24 YEARS IN THE SERVICE OF ROMANIAN HERITAGE AND COMMUNITIES
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In 2017, the work with participants involved repairing the stone structures of the garden walls, cleaning the vegetation and helping to reconstruct an old pergola.
Workshop coordinators were landscape architect Nicolas Triboi and architect Raluca Munteanu.
“We manage to cover maintenance costs [for villa and Golescu Park] through cultural activities, but sometimes other sources (sponsorships) are required for current repairs. This year we had a landscape workshop where the participants paid a participation fee which financed the renovation works of the historic park: new plants, materials (stone, lime for paving etc.)”, explains arch. Raluca Munteanu – program director of Pro Patrimonio Foundation.
“The 15 participants (British volunteers from the National Trust, French and Romanian landscape architects) have rebuilt the outdoor pavement, the rose pergola, made necessary vegetation and sanitation operations. In the dendrological park with rare species, a paw-paw tree, a larch, a black pine, a Canadian maple can now be found. We expect them to grow alongside the tulip tree and all the other existing plants. Interestingly, the cleaning activities have unveiled that the park terraces are drained throughout the entire surface through a layer of stones over on top of which the grassy ground is found, thus the water is filtered through the stone and drained, so the terraces are very stable. This is another sign still that the garden, in its entirety, was cleverly designed from the very beginning. Besides the hands-on gardening activities, inter-cultural exchanges and the influence of the place and the landscape have played their part. The participants made trips to Saint Marina church – among the oldest in Câmpulung, the Heroes’ Cemetery in Lereşti, the church in Bilceşti and the Alimănişteanu Mansion in Bilceşti. They ate at one of the local housewives in the village of Lunca Gârtii and went by car to see the traditional houses of Dragoslavele. The foreign volunteers were awed by the traditional carpet and rug washing-mechanism (”vâltoare”) from Rucar, as well as the dioramas of Mateusz Mausoleum. All this has endowed them with rich and intense cultural, gastronomic and sensory experiences,” says Raluca Martiş, Pro Patrimonio communications director.
Details about the workshop and Golescu Villa on Bonton TV-show from 25 June 2017:
http://www.digi24.ro/emisiuni/bonton/bonton-25-iunie-17-30-749448
In order to explore in depth the concept of cultural landscape, the Golescu Landscape Observatory proposed a new theme for 2016: the connection between the local culinary landscape and contemporary cuisine. If the first series of workshops was dedicated to gardening in the century-old park of the villa, to exploring the setting with its surrounding hills and mountains, in 2016 the Golescu Complex became the starting point where one gets „a taste” of its sublime landscapes.
The workshop was held by two landscape architects (Nicolas Triboi and Alina Adascalitei) and two chefs (French Théo Ducher and local housewife Mariana, Lunca Gârtii village).
Coordinators’ argument: Landscapes are the basis of local products that we can use in our diet. The diversity of the landscapes around Câmpulug ensures a richness often unknown for quality products: warm and fertile plains, cultivated hills, pastoral and wild mountains. What could be friendlier than a good meal that opens the spirit? Isn’t the kitchen the ideal place for sensory reinterpretation of landscapes? Why wouldn’t this be an ideal time to recharge? Vegetables, mushrooms, meat, cheese, herbs… “tell me what you eat so I can tell you who you are!” Landscapes taste good, they are edible and we have to rediscover them in order to better “cook” them.
The workshop included several stages: discovering local products, places of production, producers; tasting local products and their classification, scientific and taste analysis; cooking workshops: the meeting between traditional and contemporary cuisine; editing a recipe guide from the Golescu Villa.
The beginning. The discovery. The first ideas and friends of the wooden church of Urși
“In 2007, after three years of field research of heritage in its various forms, I outlined a project that was meant to highlight the cultural and artistic links on the two slopes of the Carpathians, namely from Gorj/Vâlcea and Sibiu/Hunedoara. The first sequence was built around the wooden churches north and south of the Carpathians. After making an inventory of the churches in the two areas, checking the official lists against the reality on the ground (some of them no longer exist on the field, others do not appear in the list, although they are valuable), noting the preservation status of most of the churches, and the urgency of saving some of them, as well as the inability of a small group of persons to undertake such an endeavour, together with our collaborator at the time, the Dala Foundation, I further told the story of the wooden churches to Şerban STURDZA, the then President of Ordinul Arhitecților din România (Order of Architects in Romania). This has led to the development of the project entitled 60 de biserici.
One of the most impressive stories was that of the hidden church discovered in the cemetery of the village of Urși in Vâlcea, a church without a foundation, propped up so that it does not crumble, featuring a painting of remarkable artistic value for the group of rarely painted wooden churches located south of the Carpathians.
