25 YEARS IN THE SERVICE OF ROMANIAN HERITAGE AND COMMUNITIES
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06.07.2021
Good news for our Enescu summer!
The new funding approved by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund completes our plans for this year in Mihăileni, started together with the UiPath Foundation, and the coming period seems to be full of surprises.
Under the name “The School of Landscape, Art and Sound”, this year at Casa Enescu we are bringing together two workshops centred around the notion of landscape and the practical and creative resources it offers.
From 28 July to 2 August 2021, six days will be dedicated to the Landscape and Art Workshop for the redevelopment of the George Enescu House courtyard and the artistic exploration of the natural resources offered by the garden and its surroundings. The garden work dedicated to young professionals in the field and the general public, will try to familiarize participants with as many stages as possible in the layout, preparation and arrangement of the site, while facilitating study visits to the area and becoming the basis of artistic experiments such as plant presses and natural pigments.
From 23 to 29 August, 40 children from three communities around the George Enescu House in Mihăileni will take part in the Landscape and Sound Workshop where they will practice their roles as landscape gardeners, gardeners and botanical artists through games and practical or artistic projects. In keeping with the specificity of the place, the study of sound will complement the children’s experience with specialists in the field and will challenge them to develop their practical skills through the construction of their own instruments, thus experimenting with the different qualities of the local wood species.
The materials gathered during the workshops and along the way, as well as the dedicated field study during this period will form the basis for the production, by the end of the year, of a Heritage Notebook, a tool for the creative exploration of the Enescu House and its surroundings through practical, sensorial or artistic challenges. The booklet will be conceived as a guide to the place, revealing the house history, architecture and garden, as well as elements of cultural identity in the immediate vicinity that can be accessed on foot, by bicycle or by car. This online-offline resource is offered to the general public who wishes to discover for themselves the story of the house and its surroundings.
“With all the challenges we encountered, the experience of the heritage workshops for children started last year at Enescu House convinced us that the long road between Bucharest and Mihăileni is worth the effort every time the opportunity arises. The community children’s openness, interest and joy sincerely impressed us and we hope that this year’s meetings will bring the children’s community even closer to the Foundation’s initiatives, to the Enescu House and its history in general, but more than that, perhaps to the way of relating to heritage, which we hope they will be able to carry forward in any future context they may find themselves in.” Andreea Machidon, Heritage Educational Programs Coordinator for Pro Patrimonio Foundation
By means of the proposed workshops and activities we want to complete the process of transforming the George Enescu House in Mihăileni, as a house — garden ensemble, into a cultural and educational center. It facilitates educational and cultural programs for adults and young professionals who want to complement their theoretical knowledge with practical or artistic exercises and experiments, and carries out educational activities for children in the vicinity throughout the year, together with partners UiPath Foundation, local teachers and guests from outside the community.
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“The School of Landscape, Art and Sound” is a Pro Patrimonio Foundation cultural project co-financed by AFCN. The project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the grantee.
UiPath Foundation is a Pro patrimonio Foundation partner in the program “The Children’s Academy of Music and Education” which has been running from the beginning of 2020 at the George Enescu House in Mihăileni.
Project’s parteners: Botosaneanul, Radio România Muzical, Revista Zeppelin, National Geographic, AsoP, Filiala Teritoriala Vest, Societatea Internaţională George Enescu din Viena, Fundația Remember Enescu.
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Call de participanţi: Şcoala de Peisaj şi Artă
For the start of the construction site at the beginning of April 2021, the mansion windows are being repaired and completed with the carpentry workshop Etrusca srl and the contract for the manor facades has been signed with a company specialized in the restoration, SHK Edificii Casa company.
With the support of funding obtained in the Historical Monument Stamp Tax competition launched by the National Heritage Institute in 2020, we have developed and submitted for approval the projects necessary to obtain the building licence. At the beginning of June 2021 we obtained the Building Licence with no 3/03.06.2021. For the conservation of the Neamțu Manor, Olari Village, Parșcoveni Commune, Olt County and the transformation into an experimental study and education centre, LMI 2015-OT-II-m-B-08968.
