Prisão Académica de Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (Alemanha): Estratégias de Reconhecimento e Promoção deste Património Cultural Universitário

Abstract

The need for differentiation of the territories has been stated by the recognition of their intrinsic particularities where Universities and their heritage assets gain a specific focus. This prominence is due to a successive extension of the notion of Cultural Heritage, or what some authors consider as a "triple conceptual extension” which is typological, chronological and geographical. The universities stood up in a territorial context, through their own civil and criminal courts, as a way to control academic activities and its regular functions. Beyond the intangible Universities’ heritage, we’re also looking to a material heritage embodied by buildings which registered the narratives of this regulatory power, or simply in which conditions they were applied. On this way, with this paper, it is intended to understand the knowledge beyond the recognition that different communities that vivify this heritage (residents and students) have regarding the Students’ Prison in the city of Heidelberg (Germany). It is also intended to analyze how it is promoted by the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität of Heidelberg but also by the government of the city of Heidelberg. Even though it is considered a rare heritage, and also complex, as it integrates values and several material and immaterial narratives, there are few studies that analyze this patrimonial element. It is intended, through literature review and questionnaires, to trace the evolution of heritage property, the promotion and safeguarding policies but also to understand the interconnections that it has with public policies and other city’s heritage assets.