Slovak Republic

New Metel Detecting

Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Urban Areas
Slovak Republic
Marek Šarišský
Architect, Institute for Monuments, office Bardejov
Main tool for regulation of every building activity in Slovakia is Territorial Planing.
Territorial plan is based on many analysis and research in many fields. This paper should
introduce linkage between territorial planing and protection of build cultural heritage stressing
case of Town Reserve Bardejov.
1. Territorial Planning
Territorial planning in Slovakia is directed by the law No. 50/1970 of SNR (Slovak
National Council) and related executive regulation No. 237/2000 issued by The Ministry of
Environment – Building Act. According §8 - §14 territorial planning have four levels.
1. The basic and most general document is „Conception of territorial development
of Slovak Republic“ It is designed for whole area of Slovak Republic and it is
setting the hierarchy of the structure of the settlement in international and nationwide
relations. Beside other issues, this document should ensure environmental
and ecological stability as well as conservation of cultural and historical heritage.
„Conception“ is prepared by the Ministry of Environment and declared by the
Government.
2. Territorial plan for the region is designed for the part of the country with several
towns and villages where some specific development plans should be solved.
Organisation which is preparing the territorial plan for the region must take in
consideration ...rules and regulations for environment care, territorial system of
ecological stability, landscape development and preservation of cultural
monuments, monumental reserves and monumental zones. Territorial plan of the
region is approved by the regional office of state administration.
3. Every municipality with more than 2000 inhabitants is obliged to prepare master
plan of the settlement. This plan should define ... rules and regulations for
preservation and usage of natural resources, cultural and historical values and
significant landscape elements. Master plan of the settlement should determine,
for which part detailed master plan of zone is necessary.
4. Master plan of the zone defines rules and regulations for building activity in the
zone, particularly ... rules and regulations for integration of new buildings into
existing build environment, monumental reserves, monumental zones and to the
landscape.
Liability of territorial planning documentation: In all levels of territorial planing
documentation are rules and regulations for protection and usage of historical and cultural
resources as well as for integration of new building activity into historical environment
compulsory.
2. Legislation Concerned Monumental Care
Slovak Republic undertook legislative acts and international engagements of the former
Czechoslovakia, which used to be one of the first states signed international charters and
conventions in the field of Monumental care. Those legal documents found its part in our
legislation and we can say that our legal measures are mostly derived from the law No.
27/1987 of, linked to above mentioned Building Act, which specified the contents of terms
Monument, National Cultural Monument, Monumental Reserve, Monumental Zone, Buffer
Zone, along with stipulations specifying responsibilities of monument care agencies and
organisations, and those of owners, users and administrators of historical monuments.
Owners are under obligation to protect such objects, maintained them in good condition and
prevent their devaluation.
As it was mentioned before there are three types of protection of an area defined in
the law on state care of historical monuments.
1. The highest level of legal protection is within the „Monumental reserve“. It is the
territory where character and environment is determined by the set of cultural
monuments or archaeological sites. Monumental reserve as well as regulations
for any activity within the protected area are declared by the Government.
2. The settlement or it’s part with lower concentration of the monuments, historical
environment, or landscape with significant cultural values, can be declared as
„Monumental zone“ by the regional state administration office.
3. When it is necessary for protection of immovable cultural monument, or it’s
environment, the district state administration office can define buffer zone. By
regulations can be some activities limited or even restricted.
Nowadays there are 18 Town Reserves and 10 Reserves of Folk Architecture declared
in Slovakia. 87 Monumental Zones – 52 with urban, 35 with rural character. Up till now four
cultural and one natural (shared with Hungary) sites have been declared as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
Execution
Legal proceeding in cases of any activities must be confirmed by the binding opinion of
the representative District Office issued as a result of similar statements of the monument
care institution. These statements are in important cases preconditioned by the execution of
any necessary surveys. Based on their results a design and project for restoration, or for any
new development would be elaborated. Any building activity in accordance with approved
documentation is supervised by building inspection and monument – care supervision
bodies. Builders must adhere to specified conditions, or the building permit may be withheld
or further construction prohibited and fines imposed.
3. Case Study - Town Reserve Bardejov
Bardejov, the centre of upper Šariš region, with town core from Middle Ages is located in
north – east part of Slovakia close to the borders with Poland. First written evidence is from
the year 1241. The Slavonic settlement, whose traces from 9.-10. century have been found
in vicinity, was based on the trade roads from Hungary to Poland and Galicia. In 13. And 14.
century the German colonists from Silesia are being settled in the town. An important
impulse for change of urban structure and development of medieval town was the year 1320,
when the settlement was endowed by extensive privilege from King Charles Robert of Anjou.
From that time Bardejov is called „civitas“. The development of urban concept was finished in
the year 1376, when the town was promoted to a Free Royal Town and is mentioned as
already fortified. The town reached the importance of Košice and Buda (in Hungary).
Bardejov was based on an irregular chessboard layout. The basic layout of the town
consists of housing blocks divided into a regular street network and continuing with the
square. The network is based on three parallel roads, the lightly elongated rectangular
square, Kláštorská Street on the west and Stocklova Street on the east. These streets are
significantly larger than the four side streets intersecting them perpendicularly and were
