According to the Federal Act on the Protection of Monuments, monuments are "... immovable and movable objects created by man (including remains and traces of formative human processing as well as artificially erected or formed ground formations) of historical, artistic or other cultural significance..." (Art. 1 (1) DMSG as amended by Federal Law Gazett I. No. 170/1999). The federal competence "protection of monuments" encompasses the protection of monuments defined in this way from destruction, alteration and transfer abroad.
The data available for this purpose on an annual basis comes from the monument database of the Federal Monuments Office and from the cultural reports of the Federal Government. The data on facade restoration activities is provided by the Federal Monuments Office.