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Cultural assets
Why must cultural objects be protected?
The trade in works of art and antiques has become an important economic factor for Europe. It appears that the demand for cultural assets is so great that the illegal procurement and trading of stolen works of art, too, are massively on the increase.
The consequences are, specifically, the loss of cultural identity for the nations that are plundered, the disappearance of historical references, or, in cases of illegal excavations, the destruction of cultural sites that hold testimonials to human history.
In order to reduce such activities and to achieve effective protection against the loss and destruction of cultural property it has become necessary to introduce national and international regulations such as bans on imports and exports.
By assisting the monitoring of these import and export prohibitions, the Customs Administration helps to ensure that the current German and Union-wide legislation for the protection of cultural property is observed whenever goods are being imported or exported.
What must I consider when travelling within the EU?
On travels within the European Union, the provisions of the Act to prevent the exodus of German cultural property (Kulturgutschutzgesetz, KGSG) must be observed and the relevant authorisations or supporting documents be carried.
The protection of cultural property of national significance
Cultural assets of national significance within the meaning of Art. 6 KSGS, the removal of which from Germany would represent a substantial loss to the national heritage, are subject to specific safeguards. The cultural assets protected under Art. 6 (1) KGSG are listed in a register of cultural property of national significance, such as works of art, paintings, sculptures, library collections, manuscripts and archives, including photographic, cinematographic and sound archives. Registers of this kind are compiled by the German regional agencies for the protection of cultural property (Kulturgutschutzbehörden der Länder) and published on the Internet.
In accordance with Art. 6 (1) (2-4) KGSG, even objects that are not listed in a register of cultural property of national significance are deemed protected national cultural assets if they are publicly owned and held by a heritage institution under public law, or if they are owned and held by a heritage institution which is predominantly funded by government grants, or if they are part of a federal or state-level art collection.
Please note
The export of nationally significant cultural objects that are subject to Art. 6 KGSG requires authorisation. Licences for the temporary export of cultural assets within the meaning of Art. 6 KGSG are issued by the cultural property protection agency of the German state in whose register of cultural property of national significance the items in question are listed pursuant Art. 6 (1) KGSG, or in whose territory the items are being held pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (2 and 3) KGSG at the time of lodging the licence application. Licences for the permanent export of cultural assets of national significance can only be issued by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
If cultural objects subject to Art. 24 (1) (2) KGSG are to be exported to another Member State, an export licence will be required where such objects comply with the relevant thresholds of age and value. For more information and applications for licences please contact your regional agency for the protection of cultural property.
As concerns travel within the European Union, compliance with the provisions of the legislation on cultural assets is monitored by custom’s transport route inspection units. There is no provision for customs clearance.
Further provisions governing the protection of cultural objects
Further to the Act to prevent the exodus of German cultural property, a number of other legal provisions governing the protection of cultural objects exist, such as:
- Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 of 18 December 2008 on the export of cultural goods
- Regulation (EC) No 1210/2003 of 7 July 2003 concerning certain specific restrictions on economic and financial relations with Iraq
- Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 of 18 January 2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria
- Regulation (EU) 2019/880 of 17 April 2019 on the introduction and the import of cultural goods
- UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of 14 November 1970
More detailed information about this topic can be found on the joint website of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the German regional agencies for the protection of cultural property.