originally important for the delivery of supplies. The streets were supplemented: a small
street emerging from the inner side around the fortification and a round street on the outer
side of the town’s fortification system.
The centre of the town consist of an oblong square with an area 260x80 metres, closed
on three sides by 46 storey town bourgeois houses build on typical narrow medieval lots and
perpendicular to the square. Unusually for this region the fourth northern side of the square is
closed by a town landmark – the Gothic parish church of St. Egidius with Renaissance
building of the town school. Their compositional counterparts is the late Gothic-early
Renaissance town hall in the middle of the square on the place of former market hall.
Housing blocks as well as lots have absolutely rational layout. In southern part of the
square, on east and west side are the housing blocks with exactly 15 lots. In northern part
were housing blocks with 10 lots on eastern side, on western side is number reduced,
according to irregular ground plan of the town and in addition some houses have been
destroyed when church building was extended. On southern side of the square are only 5
lots. Particular lot have average width 9,6 metres. Perpendicular street dividing housing
blocks is of the same width, south-west block is on northern side 96 metres deep it means
exactly 10 modules. All sizes were derived from basic measure - an ell. The width of one lot
is the multiplication of the basic module, it means 15 ells. Although the origin of an ell used in
Bardejov is unknown, the size is approximately 64 cm. The interpretation of the sizes can
oriented us in analysing of the layouts of particular buildings. We can observe, that the depth
of the oldest buildings is doubled owing to the width - 19,2 metres. Thanks to extraordinary
preserved urban structure was core of town Bardejov in September 2000 included in The
World Heritage List of UNESCO.
Town Reserve Bardejov was declared in the year 1950 with 139 immovable objects
listed in The Central List of Monuments and of an area 23 hectares. Right after started the
restoration of town fortification and it continues gradually with the restoration of the houses
on the square. The systematic restoration of cultural monuments and rehabilitation of public
spaces started according detailed territorial plan for urban renewal drawn up by SURPMO
Praha (State Institute for Restoration of Monuments and Sites) in the year 1961 and
approved by the regional office of state administration in the year 1967. The basic task of all
building activities of that time was rehabilitation of the roof landscape destroyed by the fire in
the year 1878. Typical roofs with ridges perpendicular to the main facade and with wooden
gables and covered by wooden shingles were replaced by temporary roofing with ridges
parallel to the main facade and with walls dividing particular buildings covered by metal
plates. The main source of information was drawing of G. Gaspar from the year 1768
redrawn by V. Myskovsky in the year 1880 and obviously regional similarities. Conception
applied on buildings around the square was not to copy the original structures although it is
possible to reconstruct exact structure, but to rehabilitate the volume and the shape of
roofing. The result, also thanks to some small changes in the conception, is very impressive
and successful. The space of Radnicne square gain monumental appearance again.
The „reconstruction“ of side streets seems to be more problematic. The side streets
were inhabited mainly by craftsmen. Very typical is the storage on the second floor with small
windows. In the substance as well as in artistic decoration we can find remains of
renaissance period. Finds from Middle Ages are very limited - mainly in the cellar only. The
main idea of the conception from the 60-ties was to „build“ purely medieval town, with
medieval square, side streets and fortification. According to that idea, all buildings from the
18. and 19. century added to town wall were destroyed. At the Stocklova street, close to the
town gate, were craftsmen houses replaced by merchant hoses. Two storeys buildings are of
the same size as the buildings on the square...(?!)
At the map from the year 1862 we can observe, that for example the Stocklova street
was in the south part build-up by objects mainly made of wood (or other non-lasting
materials). The idea that whole medieval two storey building in that place was burned down
during one of destructive fires and replaced by smaller, wooden one seems not very realistic.
But even if it happens, we do not have enough evidence to reconstruct such buildings. Also
according to the directives from the time of Maria Theresa, was compulsory to build a wall
between roofs of two houses e.g. roofs with ridges parallel to the main facade. Many of
houses on side streets were originally build with the roof with ridge parallel to the main
facade. From the point of view of the authenticity of a particular building, there is no reason
to change the roof structure. Other problem is the volume of the buildings. The rising of the
masses from the periphery to the centre is one of most important principle of the
development of medieval town (and towns in generally). The examples from the Rhodyho
street and Stocklova street shows ignorance of that rule.
How can we deal with obvious contradiction between conception elaborated 40 years
ago and authenticity of a particular building? Is it possible to change radically the conception
and stop this „development“?
Master plan for central zone of Bardejov valid from the year 1995 will be updated in the
year 2010. From certain point of view also master plan can be considered as a threat to the
area. Maybe we have some time to think through and to prepare the revision of whole
conception.
4. Conclusion
Recently valid Building Act is ordering to include preservation of Cultural and Natural
Heritage into territorial planing documents. Unfortunately according recent Law on the state
care of historical monuments it is not compulsory to elaborate regulations for building activity
in protected areas and many municipalities with protected area doesn’t prepared detailed
document. In the Proposal for new law on the state protection of historical monuments
(already in the process of approval by the National Council) rules and regulations for any
activity in protected area should be prepared by the experts and included in territorial plan of
the area.
The updating of the documents related to the protected area is always very complicated
process and it should take in consideration all archives documents, regional differences, and
other research sources. Sometimes the general conception is in contradiction to the
authenticity of a particular building.

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