Documentation and preservation of the cultural and historical value of these monumental structures.

Mountain fortresses embody a historical dissonance between their original function as instruments of military power and their current perception as cultural assets. While they were once designed as bulwarks against external threats and symbols of territorial rule, their significance has changed fundamentally with social and technological changes. The transition from active defensive architecture to museum and cultural use represents a transformation in which military structures are transformed into shared testimonies of a collective past. This development is not without tension: memories of conflict and control contrast with the current demand for openness, communication and communal identification. Today, mountain fortresses serve as places for reflection on historical power relations and as platforms for transregional cultural understanding processes.

The role of FORTE CULTURA in the transformation process

FORTE CULTURA makes a significant contribution to the scientific recording and communication of this change. The network and European Cultural Route views fortifications no longer as military relics, but as interdisciplinary cultural assets of European significance. By promoting research, documentation and the exchange of best practices, the dissonance between the original purpose and today’s cultural appreciation is analysed and put to good use. International cooperation, events and joint strategies help to raise awareness of the complex transformation of mountain fortresses. This makes the change from an exclusive military structure to an integrative symbol of shared cultural heritage empirically comprehensible and accessible to a broad public.