The photographer Şerban BONCIOCAT is the one who has showed it to me on one of our documentation travels for the monthly column on heritage published in the Igloo magazine, and I am grateful to him for that stop because that was the beginning of both what was to be the album dedicated to the wooden churches in northern Oltenia, and the extensive project initiated by the OAR and Pro Patrimonio.” – Luiza ZAMORA, art historian, Asociația 37
The surroundings. Value of the landscape
There are still many wooden churches spread in the hilly area at the foot of the Southern Carpathians – to the south and north. Most of them date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, some of them being even older. The majority appear in the List of Historic Monuments in Romania. It is the southernmost region in Europe, where wood and the blockbau technique (jointed horizontal beams) were used for cult buildings. The churches in northern Oltenia and southern Transylvania are modest in size, yet they preserve the authenticity of the craftsmanship and local values.
As a whole, the hundreds of churches spread in a relatively small area define a valuable cultural landscape. The similarities, but also the differences, give importance to the whole and outline the specificity and identity of the area. It is estimated that the 60-100 churches documented from 2009 to date amount to about 2000 sq.m. of mural paintings (al secco or al fresco). For the sake of comparison, the vault of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican has 1000 sq.m.
The specificity. The uniqueness
Besides the family of wooden churches of which it is part, the church in the village of Urși is located near some places that are very valuable for our identity and spirituality: the fortified mansions (in Romanian: “cula”) in Măldăreşti, Mânăstirea de la Govora (the Govora Monastery), Mânăstirea de la Hurezi (The Hurezi Monastery) already listed in UNESCO’s World Heritage list, Mânăstirea Dintr-un Lemn (The One Wood Monastery) or the Buila-Vânturariţa National Park, a site of the European Ecologic Network Nature 2000. Also, the entire sub-Carpathian area is dotted with painted crosses, which are traditionally erected at crossroads. Beautiful crosses are also erected next to wells in memory of events or people meaning something for that place.
10 years of work. Schedule of actions
Each of the ten years of working at the wooden church of Urși followed a very clear pattern: fundraising and design, a four-month period of actual work during the summer. Although this pattern has resulted in long intervention timeframes, it has proven to be the only sustainable one considering that the financial support consisted entirely of private funds from donors as well as institutions such as the World Monuments Funds or private companies.
A succinct annual schedule of works gives us the picture of a complex restoration process bringing together specialists and locals likewise.
2009
church documentation begins
the vault of the church collapses
the emergency response campaign is initiated
the protective structure is erected, and the vault is dismantled
2010-2011
the restoration project is carried out
the first funds required for the intervention are raised
the iconostasis is dismantled and Universitatea Națională de Arte București (The National Arts University of Bucharest) starts the restoration of the icons
2012
the restoration of the iconostasis is completed, and it is brought back to the village
an exhibition and a concert are organized on the occasion of the presentation of the restored iconostasis
the fresco is secured in order for structural repair work to be carried out
2013
the church is raised and new foundations are being built
the archaeological investigation is carried out (a jug filled with coins is found!)
the wooden sole plates and all damaged wooden beams are repaired and replaced
oak trees are planted with a view to secure wood for repairs required in 100 years
2014
the painting on the vault beams is restored
2015
the vault and the roof are reinstalled
2016
the exterior painting is restored
the interior flooring is rehabilitated
the interior furniture is repaired
2017
the interior painting in the altar is restored
the bell tower in the cemetery is refurbished
2018-2019
the interior painting in the nave is restored
Between 2010 and 2011, a protective structure for the church is being created with Cella Cosimex and the architect Șeban Cantacuzino’s support, by means of disassembling the ruined roof and vault. Framing elements are inventorized and stored in a shed built outside of the cemetery. Damaged or unstable components are also take out of the arch.
SC OPUS- Architecture workshop SRL from Bucharest takes care of the technical documentation necessary for the approval of restoration works.
The initial funding for the intervention is gathered with the support of the Romanian Architect Order, SONORO and other organisations.
The iconostasis is dismantled and the icon restoration works begin at the National University of Arts in Bucharest. After repairs are made, the iconostasis is brought back in the village and presented during an exhibition and a concert. Until the consolidation of the church is finished, the iconostasis is stored in the new brick church.
It was in 2013 that the most widespread intervention was possible: the church was erected, the foundations were built, and the damaged beams were replaced and completed. For this purpose, the Astra Museum recommended a team of craftsmen from Maramures with whom most volunteers worked: 6 series of 8 volunteers (in addition to craftsmen).