Refinishing of the manor facade is progressing. Over the lime plaster the craftsmen noticed a harder thinning layer which helped the drawn profiles to have straight edges. We analysed this layer with the help of the Technical University of Construction to better understand its structure and composition. We will do an on site lime plaster test. Many thanks to Pro Patrimonio France for the cremone bolts sent to Romania, we could no longer find this window closing system here.
Slowly but surely, the manor is already taking on a new life and getting ready for the new meetings with children from the surrounding communities that will take place over the summer.
This week, together with our partners from the UiPath Foundation, we visited the schools around Neamțu Manor and the two communities where 20 children from vulnerable families will soon join the Future Acceleration Program. The secondary school children will receive integrated support to ensure better access to education and will participate in educational activities in the Manor’s courtyard.
During the month of July, facade repair works for the Neamțu Manor continued. After the actual plaster coat was applied, it was finished with a very fine sand lime paint, and the drawn profiles were finished with “ceapac” (a mixture of lime with glue and water macerated for about 10 days). This mixture makes it possible to produce precise and durable edges.
New window frames for the mansion windows have also been fitted. Although most of the original casings have been preserved, their condition is not suitable for fitting new sashes, so it was decided to add new ones to the outside, adding them to the existing ones, which would allow new sashes to be fitted and properly used.
Thanks to spring efforts and support, the manor has a new well, which now allows us to cope with the drought that has already set in. Despite the heavy rains in the country, there has been very little rain in Olari and the land is very dry. Unfortunately many of the seeds planted in the experimental garden started in spring did not germinate (it seems they were too old and the land was not prepared in time), but we have continued to ask around the village which hardy varieties the locals are using, so that in autumn we can better prepare the garden.
From August 2021 Neamțu Mansion has a new look!
At the beginning of August, the SHK Edificii Casa team completed the repairs to the exterior plaster and the installation of the new windows, which complete the existing frames. The decorative profile on the volume of the staircase was also completed with plaster cast elements, elements that were already cast previously with the support of Cella Cosimex, to whom we thank.
With the repair of the facades, the loggia upstairs reopened, allowing us to admire the surrounding landscape.
The drought is as severe as in previous years, most of the experiments started in the spring were fruitless. One kind of colored corn varieties grew and bore weakly. However, the mixture of local pumpkins developed well, covering part of the soil. Those observed this year allow us to make plans for next year for the Experimental Garden.
In September we hosted in Olari the U&I summer camp, organised by UiPath Foundation for the children in Future Acceleration Program, for which Pro Patrimonio provides support. A total of 20 children from two neighboring villages, Osica de sus and Branet, spent a couple of eventful days full of creative and stimulating activities. The movie-worthy aspect of the Neamtu Mansion, complete with its freshly renewed white facade, added to the scenery.
The Pro Patrimonio team in Olt welcomed a new member in their team. Together with the three employees taking care of the mansion, she joins the education branch to support the Future Acceleration Program.
The workshop about heritage education also happened in September, where children from Olari took part right before school started. When it ended, the foundation employees stationed at the mansion started preparing compote cans, thus elevating the local production. The dessert is to be enjoyed by children coming to the mansion next year. The window setup has been finished on the building site and now the mansion is preparing for the cold season by mounting protections during the winter for the beautiful Roman-inspired mosaic lodge situated upstairs. The experimental mansion garden will also undergo changes during the autumn, so that next spring the land will be ready for farming. We would like to take this chance to thank ROMCIM for their support in completing these activities.
We are also cherishing the recovery of a fountain this month, priorly situated until 1949 in the Neamtu mansion garden. This was moved away during the communist period, but recovered and returned back now in the memory of Mr. Serban Neamtu, the last mansion owner. This tiny bit of success in recovering the lost identity of this place makes past efforts worth it.
