Hermann Parzinger receives the Marsilius Medal of Heidelberg University
Press release from 02/01/2019
The Marsilius Kolleg at Heidelberg University yesterday awarded the Marsilius Medal to the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in recognition of his services to bringing together different academic cultures.
Prior to this, the prehistorian held the Marsilius Lecture in the Old Auditorium of Heidelberg University on the topic of "Cultural property on the wrong track. Between Provenance Research, Restitution and Shared Heritage". As President of the SPK, Parzinger deals with a wide variety of issues relating to the paths taken by cultural property: Nazi-looted property, looted art or cultural assets relocated due to war, illegally traded antiquities or even objects with a colonial past. Using selected examples from these problem areas, he explained how solutions can be developed on the basis of broad-based research. These include not only reparation and restitution, but also taking joint responsibility for the objects and informing the public about their history.
The Marsilius Lectures are aimed at both academics and the general public. Once a semester, the Marsilius Kolleg invites an outstanding scientist to speak on a topic that bridges the gap between scientific cultures. Past speakers have included Nobel Prize winners Günter Blobel and Christiane Nüsslein-Vollhard.