For the soles on which the church was placed, 10 oaks were brought from Botosani, as the local area couldn’t provide the oak to the required size. For this reason, in the following autumn, an oak planting campaign was launched attended by the volunteers having worked during summer. 50 oaks were planted in the schoolyard and in the church neighborhood so that there should be local raw material in 300 years time.
Moreover, 2013 was the year when the Pro Patrimonio Foundation team took the necessary steps to introduce the Church in Ursi to the World Monuments Fund – Watch List program The World Monuments Fund international organization included the wooden churches in Northern Oltenia and Southern Transylvania in the Watch 2014 program as recognition of the imminent danger threatening these heritage buildings and in recognition of their cultural and economic value for the sustainable development of communities .
In August 2013, a charity concert followed, generously offered by violinist Alexandru Tomescu in the very interior of the church at the construction site to raise funds for restoration
In addition, in 2013, an exhibition and a lecture were organized at Casa Mincu/Micu Residence, which highlighted, with the support of architect Mariana Celac (†), the importance of direct involvement in the rescue process.
In 2014, with the support of World Monuments Fund Watch day, the international event dedicated to historical monuments was organized, a biennial cultural heritage celebration bringing together people around dozens of sites around the world. The wooden churches in southern Transylvania and northern Oltenia were included on the list of Europe’s 7 most endangered heritage sites in the same year. On this occasion, Pro Patrimonio Foundation organized a Watch Day event in the village of Urși, Vâlcea County, to attract attention to an almost unknown architectural heritage site. A Museum of the Wooden Church was inaugurated in Urși with the exhibition ”The Wooden Church in Urși : Re-establishing its place within the community”.
In 2015, a number of activities took place at the restortion site Ursi wooden church. A campaign promoting the project took place at the same time, in order to inform the public of the importance of such a monument.
During the first half of 2015, the painted beams from the wooden church in Ursi were transported to the National University of Arts in Bucharest and restoration works were coordinated by Prof. Dan Mohanu and two young artists, Ana Chiricuță and Laura Hangiu. These two recieved scholarships from Pro Patrimonio over the entirety on their time working on the church.
Between 1st and 2nd of July, Casa Mincu in Bucharest hosted an exhibition for the licence works of some students from the National University of Arts, the topic being the vault paintings of the wooden church in Ursi.
Restoration works were conducted over the summer to coat the remaining beams at the Ursi site in biocide substances, different parts of the vault fresco were restored and repairs to pieces of the wooden vault were made.
An event of great importance happended during autumn, when the vault and wooden roof were reassembled and parts of the fresco were secured/reinforced on the walls. The roof with wooden shingles was completed and the superior part of the temporary structure was removed. It was decided to keep the lower part of the protective temporary structure to prevent the degradation of the outer fresco, before it can also be reinforced.
The main projects carried out during 2016 circled around preserving the wall paintings, especially the exterior ones. The window frames were repaired in a workshop in Băile Olănești, a village 50km away from Ursi. The iron parts have been replaced with new ones, forged at Ţibănești at the blacksmiths’ school. The windows in the church haven’t been replaced yet because the production of the iron elements was delayed.
A 15 cm stone layer was placed under the pavement to prevent the humidity from reaching the wood. The old pavement was completely replaced by a new one, made out of oak floor boards, a third of them provided by the local community.
Since the church didn’t have access to electricity, we set up an electrical installation running under the floor and a lightning rod.
The furniture is to be moved to the wood workshop in Băile Olănești for repairs and further additions. This process was left for the cold season, when it will no longer be possible to do any work on site.
Even if the original plan was to begin the restoration works on the bell tower, this was rendered impossible since wood from the scaffolding is needed for it. But the scaffolding is still used to preserve the paintings on the interior. Part of the wood from the temporary structure protecting the church was used in an emergecy intervention at the Sirineasa church ( 10 km south from Ursi).
Additionally, in May and June, we worked to arrange a house for the volunteers and the restorer who are to live in the village. This is a traditional village house and the owner allowed us to use it for the next 2-3 years as a guest house for people who work at the church. These works consist in cleaning and building a proper bathroom for the house. All this was only possible with help form the community and the materials were donated from a company specialized in sanitary ware (Delta Studio).nstruirea unei băi adecvate. Toate lucrările au fost realizate doar cu ajutorul comunității, iar materialele au fost donate de la o companie specializată în obiecte sanitare (Delta Studio).
2018 interventions covers the consolidation and marginal insurance throught removal of marginal protection of the edges made in the past years, consolidating the intonaco layer and reattachment of the intonaco layer to the wood support, consolidating the painting layer, reattachment of the painting layer that was strapped from the support, marginal protection of the edges of the painting with lime plaster, biocide treatment against xilofagous and fungus. In the naos, fragments that were extracted in the past years were prepared for the replanting to the new beams.
