The Bundesdenkmalamt (BDA) is the name of the Austrian Federal Monuments Office, a department of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture that is responsible for cultural heritage in Austria.
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The BDA was established in 1850 under Emperor Franz Joseph I, as a central commission for the preservation of National Heritage Sites. Its duties include the preservation, restoration and cataloging of immoveable cultural heritage. The BDA also monitors the export provisions of the Austrian monument protection act for moveable cultural heritage. The BDA is divided into one central bureau and nine "land conservation districts" in the provincial capitals. At their disposal are the following central departments:
The BDA is also responsible for restitution of some 8,000 objects and works of looted art which Austria in the time of National Socialism had acquired by devious means. Since often the original owners and all of their relatives had been killed during the Holocaust, restitution took place in the manner of auctions for the benefit of the Jewish community or to pay for material restitution of destroyed property, as in the case of the Jewish cemetery in Währing. Austria first did little to restore property to the damaged owner, but in the late 40's and 50's was put under pressure to make more of an effort according to the Moscow Declaration. As access to archives has slowly opened over time for provenance research, new clues and details such as stickers on the backs of auctioned objects that were photographed, have resulted in the discovery of previously "unfindable" owners. A set of such results was published in early December 2008 and exhibited at the Museum of Applied Arts.