The preservation of Tematín castle
Trenčín Region, Middle Považie, Slovakia
Lead
Stressor(s)
Disaster Risk Management phase(s)
Type(s) of measure(s)
Background
Slovakia is among the countries with the highest concentration of castles in Europe (Gúčik & Marciš, 2018), a total of almost 300, of whichwhich109 are listed as sites of National Cultural Heritage significance (Ižvolt & Smatanová, 2014). Since the beginning of the 20th Century, national castles have received attention from the tourism sector and later by the State as a means to preserve the country’s character and boost local economy.
Despite the State’s increasing efforts to conserve these castles, some of them are still in poor condition due to lack of maintenance, and lack of specialists experienced in medieval building techniques (Ižvolt & Smatanová, 2014). In the case of Tematín castle, these initial challenges were aggravated by the monument’s reduced accessibility.
Sources
https://www.hs-rm.de/fileadmin/persons/ckausxxx/European_Heritage_Volunteers_Programme_2019.pdf
Interview with MojmarChomir, Head of OZ HradTematín#
For more information, visit OZ Hrad Tematín website: http://www.tematin.eu/
Detailed description
The Tematín castle is located at the top of the side ridge of Považský Inovec hill and is one of the most remote castles of the country. Built around 1250, it used to guard the western borders of the Kingdom of Hungary, adopting the role of an important signalling point. The castle was greatly damaged in 1710 and remained unoccupied from 1726 onwards. Currently, it is mainly constituted by torsal architecture, subject to erosion caused by winds and freeze/thaw cycles.
The castle is protected since 2007 by OZ Hrad Tematín, a local non-profit organisation led by Mojmir Choma in collaboration with a core group of experts. The activities performed are greatly based on volunteer work. The pool of experts gathers regularly (mostly during weekends) in the castle to discuss conservation priorities and measures, which encompass masonry, carpentry works, general maintenance and monitoring of the conservation status; complemented with awareness-raising actions.
OZ Hrad Tematín forms part of a network of 28 organisations known as Save the Castles,which benefit from a State-led initiative that promotes the inclusion of unemployed people in the protection of national heritage (Programme 1.4 [1]). OZ Hrad Tematín is in charge of employing staff from municipalities and villages nearby, whereas their salaries are covered by the Slovakia Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family upon approval. Candidates are trained by Mojmir to undertake conservation work using traditional techniques, which helps them acquire technical and interpersonal skills that could be applied in other contexts, increasing their employment chances. Additionally, OZ Hrad Tematín is cooperating with the European Heritage Volunteers Project, which organises two-week training camps for young volunteers, mostly students or recent graduates that want to acquire new skills or develop a dissertation or thesis in the field. In exchange for their work, volunteers in Tematín castle are offered food and accommodation. Some of these volunteers, through their universities, help advance research on aspects such as the main drivers of the castle’s degradation and associated risks, or the effectiveness of the applied restoration techniques.
[1] The Governmental Programme 1.4 was launched in 2011 after being successfully implemented in three pilot projects, as a partnership between the Slovakia Ministry of Culture and the Slovakia Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. The programme was an attempt to promote local economy by attracting tourism and creating job opportunities, and by bringing communities closer to the conservation of their cultural heritage. The Ministry of Culture is responsible for expenditure related to material and technical support to the amount of approximately €800,000 in every year of the programme. The salaries of the workers are covered from the resources of the European Social Fund, with a total budget of €3,272,000for the three years of the programme’s duration
Main outcomes and highlights
- OZ Hrad Tematín has managed to preserve the existing architecture against further damage, enabling safe conditions for visitors, since the beginning of its work in 2007. Special emphasis has been put on the perimeter walls, to minimise falling rocks.
- Since 2014, Oz Hrad Tematín has employed 10 new people as part of the Programme 1.4.
- Since 2015, Oz Hrad Tematín has been working on the restoration of the neglected Očkovská mound together with residents.
- All the work performed is assessed and approved by the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic.
Sucess factors
- A constant and committed core of volunteer experts has been essential.
- The integration of local unemployed people in OZ Hrad Tematín’s activities contributed to positively change local people’s perception towards the initiative. The organisation has managed to connect local populations with the castle, which is now perceived as a key element of cultural identity. So far, up to ten new people have been hired to perform conservation work in Tematín castle.
- As OZ Hrad Tematin has gained acceptance among the locals, some of them have suggested selling their products in the castle as a means to obtain funds for its conservation.
Lessons learned
- According to current legislation, the maintenance of National Cultural Heritage assets shall be provided by their owner. However, the process of restitution and ‘de-nationalisation’ of land and properties caused a situation in which many of the castles were not even listed in the Land Register, did not have a recognised owner, or were listed just as forestry lands. In practice this meant that no one had the responsibility to care for these monuments, but, at the same time, no one had the right to maintain the castles either. Currently, OZ Hrad Tematín is in the process of solving property issues.
- Since OZ Hrad Tematín’s interventions to improve the castle’s condition, increased tourist numbers have started to become a conservation challenge as well. Currently, the NGO is in the process of establishing a tourism management process.
