Helicopter assisted scaffolding project at Homburg ruins

Helicopter assisted scaffolding project at Homburg ruins

Nowadays, in the age of mobility and tourism, access routes to medieval buildings are largely taken for granted. However, this does not apply to the Homburg ruins in Stadtoldendorf, in the district of Holzminden, Germany. The remains of the once imposing 12th-century masonry are just as difficult to reach in the up to 406-metre-high Homburgwald forest as they were in the days of yore, when the castle was built to protect Amelungsborn Abbey. It may be a beautiful place for hikers to enjoy solitude after a steep ascent, but it is a challenge for construction logistics experts who have to transport all the equipment – including 28 tonnes of modular scaffolding material – to the main tower, which is to be renovated.

The Braunschweig State Construction Management planned to renovate the tower's masonry over a period of approximately five months and to install a viewing platform at the same time. To this end, an internal and external scaffold in a circular design with 420 and 650 square metres respectively was requested. Lindner Gerüstbau, based in Kolkwitz in Brandenburg, was awarded the contract. As a specialist in industrial scaffolding, particularly in the chemical and petrochemical sectors, the 8-metre-high tower with a diameter of 11 metres was one of the smaller projects for the company, which is part of the Lindner Group that operates throughout Europe.

But the material transport to the ruins were still a challenge. Without further ado, Lindner Gerüstbau chartered a helicopter service specialising in air transport to transport not only the material and equipment needed for the construction work, but also the pallets with the precisely weighed RINGSCAFF scaffolding material from Scafom-rux from the uloading point to the castle ruins. Beforehand, Lindner Gerüstbau had meticulously prepared the material for air transport. The pallets were each allowed to weigh a maximum of 1 tonne and were individually flown to their destination, which meant that the peace and quiet on the mountain was over for the time being.

Since the castle ruin is a listed building, the subsequent work on the object had to be coordinated with the heritage protection authority. Changes to the building fabric were to be kept to a minimum. Thanks to the high quality RINGSCAFF modular scaffolding system, the exterior and interior scaffolding posed no difficulties, according to Lindner's technical operations manager, Detlef Benack. The challenges posted by the stepped exterior surfaces of the structure and the uneven and unpaved terrain were also mastered. When the renovation work is completed in 2024, the efforts of walkers seeking peace and quiet will be even more rewarded when the turbulence of the upcoming material removal has subsided and the castle tower appears in its new splendour.