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History up close: Freiberg Press House opens doors to 400 visitors!
On September 14, 2025, the Freiberg Press House opened its doors for the Open Monument Day, where 400 visitors explored the history.
History up close: Freiberg Press House opens doors to 400 visitors!
On September 14, 2025, the Freiberg Press House opened its doors for Open Monument Day. Hundreds of visitors had the opportunity to experience first hand the impressive architectural history of the press house, which is part of the world heritage. This special event not only brought the history of the building to life, but also offered exciting insights into the creation of local newspapers such as the “Freie Presse” and the “Blick”. Over 400 interested people flocked to Freiberg's Obermarkt on Sunday to find out about the facets of journalism and media history, as freipresse.de reported.
The Open Monument Day is a Germany-wide event that also brought many historic buildings to life in Freiberg. This year the focus was on the motto “True Signs. Contemporary Witnesses to History”. Monument owners, associations and institutions opened their doors and invited the public to tours, visits and discussions. Even though the construction site tours of the station were postponed to September 28th, the information and the opportunity to explore the monuments remained. Visitors were able to find out about the historical and social significance of centuries-old buildings and technical achievements in the Freiberg mining area, as freiberg.de describes.
The legacy of monuments
Monuments are not only silent witnesses to our history, they are also part of lively discussions about social values. Since the protests following the murder of George Floyd, monuments have become the focus of public debate. Heritage scholars are required to address the questions of value and significance of cultural heritage. As bpb.de explains, monuments are “values made visible” that are evaluated in the context of racism and discrimination. The critical discussion about monuments has acquired a new dynamic in which historical figures and their complex role in society should be recognized.
The fact that monument preservation includes not only preservation but also reflection on monuments is particularly clear today. The social negotiation process surrounding the value of monuments is often an exciting and sometimes conflict-filled undertaking. Historical monuments should be contextualized and viewed in an open dialogue in order to contribute to positive social change.
The Open Monument Day in Freiberg was a step in this direction by raising awareness of the importance of historical buildings and promoting dialogue between visitors and monument owners. This shows once again how important it is not only to preserve our history, but also to actively discuss it and reinterpret it.