Formann Assumed Professorship in Hanover

Practical Focus on Garden Art and its Conservation: Formann Assumed Professorship in Hannover

Dr. Inken Formann assumed the professorship for the History of Landscape Architecture and Garden Conservation at Leibniz University Hannover for the winter semester of 2023/24. She succeeds Prof. Dr. em. Jochen Wolschke-Bulmahn, whose field of expertise was known as the History of Open Space Planning until 2021. With Formann's appointment, this position is now developing a practical and future-oriented focus for both teaching and research.

From 2009 to 2023, Formann headed the Department of Gardens and Garden Conservation at the State Castles and Gardens of Hesse. In addition to this role, she served as a lecturer in Garden Conservation at the University of Kassel (2018–2021) and at the Hochschule Geisenheim (2021–2023). She is a member of the Historical Gardens Working Group of the German Society for Garden Art and Landscape Culture e.V., serving as the second chairperson from 2015 to 2019.

With her appointment in Hannover, Formann returns to her academic roots. She studied Landscape and Open Space Planning at Leibniz University from 1996 to 2002 and earned her doctorate in 2004 at the Center for Garden Art and Landscape Architecture (CGL) with a thesis titled "The Garden Culture of Protestant Women's Monasteries and Convents in Northern Germany." Following a voluntary position in the Hessian Castle Administration, she held a position as a research associate at the Chair of History of Landscape Architecture and Garden Conservation at TU Dresden from 2005 to 2009.

Formann's goal is to highlight the value of green cultural heritage for society through science and research, and to strengthen the advocacy for the preservation of historical gardens and parks through interdisciplinary networking. She responds to current and future challenges in preserving evidence of garden and landscape culture with a focus on garden conservation, climate change adaptation, and sustainability. She is particularly dedicated to fostering the next generation of scholars and professionals in garden conservation and garden history research. Students should be actively engaged in raising public awareness of these topics and be closely connected to future career opportunities.