Entfestigung

The tower of Wasserburg Staden carries within it many layers and processes of transformation. With the project “Entfestigung”, a discourse on design and democracy is opened right at the open roof of this historic landmark in the Wetterau region.

The 870th anniversary of the tower, built in 1156, offers a special occasion to bring people together around the shared design and use of the tower as a community space. The aim of the project is to preserve the dilapidated tower and activate it as a public cultural and meeting place for democratic use.

The project unfolds in three phases:

• The year 2025 already marked a moment of activation, preparing the tower for the upcoming construction and discourse events.
• In the summer of 2026, the central construction and discourse event will enable people to learn about the tower and the topic of de-fortification through participatory design workshops, exhibition contributions and a discourse and video art programme. At the ‘Entfestival’ on 6 June 2026, over 1,000 metre sticks and folding rules will serve as a colourful and versatile measuring and building medium. In addition, exciting discussion contributions and artistic interventions will explore what design for democracy can look like at the monument and in rural areas. Together, a vision of the tower as a democratic cultural venue will be created.
• In autumn 2026, there will be a reflection and closing event at which the artistic positions of the summer and the resulting discourse on monument preservation and spatial design will be presented and reflected upon.

Entfestigung is an open cultural network initiated by artist-curator duo Adam Langer and Max Weisthoff. Together with designer Ulrike Silz, they are collaborating on WDC2026 with architect Alex Römer, sculptor Ludwig Hauser and other local and national partners.