In November we showed all the areas previously used tests, thus preparing the garden for next year’s experiments. We intend to continue to test the different varieties of plants useful for a productive garden that can withstand drought.
Thanks to the donation of Mrs. Sînziana Coșeru, the daughter of Mr. Neamțu, the mansion received new pipes and gutters installed very quickly in the last sunny days of December.
Read also:
Gradina experimentala de la Conacul Neamţu
Un nou atelier de educaţie pentru patrimoniu la Conacul Neamţu din Olari
Jurnal de Atelier de Educaţie la Conacul Neamţu, septembrie 2021
Press selection:
Reconstruim teritorii, coagulăm comunități, experimentăm responsabil. Conacul Neamțu din Olari – Igloo
Fost conac din Olt, reabilitat de un ONG şi transformat în centru educaţional – Realitatea de Olt
AUDIO. Interviu cu Serban Sturdza – Preşedintele Fundaţiei Pro Patrimonio şi Raluca Negulescu-Balaci – Director executiv UiPath Foundation – Radio România Muzical
Radio România Actualităţi – Dincolo de ziduri (min 19:23) interviu cu Raluca Munteanu – Radio România Actualităţi
Studying the types of plaster and textures – incredibly diverse in form, materiality and manufacturing – we also observed the types of decay that are encountered. Many people ask us how to repair them. That’s why the Pro Patrimonio team continues to study practical ways of intervening in different situations. We are currently studying repairs to a fence plinth made of bush-hammered similipierre, which was loose and cracked, and cleaning graffiti designs on different types of plaster.
The problems encountered on the fence are much more complicated than we initially estimated: very high humidity in the brick structure, poor quality support layers, detachments over much larger areas than the initial analysis. Work is currently underway to repair the structure and straighten the wall (it was leaning dangerously close to the street).
Regarding the cleaning of the graffiti drawings on the facade, we had technical discussions and some practical tests with the company Clean Teach Expert, which uses gel solutions to dissolve the pigments in the graffiti paints and then washes them with a hot water jet. Old drawings dissolve more slowly and need to be scrubbed off with a soft brush, but this can erode poor surface plasters. It is important that after cleaning, the facade is treated with a protective solution to prevent future spray paints from penetrating deep into the facade, in line with a functional and consistent City Hall policy to discourage this type of vandalism in the city.
25 Mai 2021
Today the European Commission and Europa Nostra have just announced the 2021 winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards, the EU prize for cultural heritage funded by the Creative Europe programme. This year, Europe’s top honour in the heritage field goes to 24 exemplary achievements from 18 European countries.
Among this year’s winners is the Wooden Church of Urși Village, Vâlcea County, (România), laureate project in the Conservation category, designed and coordinated by the Pro Patrimonio Foundation.
The Award winners were selected by independent juries composed of heritage experts from across Europe, upon evaluation of candidatures submitted by organisations and individuals from 30 European countries.
(The winners are listed alphabetically by country)
Category Conservation
Category Research
Category Dedicated Service to Heritage by Organisations & Individuals
Category Education, Training and Awareness-raising
IMPORTANT: Heritage supporters and enthusiasts from across the world are now encouraged to discover the winners and vote online to decide who will win this year’s Public Choice Award. The Public Choice Award winner will be announced during the European Heritage Awards Ceremony, which will take place in the autumn of this year. The Grand Prix laureates, each of whom will receive a monetary award of €10,000, will also be made public on this occasion.
This wooden church, found in the cemetery of the small village of Urși, has been carefully restored with the close involvement of many partners including the local community. “This is the outcome of an exemplary interdisciplinary conservation of a painted wooden church in a rural setting. Made from materials from its surrounding landscape, it is of outstanding value and beauty”, the Jury said.
