Ćesky Krumlov Castle and Chateau. A World Heritage Site between conservation and marketing

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Ćesky Krumlov Castle and Chateau

A World Heritage Site between

conservation and marketing

Petr Pavelec

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P e tr P avelec - philosopher, art historian specialising in me dieval art (Charles University in Prague, Palacky University in Olomouc). Since 1991, he has been working as a special ist in the conservation o f wall paintings and sculptures in the National Heritage Institute, the Czech Budejovice regional branch. Since 2007 he has been a director there. He is a mem ber of the Czech National Committee of i c o m o s, participating

in projects on the organisation o f restoration work: restora tion o f façades of u n e s c o monuments - the Upper Castle in the Ceskÿ Krumlov (Europa Nostra 2008 Award), restoration o f the Kratochvile renaissance villa (2006-2011), the Zlata Ko runa monastery (Golden Crown, 2005), the project on the Cas tle M useum in Ceskÿ Krum lov (2009-2011), the exhibition project The Rosenbergs. Czech Aristocratic Family and its Journey through the History in the Valdstejn Palace in Prague (2010-2011). He is a lecturer at the Historical Institute o f the University of South Bohemia, teaching conservation methods, the restora tion o f architecture, the methodology of conservation of wall paintings and sculptures, and at the University of Pardubice, teaching the methodology o f restoration of wall paintings and sgraffito.

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Ćesky Krumlov Castle and Chateau

A World Heritage Site between

conservation and marketing

Petr Pavelec

There is a common b e lief that the conservation approach to historic residencies (castles and chateaus) cannot put up w ith something like effective m arketing and com mercial activities. The adm inistration o f the castle in Ćesky Krum lov is an excellent exam ple showing that these two virtu ally opposite tendencies m ay coexist and connect together, and that such a connection may be beneficial as well as sustainable for the monument.

From the end o f the 13th century until the mid-i9th century, Ćesky Krum lov w as the residential town o f the most significant aristo cratic fam ilies in the Kingdom o f Bohemia. Prior to 1601 it w as home to the Rosenberg dynasty, then the Eggenbergs and, finally, the noble Schwarzenberg family. In 1963, due to its urbanistic quality and the abun dance o f w ell-preserved architectonic monuments, the town w as de clared a conservation area and in 1992 it w as registered on the u n e s c o World Heritage List.1

Ćesky Krumlov Castle was founded towards the end o f the 13th cen tury and became the residence o f the previously mentioned noble families. In the middle o f the 20th century it was nationalised, and at present, it is administered by the National Heritage Institute.

The castle prem ises comprise nearly 40 buildings and palaces that are concentrated around five courtyards. The castle complex includes a Ba roque garden which spreads over 11 hectares. The Ćesky Krumlov Castle

1 Martin Gaźi and Petr Pavelec, Ćesky Krumlov. Od rezxdencniho mësta к pamâtce svêtového kulturniho dêdictvi (Ćesky Krumlov. From a residential town to a u n e s c o World Cultural Heritage Site), Ceské, Budëjovice 2010.

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Aerial picture of Ćesky Krumlov - the town, the castle and a part o f the castle gardens - World Heritage Site

complex is the second largest in Bohemia (after Prague Castle) and is ranked among the largest castle facilities in central Europe.2

During the communist era in the second h alf of the 20th century, the care of the castle was neglected, so it is no wonder that the castle complex was in very poor condition after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. For this reason a continuous repair and restoration plan was quickly de veloped, the ambition of which was to provide the castle premises with long-term care at the same level as European heritage care standards. Dur ing the 1990s and the first decade o f the 21st century, all important build ings in the castle complex were repaired and restored, step by step, and new tour routes were established and their operation was standardised. This repair and restoration work was supported by the state budget and from admission fees, amounting to around 600,000 euros annually. An ef ficient system was developed to provide the best quality of conservation

