“Draft:Programme Preservation and development of places of worship”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Estonian national Programm "Preservation and development of places of worship" (2003-2018)

Churches have been an integral part of Estonian culture since the 13th century. They have influenced the built environment throughout the ages – they have been and remain landmarks in cultural landscapes. This extremely rich and varied heritage is comprised of medieval stone churches, imposing granite and brick Orthodox churches, the humble prayer halls of Free Churches and tiny vernacular wooden chapels. These are valuable structures which require constant care and, as national assets, support from the state. In 2003, after long preparations, the national programme Preservation and development of places of worship was launched. At first the programme was intended to last ten years (2004–2013), and it had the ambitious aim of preserving all the historic churches through a systematic approach to the conservation of these buildings. The second period of the programm lasted fron 2014 to 2018. The programme was led by a committee which included representatives from the National Heritage Board, the three larger Churches (the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, Orthodox Church of Estonia and Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate), the Estonian Council of Churches, different national government departments and local governments.

The main part of the programme was dedicated to the conservation of church buildings and their furnishings. All places of worship were included, regardless of whether or not they were listed as national monuments. The first priority was the urgent repair of roofs, spires and other constructions in poor condition. Apart from conservation, other activities were planned, including research on architecture, condition and conservation measures, inventories, awareness raising, publicity and capacity building. The ‘soft’ activities of the programme resulted in several research projects on the causes of deterioration, conservation measures and the architectural history of the churches. A public Internet-based database on the conservation of historic churches (including materials from different archives, as well as recent scientific studies) was launched. Training was provided for church wardens, and handbooks on church maintenance were published in Estonian and Russian. Six academic monographs on churches and their furnishings were published. Inventories of organs, church textiles, bells and churchyards were commissioned.

The programme produced many positive results, not only in saving church buildings from disrepair, but also in involving different stakeholders in the decision-making process, in providing a more systematic approach to conservation and in attracting more money to the field. However, the funds were insufficient to achieve the main goal of the programme, and thus the deterioration rate of these historic buildings has been only partially slowed. There is an urgent need for the continuation of the programme to extend the good results achieved so far. There is also a need to pay attention to new topics, such as the sustainability of churches through extending the functions of the buildings.^[1]

External links[muuda | muuda lähteteksti]

References

1. ^{{Cite web|url=https://www.muinsuskaitseamet.ee/sites/default/files/content-editors/PYP/puhakodade_sailitamine_ja_areng_riiklik_prorgamm_2003_kuni_2013_raamat.pdf|title=Pühakodade säilitamine ja areng|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}