| Project Id |
3369 |
| Project Name |
Bauska Fortress, Latvia |
| Description |
Conservation of the 15th c. ruins of Bauska Fortress, built in the middle of the 15th century under the rule of the Livonian Order. The castle building is the only architectural example in Latvia illustrating the manifestations of mannerism-ere architecture and design in the Duchy of Courland. The castle ruins are valuable as a part of landscape. The fortifications were demolished during the Great Northern War, following which it lost its function and gradually fell into ruin. The conservation process was organized as a site for international discussions of experts in symposiums and for training craftsmen, whilst remaining freely accessible to the wider public. International cooperation between experts from various regions of Europe took place during the implementation of the project. A result of the project is that Bauska Fortress ruins can be used for staging music festivals, theatre and opera performances. |
| Description of the economic, social and environmental impacts of the project |
The project implementation was awarded with Annual Award of the State Inspection for Heritage Protection in renovation in 2002 and in 2004 with EU prize for Cultural Heritage - Europa Nostra Diploma for Architectural Heritage. The jury compliments the conservation of the ruins of a 15th century fortress by the revival of traditional methods for the preservation. An international symposium was organized in the initial stage of the project in which specialists discussed different methods of the historical building ruin preservation analyzing experience from the Mediterranean basin, Central Europe, the Baltic and Scandinavia. The project addressed a number of social problems. Several unemployed individuals registered by the Latvian State Employment Service were engaged as auxiliary workers in the conservation works. They participated also in the theoretical training, which can be considered a process facilitating rehabilitation of these individuals. |
| Web links |
http://bauskaspils.lv/en/castle-and-museum |
| Country |
Latvia |
| City size |
Small town (5.000-50.000) |
