Editorial.
Ochrona Zabytków 40/1-2 (156-157), 4
Editorial
The p re se n t issue o f "O c h ro n a Z a b y tk ó w " has a sp e c ific n a tu re . It c o n ta in s th e reports prese n te d a t a s c ie n tific conse rva tio n session e n title d "The R estitution of th e Royal C astle in W a rs a w " o rg a n iz e d on 2—4 S eptem ber 1986 by th e State A te lie rs fo r th e C onservation o f C u ltu ra l P roperty (re fe rre d to as the PP PKZ) as p a rt o f th e ce le b ra tio n s o f th e 35th anniversary o f th e ir existence. It w as the firs t session devoted to th a t su b je ct, b u t u n d o u b te d ly n o t th e la s t one, ju s t as th e p ro b le m o f th e C astle is very im p o rta n t fo r Polish m o num ents' conserva tors.
By d e v o tin g th is issue o f "O c h ro n a Z a b y tk ó w " e n tire ly to p ro b le m s o f the re s titu tio n o f th e Royal C astle, th e b ig g e s t a n d most d iffic u lt task c a rrie d o u t by th e PP PKZ, the Editors wish to express th e ir esteem fo r th e a ccom plishm ents o f th e PP PKZ.
In this issue th e Readers w ill fin d both a p re s e n ta tio n o f th e p ro b le m s associa te d w ith n a tio n a l symbolism , w hich has always been an e s se n tia l e le m e n t — if n o t th e m otive p o w e r — o f a ll u n d e rta k in g s in Poland, a n d c o n sid e ra tio n s on th e c rite ria of the e v a lu a tio n a n d v e rific a tio n o f a ttitu d e s to w a rd s conservation actions. It also gives an assessment o f th e u n d e rta kin g s, o f te c h n ic a l, a rtis tic a n d conservation skill, a ll o f w h ich were in d is p e n s a b le in th e execution of this n a tio n a l work. The a u th o rs ask also many questions, to w hich no one has given th e answ er as yet.
The pre se n t issue o f "O c h ro n a Z a b ytkó w " co n ta in s nearly a ll pap e rs presen te d d u rin g th e session. For th e firs t tim e th e flo o r was ta ke n by those w ho won th e b a ttle o f th e C astle a n d w ho g a in e d th e w ords o f esteem fo r th e ir work. The a tte m p t to e va lu ate this w ork is, o f course, lim ite d by th e scope o f o u r know le d g e on th e s u b je c t u n d e r discussion. S till, w e can express o u r hop e th a t the fu tu re w ill o ffe r us the p o s s ib ilitie s to resum e it.
The p roblem s raised by the a u th o rs c o n c e n tra te m ainly on te c h n ic a l a n d co n servation questions. S till, some p la c e has been devoted to th e a tte m p t to d e te rm in e th e role of th e C astle in th e consciousness o f th e Poles in th e p e rio d o f p a rtitio n s a n d in in d e p e n d e n t P oland.
G re a t achievem ents o f conservation w ork have been su b je c te d to a th o ro u g h analysis. The tim e h a d passed since th e co m p le tio n of th e w ork a llo w e d fo r a c ritic a l analysis of the concepts a d o p te d a n d so lu tio ns a p p lie d . S till, some o f them give rise to ce rta in reservations a lre a d y today. They were stressed o u t also d u rin g discussions, in w h ich 17 persons took p art. The debaters p resented th e ir views on th e p e rc e p tio n of castle in te rio rs, a scope a n d re lia b ility of the in fo rm a tio n conveyed to th e visitors by g u id es, q u a lity a n d c o n te n t o f film s shown to th e guests. The s u b je c t th a t was fre q u e n tly ra is e d d u rin g th e discussion was th e lack o f th e in fo rm a tio n on th e a u th o rs o f this g re a t work, i.e. th e re sti tu tio n of th e Royal C astle, a n d the p e o p le thanks to w hom this, n a tio n a l task was a ccom plished. The d e b a te rs p o in te d o u t th e need to p u b lish d ocum ents on conservation w ork — b o th th e re p o rt o f th e C ivic C om m ittee fo r th e R econ stru ctio n o f the Royal C a stle a n d the p ro to c o ls o f th e A rc h ite c to n ic a n d C onser va tio n Com m ission. In th e o p in io n o f th e speakers, the p u b lic a tio n on th e re s titu tio n o f th e Royal C astle also deserves e d itin g . This g re a t and h o n o u ra b le d uty fa lls upon th e C o u n c il o f th e C astle. The p o s tu la te , p u t forw ard before, to e rect on the C astle's w a lls th e p la q u e co m m e m o ra tin g its erection a n d th e n a mes o f th e executors o f th is task to th e p re se n t a n d fu tu re g e n e ra tio n s has been a d o p te d .
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The p re se n t issue o f „O c h ro n a Z a b y tk ó w " is d e d ic a te d by the Editors to a ll those w ho have c o n trib u te d to th e re a liz a tio n o f th e a sp ira tio n s o f th e m illio n s o f Poles b o th in th e co u n try a n d a b ro a d to re stitu te th e Royal Castle in W arsaw .
