The Ambulance for Monuments: Saving Romania’s endangered patrimony one intervention at a time

Against a local background of numerous cases of neglected and decaying built heritage, a project rolled out in southern Transylvania has targeted the urgency of the issue. An NGO called Asociația Monumentum started The Ambulance for Monuments, which intervenes to safeguard endangered monuments, stop their degradation, and allow their future restoration. They do this with a sustainable approach in mind. The NGO involves the local community while offering learning opportunities to those who volunteer to help. In its turn, it receives support from many in the private sector and among local authorities, and including from prominent figures like Prince Charles of Wales, a keen supporter of Romanian heritage.

Romania Insider talked to Eugen Vaida, co-founder of Monumentum, about how the NGO, with over 200 volunteers, has saved wooden Orthodox churches, fortified Saxon ones, mills, and train stations, houses, or historic fortifications.