The main partners involved were the Pro Patrimonio Foundation, the Art Conservation and Restoration Department of the National Arts University of Bucharest, the ASTRA Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization, the National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering “IRASM”, the National Chamber of Romanian Architects, Asociația 37 and the owner of the church, the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The project would not have been possible without the voluntary work of Urși’s community, who provided food, accommodation, access to electricity, labour and transportation, as well as the in-kind work from national and international volunteers who helped with the conservation works. The funding for the project was provided by the International Music and Art Foundation, the World Monuments Fund, the Headley Trust, Holcim Romania, online crowdfunding and the European Investment Bank Institute along with several private donors.
The Wooden Church of Urși Village, dedicated to the Annunciation and the Archangel Michael, was built between 1757 and 1784. Though it survived a fire in 1838, after which it was repaired and decorated with frescoes in 1843, the church was later abandoned following the construction of a new church in the village. On its rediscovery in 2007, the church lay without a foundation and was at risk of collapse while its shingle roof was in urgent need of repair. The frescoes, painted in the Post-Byzantine tradition with Western influences and of remarkable artistic value, faced serious decay. In 2009, the church of Urși was included in the “60 Wooden Churches programme” in Romania by the Pro Patrimonio Foundation, and thus later nominated to the 7 Most Endangered programme 2014.
From 2009 to 2020, the restoration works took place each summer following months of fundraising efforts in the preceding year. The Jury found the restoration quality to be commendable: “This is an example of vulnerable architecture and an endangered monument that has been restored fully in accordance with conservation principles, with the original elements closely examined and reintegrated wherever possible. Sustainability was also central to the project, with trees planted to provide materials for future restoration work”.
The restoration site itself was an open one, functioning as an educational space to raise awareness about the value of the church, its wooden construction technique, the fresco technique and the content of the mural iconography, icons and iconostasis.
“The conservation of the Wooden Church of Urși took place in a remote area, with limited resources and with the close involvement of local society. Over the course of the project, many opportunities for the exchange of knowledge were created. The project also led to a deeper local understanding of the value of the heritage and a sense of stewardship among the local community. This is an exemplary approach to the conservation of vulnerable buildings such as this one”, the Jury stated.
“Tenacity, consistency of thought and a relationship built around a goal might after all be one of the reasons why such a project could be promoted and rewarded in some way. Probably there are many places and many objects of this kind, rich architectures, but this one made there and intervened upon is a sensitive point as an acupunctural gesture applied to a territory and that can probably influence a much wider area and from this point of view perhaps heals a society” – arch. Șerban Sturdza, President of Pro Patrimonio Foundation.
“The restoration of the wooden church in Urși village is the result of a salutary initiative dedicated to saving a unique category in the configuration of European rural heritage: small Romanian wooden churches painted in fresco. Respect for heritage, professionalism, responsible involvement, assumption of site conditions, in a steadfast solidarity, a mobilizing sense of urgency, have governed the teams of young volunteers and restorers in operations whose scope and difficulty have reached surprising performances”.- Dan Mohanu, Prof. PhD, Director of the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art, National University of Arts in Bucharest, at the beginning of the project.
264 years of history
Built between 1757 and 1784/ painted in 1843
Discovered in 2009 in poor state of structural pre-collapsing
11 years of the restoration process/ 1 June 2009 – 7 August 2020
Outstanding European heritage
Wall frescoe of remarkable artistic quality
250 people involved including 102 national and international volunteers
1 architectural survey; 31 technical drawings; 1 emergency intervention for temporary protection and conservation, restoration of the wooden church in Urși; interior and exterior religious fresco restoration (82 sqm interior, 40 sqm exterior frescos); 15 icons and 5 pieces of religious furniture restored;
20 diploma projects on the mural painting; 6 professional communications at national conferences and another 3 at international conferences); 1 professional publication (a guide)
Budget about 132,000 Euros, only private funding
International impact and support: World Monuments Watch 2014 and The Seven Most Endangered Heritage Sites in Europe 2014
The desertification process has become a chronic problem in southern Romania. Experts estimate that over 1,000 hectares of land become sand dunes every year, which means that in 50 years the vast majority of southern lands will be covered with sand, in the absence of immediate action.
