Theme 2024
Bergen & Bouwen
Mountains & Man-made Structures
Rugged mountain terrain has presented humankind with great challenges down the ages, yet major obstacles have been overcome: roads have been built, tunnels excavated and great dams erected across valley floors. From a distance, mountains might look impregnable, yet when we get close up, we can pick out the mountain roads with their hairpin bends and avalanche protection barriers, cable cars and lift stations, chalets and mountain refuges and – often higher than the tree line – trenches, bunkers and forts. Even on the remotest of mountain tops, humans have left their mark.
Famous architects have been responsible for building fashionable mountain resorts, visitor centres and museums. Take Iranian architect Zaha Hadidfor example, who designed the futuristic Messner Mountain Museum on top of the Kronplatz at 2,275 metres. The modernistic Monte Rosa hut, on the flanks of the self-same mountain, was designed in the form of a mountain crystal.
Vast reservoirs, created through the construction of gigantic dams have changed some landscapes irrevocably. Closer to home, in the neighbouring town of Kerkrade and south of Aachen in the Eifel forests, these man-made landscapes can sometimes be reminiscent of the Canadian Shield. In other ways too, the upland character of our local region came about with the arrival of the coal mines and the huge spoil heaps they left. The Wilheminaberg, in next-door Landgraaf, is one such hill. From here you can see the Halden and the Terrils – as they are known in Germany and Belgium – which dominate the landscape in the near distance.
Humans have always tried to tame and get the upper hand over nature, and added or displaced mountains of their own. Should we see these awe-inspiring interventions as feats of human ingenuity, or of disdain? Should we respectfully admire them or try to stop them completely? Should a tunnel that could make a remote Himalayan valley accessible to good education, medical care and tourists be rejected? Should the renovation and sustainability of a mountain hut high in the Alps be encouraged, just so that we can enjoy hot showers there?
The mountain films and events we have organised this year reflect this theme: mountains and man-made structures. They offer interesting links to the programmes of the Institute of Cartopology in Vaals, the Green Transformable Building Lab and the New Regional Bauhaus in Heerlen, and the RWTH University in Aachen. Together with these partners, we will be helping to address the often difficult questions relating to man-made structures in the mountains.