Federal Monuments Office

The BDA was established in 1853 under Emperor Franz Joseph I, as a central commission for the preservation of National Heritage Sites.

The BDA also monitors the export provisions of the Austrian monument protection act for moveable cultural heritage.

At their disposal are the following central departments: The BDA is also responsible for restitution of some 8,000 objects and works of looted art which Austria in the time of National Socialism had acquired by devious means.

Austria first did little to restore property to the damaged owner, but in the late 1940s and 1950s was put under pressure to make more of an effort according to the Moscow Declaration.

As access to archives has slowly opened over time for provenance research, new clues and details such as stickers on the backs of auctioned objects that were photographed, have resulted in the discovery of previously "unfindable" owners.

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Bundesdenkmalamt plaque on a building in Salzburg indicating " Cultural property " in four languages: German: Kulturdenkmal , English: Cultural Property , French: Bien culturel , and Russian: 'Культурное Достояние .
Early medieval oven, uncovered during excavations in Gaweinstal by the Bundesdenkmalamt .
Poster for the Tag des Denkmals , the Austrian version of the European Heritage Days , sponsored by the Bundesdenkmalamt .