new business ideas (in particular in relation to the demographic change) to settle their businesses in the historic city centre • To strengthen the housing function for multiple target groups (families, cross-generational housing; handicapped; currently flats are converted to – more lucrative – single apartments); • To improve the attached housing infrastructure (court- yards, adjacent public space in front of buildings, parking for inhabitants, etc. to improve the quality of life) • To make it a true experience and to market the cultural Hinter der Grieb (Photograph: Peter Ferstl, City of Regensburg) Overview of experiences and good-practice ing relocation of retail trade) thus, strengthening the retail examples location. For this the post of „Person in charge of the Old Regensburg has set up a number of policies and manage- Town” was established to assist and advise new start-ups, ment strategies to safeguard the cultural heritage values existing businesses, house owners and real estate agents and the sustainable development of the historic urban land- in taking the “right” decision. scape. The most important are: • Business Founder Project: Encouragement of innovative • Design Advisory board (Gestaltungsbeirat): It is a useful business start-ups via the pilot project Foundation Agency and effective board, which aims to supervise the integration Regensburg and the supportive service of Start-up Capital. of new architecture into the historic cityscape and to ensure The pilot project facilitates business start-ups by linking all that new developments in the historic city centre are of high participants and providing extensive, neutral and qualified quality and are compatible with the heritage assets; advice and assistance. Start-up Capital Regensburg allows • Integrated vision/ concept for the retail development start-ups without having sufficient funding, in many cases (recently developed): Framework for the development of in favourable i. e. low-cost locations; retail trade in the Old Town targeting retailers, citizens and • Accessibility of the Old Town: Coordinated mobility system city administration. The model will be used by the city within a pedestrian zone, which is partly open to (individu- administration for the further development trade framework al) motorized traffic; and the Old Town “Management Plan" and "Development • Multifunctionality: Achieving a mix of residential uses and Plan”; retail facilities (working and living); • Old Town Protection Statues (Altstadtschutzsatzung): The • Public space: Creating benefical conditions for purpose of the statute is to implement building measures Regensburg’s citizens; and advertising which show consideration and respect for • Tourism: Marketing itself as traditional identity. the existing historic buildings and for indigenous styles of design and their traditional rules. The statute applies to Contact outside walls, roofs, roof superstructures and segments, Mr Matthias Ripp, windows and other openings, balconies, railings, overhead World Heritage Coordinator of Regensburg lines, antennas, enclosures and advertising billboards; [email protected] • Concept for an information centre for the World Heritage area: Target groups are tourists, inhabitants, professionals Website and children, which will be presented the theme of the www.regensburg.de UNESCO world cultural heritage in general and of www.worldheritage-regensburg.de Regensburg in particular…; • Events to communicate the cultural heritage values of a Managing Authority place to different target groups. The Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology Further Regensburg has profound experience in: • Urban rehabilitation programs and preserving historic monuments; • Cross-sectoral departmental co-operation via "Future workshops" to ensure a comprehensive view of the subject "Old Town"; • Pact for the Old Town: The Pact for the Old Town is a strategic alliance of concerned public and private actors, which is looking ahead regarding Regensburg’s Old Town and therefore developing an overall concept and arrange- ments, accountig the realization in trade-off and corpo- rately campaigning for the location. • Retail Trade: Spatial Clustering and Vacancy Management: Via biannual census of retail businesses and vacancies in the historic centre, classes of businesses in the same or similar commercial sectors are created (clusters) as well as a “vacancy map” via geocoding (GIS). The results are used to upgrade and strengthen the clusters (filling the vacancies with the “fitting” retail in the location or support- Arnulfsplatz