THE WHOLE VILLAGE PROJECT

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO CULTURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION IN SAXON TRANSYLVANIA

(Project implemented with the support of the Culture 2000 programme of the European Union.)

Project duration:
1 June 2006 - 31 May 2007

Main organiser:
The Mihai Eminescu Trust, UK

Co-organisers:
Fundatia Mihai Eminescu Trust, Romania
Horizon Foundation, The Netherlands
Corona Association, Germany

Total budget:
150,000 Euros

Community financing:
50%

“The Whole Village Project – An Integrated Approach to Cultural Heritage Conservation in Saxon Transylvania” aimed to bring together several local, national and European actors for the common goal of safeguarding and restoring the built heritage of the Saxon villages of Transylvania, a treasure of European value.

Our first Activity intended to restore 50 representative Saxon buildings in 12 villages and towns in Transylvania, using local teams of workers and craftsmen. Despite the unfortunate sudden death of our main architect, Mr Gabriel Lambescu, in July last year, we managed to restore 52 buildings in 12 villages and towns with the help of 55 local craftsmen and architects.
Activity 1 (PDF)

Culture 2000 Carpentry training (Malancrav)
Carpentry training in Malancrav

The second Activity, the Training Programme, aimed to train at least 45 local craftsmen in basic traditional building skills, with the help of seven practical and theoretical training sessions. We had seven conservation training sessions and one small business training session, which were attended by a total of 62 trainees.
Activity 2 (PDF)

The third objective was to organise two international exchange workshops, focusing on traditional building methods and using the heritage of the past to foster sustainable economic development for the future. The first workshop took place in Malancrav in September 2006 and was attended by 30 participants from 4 countries, while the second workshop was held in Viscri in May 2007, with 23 participants from 5 countries.
Activity 3 (PDF)

Activity four was a two-day local authority capacity building seminar, which took place in Sighisoara, with 46 participants from local authorities, local communities, schools and hospitals, and national and international experts.
Activity 4 (PDF)

Two very successful working camps with young trainees and conservationists were organised. The first one, in August 2006, focused on stone carving and involved working on the stone steps of the Malancrav Manor House.

The second one took place in February 2007 and was attended by 12 trainee architects, who conducted community consultation exercises and produced surveys of 15 endangered buildings in 5 villages.
Activity 5 (PDF)

Finally, the good-practice dissemination effort took place on several levels:

We produced two general guidelines for Saxon buildings (Marianne Suhr’s “The buildings of the Saxon villages of Transylvania – a guide to general repair”, in English and Romanian, and Gabriel Lambescu’s “Guide for lime mortar and lime washing in Transylvania”, in Romanian).

We created simple leaflets for the general public, with advice and recommendation for the appropriate maintenance and rehabilitation of the following architectural features: facades, roofs, windows and shutters, barns and stables, and paving.

We set up and opened three information points with useful information about cultural heritage and local traditions, in Viscri, Floresti and Sighisoara.

We wrote and distributed an “Integrated Development Strategy for the Saxon Villages of Transylvania”, following a series of community consultations, debates with other NGOs active in the area and expert contributions.

We produced and distributed a 4-page brochure with advice and recommendations for the local authorities regarding Urban Planning for Protected Built Areas.

We organised or participated in 7 public events, exhibitions and meetings, where we publicised the results of the project and the Saxon Villages of Transylvania.

We created a special Internet page dedicated to the project on the Mihai Eminescu Trust website.

We received the Europa Nostra / European Commission Award for dedicated service to cultural heritage conservation in Europe.

We produced and showed 2 films: one is a message from HRH The Prince of Wales, promoting the Saxon villages and encouraging European institutions to become involved in their preservation, the other is a film of the construction of the traditional brick and tile kiln in Viscri.
Activity 6 (PDF)