Rewilding from a heritage-making perspective: the remains of the former Beelitz tuberculosis sanatorium in Berlin

Abstract This article addresses the rarely studied heritage dimension of rewilding. It explores two innovative lines of research in heritage studies: natureculture, which proposes a nonanthropocentric approach to the concept of heritage, and the study of ruins whose heritage value derives from what Alois Riegl called age value. The main objective of this article is to address the understanding and management of rewilded heritage sites where natural and cultural values converge while respecting their process of decay. To this end, this article uses the narrative of curated decay, part of a new paradigm of heritage thinking called postpreservationism. The first part of the article establishes the conceptual basis of the topic, clarifying the concepts of natureculture, curated decay, and adaptive release. In the second part, this theoretical background is reviewed with respect to the remains of the northwestern quadrant of the former Beelitz tuberculosis sanatorium, which is located 50 km from Berlin. This complex was built between 1898 and 1930, partially destroyed in World War II, abandoned in 1994, and ultimately integrated into the Baum & Zeit recreational park. The article concludes by outlining some guidelines for the management of the decay of the Alpenhaus (one of the sanatorium’s pavilions) according to the spirit of curated decay and by summarising the intervention policies that have been applied in the park.