Bridging Values in Industrial Heritage Management, Viewed from Riegl's System of Heritage Value: The Zollverein Case

In our paper, we introduce the concept of “bridging values” and demonstrate their practical and conceptual importance by analysing the transformation of the Zollverein World Heritage Site. Once one of the world's largest and most efficient mining complexes, the site has become multifunctional and is now a tourist attraction. Bridging value conceptualizes the functional role values can have in resolving conflicts in specific cases and justifying solutions in transformation processes of heritage sites. The paper begins with an introduction to Riegl's system of heritage value and its significance for the value-based management of change. We then argue that there are two distinct ways of considering value: absolute values, which have counterfactual validity, and deliberative values, which can be weighed against economic values, among others. Using the competition for a protective roof for the Zollverein coking plant as an example, we demonstrate the role of bridging values, such as “pioneering”, which is not usually considered to be a heritage value. Finally, we discuss the importance of bridging values and Riegl's system of heritage value in industrial heritage management.