On 12 February 2019, Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner presented the awards for the German Agricultural Culture Prize 2019 in Berlin.

They went to seven outstandingly successful new buildings or conversions in the countryside. The German Agricultural Culture Prize is awarded by the Foundation LV Münster; the conceptual sponsors are the German Farmers' Association, the Association of German Architects and the Association of German Landscape Architects.

The expert jury, chaired by Heiner Farwick, President of the Association of German Architects and assisted by bdla Vice President Irene Burkhardt, was spoilt for choice and had to select from more than 80 applications.

The main prize

The initial situation was devastating: in a major fire in 2014, the Stiegler family's farmstead with its historic buildings in the middle of Gonnersdorf, a small village in Middle Franconia, had been almost completely destroyed. Only the old, distinctive sandstone forge remained standing. This was a great challenge for farmer Fritz Stiegler and his Dürschingen architects.

The reconstruction of the typical three-sided farmhouse was an outstanding success, according to the jury of the German Agricultural Culture Prize. An excellent example that functional and modern building with regional materials and the demand for a pleasing and harmonious appearance is possible. The farm ensemble of the Stiegler farm with its focus on hazelnut cultivation now looks as if all the buildings had always been there. This was worth the main prize of 10,000 euros to the jury.

The awards

• The Kienzlerhansenhof, a single farm in a charming Black Forest high valley at an altitude of almost 1,000 metres, was awarded 4,000 euros. With a great deal of sensitivity, attention to detail and the art of restoration, the renovation of the listed farm from 1591 into a traditional building with a modern use has been successful.
• In Viechtach in the district of Regen, a new, old farmhouse or old people's partition house is located on the edge of the forest. The owner and architect have turned a building that had been vacant for decades into an attractive home with a combination of wood, concrete, glass and granite. Here, too, the jury awarded a prize.
• Another award of 4,000 euros was presented today to Christian and Dietmar May from Junkershausen in Lower Franconia, together with their architects, for the concept and construction of a new farm building. They built an ecological sow house in all-wood construction with an outdoor run for the animals. The jury praised in particular the exemplary design and combination with hedges, green roof and visitor platform.
• Another prize was awarded to a 19th-century half-timbered farmhouse in Lengerich, Münsterland. The jury paid tribute to the careful modernisation, with due regard for the original character of the house and the neighbourhood of an old water mill and an estate with moats.

The German Agricultural Culture Prize honours outstanding architectural buildings and outdoor facilities on agricultural estates and thus the efforts of farmers to achieve a harmonious combination of new and old, living and working in the countryside. The nationwide prize was awarded for the second time.

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