PRESS RELEASE

Dust and deposits removed

Kärcher cleans Ulm Minster choir vault

Press contact

Sebastian Wein

Press Officer

Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG

Alfred-Kärcher-Str. 2840

71364 Winnenden

T +49 71 95 14-4740

F +49 7195 14-2193

sebastian.wein@de.kaercher.com

Winnenden, 19 October 2018 – Ulm Minster is best known for its church spire − at 162 metres is the highest in the world. But the monumental choir vault with its choir stalls and 14th and 15th century windows are also of great cultural and historical significance. Since the last clean 70 years ago, a clearly visible layer of dust made up of pollen, candle smoke, textile fibres and spiders' webs had become deposited on the interior walls. Together with the State Heritage Authority and the Minster master builder, specially trained industrial climbers are now removing the layer of dirt from the walls under the guidance of Kärcher cleaning experts.

"The cleaning of Ulm Minster is a real one-off in a series of exciting projects that we have delivered all over the world in recent years," says Hartmut Jenner, Chairman of the Executive Board of Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG. "Every project is unique and brings new challenges with it: At Ulm Minster, for example, we are using backpack cleaners from a rope," continues Jenner. Ulm Minster master builder Michael Hilbert agrees: "The Kärcher backpack cleaner means the cleaning of the monument is progressing perfectly. The fact that Kärcher is fully sponsoring the work is an early Christmas gift for us."

Given the enormous height of the choir vault, cleaning experts abseil down from the vaulted ceiling to carry out the work at a height of 29 metres and over a total area of 2,500 m2. This involves lowering ropes into the interior through existing openings in the Minster's arched ceiling. The industrial climbers, equipped with BV 5/1 Bp backpack vacuum cleaners, then pull themselves upwards without touching the walls. The team supporting Kärcher cleaning specialist Nick Heyden is using hand jets with exceptionally soft natural hairs brushes. A further advantage: Secondary dirt is avoided because the vacuums immediately pick up all the dust. The work is scheduled for completion on 26 October. To avoid disruption to the progress and prevent danger to anyone not involved, the Ulm Minster choir vault is currently closed to visitors.

As a part of its cultural sponsorship programme, Kärcher has cleaned more than 140 monuments worldwide as part of their restoration since 1980. These include the colonnades at St. Peter's Square in Rome, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, the over 3,300-year-old Colossi of Memnon in Luxor, Upper Egypt, and the Mount Rushmore National Memorial as well as Aachen Cathedral and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in Berlin. The cleaning always takes place in close cooperation with monument conservators, restorers and art historians.

A Word file and printable images for this press release are available for download in our Newsroom https://www.kaercher.com/presse.

Since the last clean 70 years ago, a clearly visible layer of dust has become deposited.

The work is being carried out at a height of up to 29 metres.

The cleaning experts abseil down from the vaulted ceiling to carry out the work across 2,500 m2.