Media: Available funding for patrimony rehabilitation, unused for lack of specialists

Romania has a total of RON 1.2 billion (over EUR 260 million) non-reimbursable funding available for the "conservation, protection, promotion and development of its nature and cultural patrimony." But this sum goes unspent and restoration projects are not started as specialists to undertake the work are few, according to an analysis by Press One.

A company that wants to be eligible for restoration projects needs to employ an engineer who attended post-graduate courses in restoration and who worked for a minimum of 7 years on this type of projects. The restoration specialty certificates are granted by a commission of the Culture Ministry that hasn’t met in two years, Press One reported. Both architects and specialists to work on the technical documentations are currently missing, while the young are discouraged from applying for this specialization as the process can be a difficult one.

One case of a restoration project delayed by the lack of specialists is that of castle in Răscruci, a village in the commune of Bonțida, where the Electric Castle festival takes place. Both the castle in Răscruci and that in Bonțida (pictured) belonged to the Bánffy family. The ownership of the building in Răscruci wasn't claimed, and in 2010 it entered the patrimony of Cluj county.

The Cluj County Council received EU funds to restore the castle, and its own contribution only amounts to 2% of the value of the works. It opened a bid for restoration works, with the initial deadline for receiving offers on November 29, 2018. None of the four companies that consulted the task book entered the bid. As such, a new deadline was announced for March 13. But the low number of companies specializing in patrimony restoration could postpone the works even further.

One company that showed interest in working on the Răscruci castle is Euras from Satu Mare but found the time frame too short to enter the first bid. The company is working on the restoration of the Evangelical Church in Sibiu, the Freemasonry Museum in Oradea, the Episcopalian Palace in Sighetu Marmației and the Teleki Castel in Posmuș, in Bistrița-Năsăud county.

(Photo: Kondrei/ Wikipedia)