Dear colleagues, friends, co-workers and lovers of monuments!

 

The traditional series of scientific conferences Bardkontakt: Issues of historical monument centers will continue in 2025 with its XXXIII. edition. The aim of the conference this year is to respond to current events in society both "at home" and to compare the situation abroad.

 

The main topic of the Bardkontakt 2025 meeting will be

 

"THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE URBANIZED AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN THE PROTECTION OF MONUMENTS AND HISTORIC SETTLEMENTS".

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We will examine and address issues related to the protection and active use of cultural monuments and cultural heritage in connection with the natural environment - both original and modified by human activities - and with the conditions for their joint protection. It is historically confirmed that high-quality protection of monuments is always inextricably linked to the natural environment in which the monuments are located. Conservation - i.e. active protection and sustainability of this environment - has a conditioning effect on the sustainable preservation and active use of architectural monuments. On the other hand - the protection and, in particular, the use of monuments do not always respect the needs of the surrounding natural environment, and therefore do not always contribute to its protection and sustainability, which often has a negative impact on the protection of the monuments themselves.

Architectural monuments, their areas, ensembles, settlements, i.e. the urbanized environment, and even the entire settlement structure of the country are the result of deliberate human activities in the interest of multiplying and improving living conditions. The interaction of people and the natural environment is as old as humanity itself, and its products are a tangible, but inherently ever-changing natural heritage of human civilization. Architectural heritage and its selected category – monuments, just like natural heritage, have an equal expressive – historical and documentary capacity – social value. Their impact within the framework of their mutual relationship is synergistically multiplied in both positive and negative meaning. Therefore, it is important to perceive and protect the natural environment as a type and an inseparable part of the cultural heritage of humanity. It is certainly no coincidence that the international UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the World Heritage applies equally to the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

The chosen conference theme offers, raises and inspires several questions and contexts that would be appropriate to explore at the conference. These are not only the primarily associated issues of the protection of monuments with their immediate natural elements, but also the issues of knowing, presenting and using various types and forms of cultural landscapes and the products of human activity in them.

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Partial topics of this conference series are mainly:

• development of views on the protection of natural elements – views on the protection of the natural environment of monuments in the works of the first theorists, the emergence and development of beautification associations, international initiatives for the protection of the environment of monuments – the Florence Charter and other charters, conventions on the protection of common heritage – World Heritage, European Heritage, ... and other contexts

• change of view / views on greenery in the historical environment as a reaction to climate change – intentional composed plantings in historical settlements / areas / agglomerations – e.g. alleys, their effect in the settlement environment and their "contribution" to the image of the settlement in the landscape, even outside the settlement within the "free" landscape, ... the role and trends of greenery in the urban environment, how people's needs for greenery in an urbanized environment are changing, ...

• issues of cultural landscape protection - specific (problematic?) demands of visitor amenities in historic areas and settlement areas: info-points, points of first contact, hygiene and other service amenities, parking lots, ...   etc. with regard to the preservation of their monumental values, including the natural environment, ... also historical parks (manor houses, city parks, spa parks, ... also extinct) and gardens near monumental / memorial buildings (as an example, Masaryk's villa in Bystrička, Koch's garden in Bratislava, ... and others), experience with their research, the process of protection / rescue / reconstruction, user regime, ... also creations of natural elements in the context of votive architecture and its areas (monastery gardens, calvary, isolated elements of votive architecture in nature - the Passion of the Lord, crosses, ...), issues of ownership relations, ...

• sustainability of functional greenery - e.g. castles and their castle hills - specifics of their protection and the difficulty of maintenance / sustainability, ... also the issue of former moats, their presentation and functionality... from the point of view of the National Park Service, from the point of view of firefighters?, safety conditions, ... stable natural elements or portable greenery? ...

• protection of monuments from the negative impacts of unregulated greenery - conditions for designing greenery, its maintenance with regard to natural components (growth expansion of greenery - crowns, root system ...) and sustainability of architectural monuments, ... issues of modifying urban planning with regard to cultural values ​​- architecture is "unchangeable", greenery is reversible, ... etc.)

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Note: Relevant issues of protection zones – their establishment and equipment, related legislation will be part of the above-mentioned thematic areas. Contributions on experiences / problems / recommendations of a methodological or managerial nature will also be welcome.

 

In contributions to all indicated topics, it is recommended to analyze the selected problem from the point of view of both the protection of historical values ​​and the natural heritage and to include a recommendation on how to further improve the results.

 

In contributions presenting experiences from specific cases, we encourage authors to clearly structure the contribution in the following way: analysis of causes, related conditions, manifestations and impacts, method of solution, lessons learned and recommendations for measures to prevent damage in the future.

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Experts with experience in solving the protection / rescue / restoration of monuments and the natural environment in Slovakia and abroad are invited to the discussion - in positions of preparation, implementation and maintenance of such monuments, employees of the Monuments Office of the Slovak Republic, the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia, representatives of municipalities with monuments and monument areas, members of the Slovak Chamber of Civil Engineers, the Slovak Chamber of Architects, the Slovak Chamber of Restorers, experts from the academic environment, investors, designers, members and representatives of civic initiatives, enthusiasts and everyone who is interested in this topic in our country and abroad.