The Neamţu manor in Olari is located on 1.3 ha terrain which, in the interwar period, was the administrative center of another agricultural field, surrounded by a recreational garden. In the 50’s it became the CAP in the village, gradually becoming dry land, transformed into a vacant lot.
Located in the Olteţ meadow, 30 km from Slatina and 43 km from Craiova, Olari village in Pârşcoveni commune is a predominantly agricultural, impoverished area, with certain desertification tendencies due to climate change, deforestation and destruction of existing irrigation systems. Many families live only on unemployment support, the inhabitants are deprived of access to information, which is why they practice the same type of agriculture without the result with which they were accustomed.
The “Experimental Center for Studies and Education at the Neamţu Manor in Olari” will initiate a model of experimental agriculture that will provide soil stability with sustainable solutions for the future. We also want to offer a model for the use and rescue of these types of arid, dried up lands for the rural community. Thus, the locals will be able to practice a subsistence agriculture and even medium-term long-term agriculture.
In this process we partnered up with Forgotten Herbs for their expertise in culinary archeology, with an emphasis on food plants from spontaneous flora or forgotten by contemporary gastronomy. Together we planned to create a small experimental garden around the mansion. We will grow there some species and varieties resistant to drought, the scorching heat of Oltenia and its type of soil. This year we will try an experiment with some more resistant historical species, but which will also have a connection with the place.
For this we chose fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum), an aromatic plant from which both leaves and seeds are used and which we know were used in the old Oltenian cuisine, and peas (Lathyrus sativus), a legume almost unknown today, but widely consumed in the ancient Balkans, for which we ordered the seeds from Croatia. We add two kinds of artichokes (Cynara scolymus), an ingredient that appears in the Brâncovenesc Manuscript from the early 1700s, giving us indications, practically, that these plants were cultivated in southern Romania.
We will plant four traditional species of Mesoamerican corn well adapted to drought conditions, obtained from a collector of rare varieties from Satu Mare.
We try to help the dry soil from Olari by practicing traditional agriculture according to the “three sisters” method by which corn is grown with beans and pumpkins, three species that grow in harmony and help each other by loosening the soil in depth and enriching it naturally with nitrogen. and nutrients.
We also join some varieties of traditional beans (including Anasazi), others of pumpkins of many kinds and calabash (Lagenaria siceraria) another culinary plant that appears in the Brâncovenesc Manuscript, consumed at the royal court before the pumpkins reached Eastern Europe, today completely forgotten.
In autumn we will also put raisin vines that we will take from the Research Station from Drăgășani and possibly lavender.
There used to be a water fountain as well as a decorative fountain. We consider it a priority to build a well that provides clean water for these agricultural works as we found the old well to be clogged. So we started drilling a new well. Although the initial forecasts showed that we will find water at a depth of 20 meters, it turned out that nature has plans of its own and the water is at a depth of 33 meters. Additional desanding and protection works against sand were added so the costs doubled. However, through a public call we managed to raise the amount of 5,825 lei which was covered by 34 private donors and the Bilceşti Gardens from Vâlcea County. We give out thanks to all.
Forgotten Herbs started out in 2012 as an independent botanical exploration project from the perspective of culinary archeology, focusing on food plants from spontaneous flora forgotten or lost by contemporary gastronomy. Over time, the project has evolved in several complementary directions, involving a team of people welded around the same passions at the intersection of botanical research and food anthropology, with forays into history and art, but also encompassing a physical side of interaction with nature through community gardening, volunteering and environmental education activities. Thus the “Historical Garden” was born, a thematic sector located in the Botanical Garden of Bucharest populated with plants grown in the eras before the arrival and spread of plant species brought from the New World, followed by the Legumim project, an urban garden of ethically grown and sustainable vegetables. according to the principles of permaculture.