2 For details about the castle see: http://www.zamek-ceskykrumlov.eu/.

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The town and castle

care during civil and restoration work and the installation o f tour routes and castle depositories. The high standard was later recognised interna tionally. In 2002 Ćesky Krumlov Castle was presented with the main prize awarded by the European Union, the Europa Nostra, in the category of conservation and valuation o f cultural heritage, for the restoration o f the depository within the Castle Baroque Theatre Fund, and for excellent results in restoration work done on coulisse sets (a section o f stage scen ery placed in a wing of a theatre - editor’s note), costumes and aids within the theatre. Another Europa Nostra was awarded to the castle in 2008 for conservation o f the south façade of the Upper Castle. This action was appreciated as being an outstanding example of sensitive conservation techniques applied to an authentic monument. It was the application of restoration methodology and ethics in the area o f care for the construction of monuments which was greatly appreciated, as this methodology is only normally used for works o f art. In addition, the preferences given to tra ditional building craft and technologies to save original historic building elements and authentic materials were praised. Ćesky Krumlov Castle is

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Castle complex of Ćesky Krumlov - old forge building before the restoration in 1995 © Petr Pavelec, Archive of the National Heritage Institute, Prague

Castle complex of Ćesky Krumlov - old forge building after the restoration in 2009 © Petr Pavelec, Archive of the National Heritage Institute, Prague

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Cascade fountain in the castle gardens during the restoration work in 2004 © Petr Pavelec, Archive of the National Heritage Institute, Prague

Cascade fountain in the castle gardens after the restoration © Petr Pavelec, Archive of the National Heritage Institute, Prague

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Tower restoration in 1993 and after the restoration in 1995 © Petr Pavelec, Archive of the National Heritage Institute, Prague

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Performance in the Baroque Theatre

the only historic residence in the Czech Republic which has been repeat edly awarded the Europa Nostra prize.

The positive and internationally recognised results achieved in the field o f conservation and restoration of Ćesky Krumlov Castle are based on three general principles: the staff working in the castle are a permanent team o f highly qualified professionals who collect, evaluate and ap ply their experience and expertise in the field o f restoration; the team members follow a long-term concept of restoration of the castle complex, where priorities and both long- and short-term goals are defined; besides the long-term priority goals, detailed and well-coordinated work is car ried out daily, from routine cleaning and minor craft work to restoration of all types of artefacts and complex civil and restoration work, in order

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Europa Nostra Award for Ćesky Krumlov Castle and Chateau in 2002 and 2008 © Petr Pavelec, Archive of the National Heritage Institute, Prague

to preserve and present the historic essence of the castle premises in its authentic form.

All these activities are carried out while the castle is open for visitors. The castle premises area is available to the general public through two ba sic tours which lets visitors admire the castle apartments, the lapidarium, the castle tower, the castle museum and the Baroque theatre. In addition, there are three special art galleries and a castle garden open to the pub lic. As regards care for the castle premises, only the employees' salaries are paid from the state budget. Most other operational and restoration expenses are funded by admission fees and from the lease o f the facili ties or services. Therefore, the National Heritage Institute is involved in the economic effectiveness and marketing strategy of the administration of the castle. With the view of increasing competition in the field of free time activities, it is vital to improve and develop the range o f cultural ser vices offered by the castle, while maintaining the quality o f the environ ment and services at the u n e s c o Heritage Site level.

The experience o f Ćesky Krumlov clearly indicates that the greater the authenticity, the greater the interest from quality clientele in relation to the leasing of the castle premises, as well as other services and activities in the castle complex. Besides the standard tours, the castle - as the pro vider o f leased facilities or co-organiser - participates in numerous con ference activities, music and theatre festivals, festivals, celebrations and other cultural and bespoke events. Many o f these activities are inspired by the local historical context. Other events, including theatre performances

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which take place in the castle’s Baroque theatre and Baroque garden cel ebrations and illuminations, are being developed as products of applied science and research in the field o f cultural heritage. Every year some 300,000 visitors buy tickets to tour the castle and approximately 200,000 additional people take an active or passive part in the other cultural ac tivities organised w ithin the castle premises. The yield from admission fees and from the lease of the castle premises amounts to approximately 1.5 million euros. This amount is satisfactory in terms of maintenance and restoration of the castle. Moreover, the yields from the castle in Ćesky Krumlov help to support other, economically weaker castles administered by the National Heritage Institute. The solidarity principle is applied, ie economically stronger historic residences help weaker ones.

Following on from the experience described above, we can conclude that the high professional standard of the maintenance and restoration of historic residences, in combination with responsible care, is fully compat ible with effective marketing and commercial activities in the locality, and that the effort to maintain the high level of authenticity, in the long run, generates the permanent professional interest of experts from the field of historic heritage, as well as the interest of quality and economically strong clientele whose business activities require a cultivated historic context and environment.