About us - DenkStein Eiserner Vorhang

Who are we?

The association DenkStein Eiserner Vorhang (formerly Iron Curtain Memorial), was founded in 1998 on the initiative of the former Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor Dr. Alois Mock and has set a visible sign of remembrance of the Iron Curtain era by erecting a memorial in Vorderweißenbach (district Urfahr-Umgebung) in Upper Austria near the Czech border. Our origin lies in a memorial commemorating the Iron Curtain. With the help of our association and the “DenkStein” we would like to keep the memory of this time alive in order to prevent a repetition of the division of Europe. This mission is very close to our hearts. With our association we want to address all people, but especially young people, such as pupils and students, in order to raise awareness for the topic “Iron Curtain” among the youth.

Board of Directors: Dr. Bernhard Winkler (Chairman), Dr. Ferdinand Hochleitner (Deputy chairman), Dr. Alfred Fiedler (Deputy chairman), LAD Dr. Erich Watzl (Deputy chairman), Dr. Michael Schöfecker (Cashier), Dr. Eduard Pesendorfer (Secretary), Andreas Eckerstorfer (Organizational Officer), Johannes Weindl (Auditor), Kurt Kepplinger (Auditor)

Beirat: State Secretary a.D. Mag. Helmut Kukacka (Honorary chairman), Architect DI. Albert Böhm, Bgm. Leopold Gartner, GD-Stv. Mag. Michaela Keplinger-Mitterlehner, Mag. Manfred Luger, Dir. Mag. Margot Nazzal, Univ.Prof. Dr. Roman Sandgruber, Konsulent Klaus Schöfecker, Landtagspräsident a.D. LAbg. Wolfgang Stanek

What is our mission?

The association ‘DenkStein Eiserner Vorhang’ promotes the examination of freedom and democracy in a borderless Europe, especially among young people. Our mission is to immerse, reflect and learn from the past in order to secure a better future for Europe. Our DenkStein in Guglwald encourages reflection on the value of freedom and democracy, beyond past oppression. Visit us and actively shape the future of Europe.

Our logo shows what we stand for!

Cutting the barbed wire at the Czech-Austrian border opened the window to a free Europe. Thus, the border, which was life-threatening for a long time, developed into an ecological “Green Belt”. Our logo is intended to strengthen the collective memory for this!

What do we offer?

The Iron Curtain Memorial is open to the public. We are looking forward to numerous visitors at the memorial site, whether tourists, amateur historians or students. All are welcome to visit us at the former iron border and to learn and understand together with us.

We also offer cooperation for projects of various kinds. For example, in two projects in cooperation with the FH Hagenberg and with the Art University Linz, a website and an art project with an original barbed wire of the former border fence were created.