Three heritage sites across three countries become a learning point for young professionals.
Idrija, Slovenia, 12th June. A consortium of 3 non-profit organizations announce financing from the EU for extensive studies for three heritage sites with European importance through the project “Baths, gothic churches and miners’ houses: Youth-led revitalisation of built cultural heritage” which unites young professionals from peripheral areas of Central and Eastern Europe - Slovenia, Romania and Slovakia.
The project is organized around three emblematic cultural heritage buildings: 19th Century Idrija Miners’ Houses (Slovenia), 19th century Neptune Baths of Băile Herculane (Romania) and 13th Century St.Ladislaus’ church in Kameňany (Slovakia). All three buildings have been recognised for their European heritage values (UNESCO World Heritage site, Europa Nostra’s 7 Most Endangered cultural heritage sites in 2022, and European Heritage Label site), yet are facing bleak futures due to inability of the cultural heritage sector to drive their revitalisation.
The overall budget of 188.000 Euro will be used for three case studies and researches on each site and three Master Classes for young professionals. The project focuses not only on heritage sites with European value, but also on how young people can have an impact on the revitalisation and conservation of cultural heritage sharing three different stories and three different approaches.
“We are happy to be able to continue our work on different levels - one that is directly focused on the site by extending our studies and applying it locally through masterclass workshops and also by continuing to create a platform where young professionals and students can learn about different conservation techniques. Our effort goes beyond the national borders by cooperating among NGOs from three countries where each of us has a different experience and hopefully it will be passed on to the young people that will participate in the proposed activities,” said Matevž Straus, the project manager of ID20 from Slovenia.
Baths, gothic churches and miners’ houses: Youth-led revitalisation of built cultural heritage”, shortened for “Project RE:” is a multi-annual project that takes place for two years until the end of 2024. Masterclasses workshops will take place in 2024, with the program being announced by each organization in part, 2023 being a year dedicated to studies and research on each site.
The masterclasses organized by all partners will be open for 30 participants in each country and will take place in the spring and summer of 2024 over the course of three days. The focus of the masterclass will be on traditional and modern construction techniques for lime plaster ornaments, woodworking, landscaping, 3D digitisation and interpretation, storytelling and awareness-raising of the importance of preserving historical monuments and fundraising techniques using awareness raised through social media platforms.
The project is co-funded by the European Union scheme Creative Europe.
