Patrimoniu industrial în România

Introduction to the Romanian context

Romania still preserves important industrial heritage objects from the XVII - XVIII century. Some of the XIX century can even operate. After the war the communist regime confiscated but didn’t destroy these assets, with the intention of using them for as long as possible, often with less than the minimum necessary maintenance works. Intensive industrial development (often artificially and politically encouraged) gave birth to huge new industrial sites. Some of them were, soon after 1989, closed creating important social problems and leaving behind immense derelict areas.

After 1989, the bad economic situation of many industrial buildings owners made them either to abandon the heritage for being to expensive to maintain, or to “renovate” it by low-cost destructive methods in order to make an immediate profit. Due to ignorance, inertia or lack of strategy, new buildings were preferred to old ones which were in need of more delicate restoration works, old machines were scrapped in the name of the renewing of the production methods. This attitude is even more dangerous for the big industrial sites divided by the rushed privatization process from the beginning of the 90’s – these sites initial coherence will be soon impossible to read. Representing important percentages in our cities and being now rather close to the city centers, these huge sites are seen as immense empty areas for urban developing. The investors are attracted by the good location of the property, but are not willing to invest in reconverting the old buildings, considering this a too complicated and uncomfortable process.

The public support in fighting for these industrial objects is very difficult to obtain. People are still not receptive to this subject - they rather consider “the factory” as a place of exploitation and they could hardly accept it in postcards, for example, together with famous medieval churches.

There is also a lack of legal efficient protection. The official historic monuments list has important inaccuracies regarding the industrial heritage. The information is often limited to the denomination and address; so, for some lost objects, there is no inventory, no image, no survey. The most endangered sites and objects are the ones that are not listed, unprotected by the law – also the law didn’t permit till now the listing of any valuable building without the agreement of the owner.

At this moment, the heritage protection law (July 2001) opens the possibility to immediate list a building, without the approval of the owner. The law sets both responsibilities and some facilities for the heritage owners and for the ones willing to invest in restoration works.

The Romanian Ministry of Culture started a program for the “Salvation of the national industrial archaeology heritage”. The program aims are to begin a specific inventory, to identify the most endangered sites, to find viable solutions and partners in saving them, to make a press campaign in order to get the people understand these values. A new project for a Romanian Law of industrial heritage was proposed by the Ministry and is now in public debate. Its aim is to deal with aspects not taken into consideration by the actual law frame, regarding access in not protected sites, privatization of industrial societies, specialized inventories and surveys.

A number of four international workshops on industrial archaeology were organized in Romania, by the same Ministry, starting with 2001. Having TICCIH’s support and a significant national and European participation, they essentially contributed to a better understanding of the industrial archaeology in Romania, through scientific exchanges between experts and enthusiasts form all over Europe. By constantly changing the location, they also made possible the direct contact with various industrial heritage sites in Romania – from traditional wood installations to mines or heavy metallurgical sites.

A 5^th industrial heritage workshop is to be organized in October 2006 and the details will soon be available on www.patrimoniuindustrial.cultura.ro – a web site dedicated to the industrial heritage of Romania, ready to be opened on the 18^th of April - the international day of monuments and sites.

We trust that, through on-line exchange between people concerned with this theme, the Forum on Industrial heritage in ex communist countries will significantly contribute to the better understanding of the common issues related to the protection of industrial heritage, being in the same time, a possible starting point for European collaboration.

Irina IAMANDESCU

TICCIH national correspondent, ICOMOS Romania Secretary