Detail page - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

On Friday night (31 January), the German Bundestag passed a new law for the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.

SPK President Hermann Parzinger commented: "The new SPK Act is a decisive step towards guiding the Foundation into a bright future. Following the recently adopted new funding agreement for the Foundation with the increase in the basic amount from January 2026, for which we are extremely grateful to the federal and state governments, the second key step in the reform has now been completed. We are becoming more modern, more efficient, more synergetic and faster. The law is, if you like, the keystone of the reform, but also the legal basis for all the changes and innovations that we have developed in consultation with the BKM and the SPK Board of Trustees. The next steps can now be taken promptly on this basis, which is why the decision was so important in this legislative period.

I would like to thank everyone involved, first and foremost Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth and her office, the federal states, which were also involved in the development of the law, and the parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag for their objective and solution-orientated commitment, which made this decision, which is so important for us, possible after all. This broad consensus is of great importance; this is how forward-looking cultural policy works."

What does the new law, which is due to come into force on 1 December 2025 and follows on from the 1957 Establishment Act, regulate? The key new points are

• The foundation will be managed by a board of directors consisting of up to seven members. The President will lead the collegiate body with authority to issue directives.

• The President is appointed for a limited period of time. Other high-ranking management positions such as, in particular, facility managers are generally also appointed for a fixed term. Permanent appointments will be the exception.

• The Board of Trustees, consisting of the federal and state governments, will be reduced from 20 voting members to nine. The federal states will delegate seven members, with the state of Berlin as the foundation's home state being a permanent member. Four members of the German Bundestag will attend the meetings of the Foundation Council in an advisory capacity, which will ensure better liaison with its Committee on Culture and the Media. Other experts may also be called in.

• The Foundation's Advisory Board will be internationalised and in future will include foreign experts as well as domestic experts. The Chairperson of the Advisory Board will also participate in the meetings of the Board of Trustees in an advisory capacity.

• Foundations under private law can be added to the Foundation. This lays the foundation for the future integration of the Humboldt Forum.