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Detail of beige-yellow carved similipierre plaster with focus on the plate with the architect’s name, also in mortar.
Photo by Andrei Mărgulescu
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Details from the project “Forgotten Textures – Inter-war Bucharest”, a Pro Patrimonio Foundation cultural project carried out in the fall of 2019 which resulted in the guide Forgotten Textures: Inter-war Bucharest. Plaster recipe book. Author: Ruxandra Sacaliş.
We’ve discovered another small treasure in Bucharest, a linear, horizontal decorative plaster that marks the window registers.
Rough, smooth, uneven, geometric, orderly, random, sculpted, splashed. In our daily walks through Bucharest, we intersect with the textures of the forgotten city: on the base of a fence or a house, on the frame of a door or a window, on the steps of an entrance. Each texture tries to show its beauty and convey an emotion. The hidden emotion of the city. Each seems to have a forgotten story that we try to rediscover and retell through this project.
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Details from the project “Forgotten Textures – Inter-war Bucharest”, a Pro Patrimonio Foundation cultural project carried out in the fall of 2019 which resulted in the guide Forgotten Textures: Inter-war Bucharest. Plaster recipe book. Author: Ruxandra Sacaliş.
Above the window, an art-deco-inspired plaster in smooth grooves, made of simple lime mortar which highlights through its frequent rhythm the semi-cylindrical shape of the corner volume and accentuates its verticality. In addition, this decorative plaster catches the eye through the subtle gradient play of shadow and light on the facade.
By contrast, the plaster base under the window is very rough and renders the shadows through a different, rugged play. A contrast that makes the charm of this modernist facade in Bucharest.
A facade finish that is almost 100 years old and still keeps its edges sharp.
The soft mortar was “folded” according to an origami pattern with clear edges that creates pronounced shadows and accentuates the horizontality of the volume under the windows.
We can also notice that this decorative plaster is in the company of the black polished cement mosaic and the rough green ”terasit”-type plaster, together dressing the volumes in a tactile and visual play between shadow and light, though and porous.
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Details from the project “Forgotten Textures – Inter-war Bucharest”, a Pro Patrimonio Foundation cultural project carried out in the fall of 2019 which resulted in the guide Forgotten Textures: Inter-war Bucharest. Plaster recipe book. Author: Ruxandra Sacaliş.
The skill of inter-war craftsmen keeps surprising us with the various similipierre-type treatments of plasters. This scale-shaped model can be found on the fences or bases of several interwar blocks in Bucharest.
In the semi-shade: base similipierre-type plaster carved with a scale pattern.
A base plaster that catches your eye in the sunlight. A similipierre with red pigment mechanically processed with tools specific to stonemasons.
Same colour, two different materials. At the top there is a rough-textured ”terasit” , at the bottom a similipierre crafted with chisel and hammer for an even harsher effect.
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Details from the project “Forgotten Textures – Inter-war Bucharest”, a Pro Patrimonio Foundation cultural project carried out in the fall of 2019 which resulted in the guide Forgotten Textures: Inter-war Bucharest. Plaster recipe book. Author: Ruxandra Sacaliş.
If the plasters on building bases which we have collected so far were vibrant and wanted to attract our attention when we passed by, the plasters on the upper floors are, in most cases, less elaborate in the apparent finish treatment.
However, the modernists outdid themselves here as well. The delicate decorations gave character to the facade and elegantly marked the different volumes of the building. And, like a painting, they invited you even closer to discover the delicate touches of the skilled plasterer.
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Details from the project “Forgotten Textures – Inter-war Bucharest”, a Pro Patrimonio Foundation cultural project carried out in the fall of 2019 which resulted in the guide Forgotten Textures: Inter-war Bucharest. Plaster recipe book. Author: Ruxandra Sacaliş.
