Project Location: Open Air Museum of Lithuania, L. Lekavičius str. 2, LT- 56336, Rumšiškės
Project start date: 01/07/2014
Project duration: 22 months Project partner: Restoration Centre in Buskerud ( Buskerud bygningsvernsenter), Norway, www.buskerudbygningsvern.no
The total value of the project: 2 700 464,49 LTL / 782 108,57 EUR.
The Museum during this project continue the development of wooden built heritage conservation, research and training centre. which was initiated in 2008-2010 when the museum implemented the project “Revitalizing and Teaching of Lithuanian Traditional Handicrafts and Restorers of Wooden Heritage in the Open Air Museum of Lithuania through the Restoration of Aristavele Manor House”, funded by EEA and Norwegian financial mechanisms.
Main activities of the Project: Restoration and adaptation of Aristavele manor-house for Wooden Built Heritage Conservation, Research and Training Centre. Purchase of equipments and furniture for Wooden Built Heritage Conservation, Research and Training Centre Employe and train two new cultural heritage specialists 10 days training course of 5 employees of Open Air Museum of Lithuania in Norway 3 days training course in Lithuania One Day Festival of Wooden Heritage in the Open Air Museum of Lithuania.
„Development of wooden built heritage conservation, research and training center in the former Aristavele manor house“ Nr. EEE – LT06 – KM – 01 – K – 01 – 100
The main problem tackled by the project is rapidly deteriorating condition of wooden architectural heritage in Lithuania. Currently there are about 2863 wooden heritage buildings, including 1519 separate and group objects, 700 buildings in ethnographic villages and 644 objects of small architecture. All this heritage group is in danger of extinction: 38 per cent of wooden manor buildings, 34 per cent of ethnographic buildings and 33 per cent of the other wooden heritage objects are in a very poor condition. Wooden heritage in Lithuania is vanishing due to neglect, but also because of mishandling. The main reasons for the bad treatment of wooden heritage are the lack of funds, insufficient qualification of heritage preservation and restoration specialists, poor understanding of the owners/managers of wooden heritage objects about their value and restoration, and low awareness of general public about wooden heritage. So, the second problem tackled by the project is unawareness of Lithuanian public about the value of wooden heritage and the need to preserve it.
Cultural heritage cannot be preserved without an evidence-based knowledge acquired through research, therefore, a considerable amount of poor wooden heritage buildings, and the need for their research makes a huge field of research and restoration activity in Lithuania. Lithuanian Open-Air Museum (LOAM) has a 40-year experience of maintenance, conservation and repair of old wooden constructions, which could be very useful for other individuals and organizations responsible for maintenance and restoration of wooden built heritage. Moreover, the museum has a collection of 140 old wooden buildings, which provides a good base for research, training and practice of traditional crafts and techniques. In the period of 2008-2010 the museum implemented a project funded by EEA and Norwegian financial mechanisms called “Revitalizing and Teaching of Lithuanian Traditional Handicrafts and Restorers of Wooden Heritage in the Open-Air Museum of Lithuania through the Restoration of Aristavele Manor House”. During the project a wooden heritage research and conservation centre was initiated. LOAM would like to develop the centre and, thus, to contribute to the tackling of the aforementioned problems by carrying out in situ research of wooden heritage objects and though training and counselling of their owners and managers. So, the overall aim of the project is to improve conditions for research of wooden built heritage and the counselling of its owners and managers in all regions of Lithuania through the development of a wooden built heritage research, conservation and training centre. The second aim of the project is to raise awareness of general public about wooden built heritage, its value and preservation. In order to develop activities of the centre, it is necessary to accomplish restoration of its base – Aristavele manor-house, to accommodate the centre’s facilities, to purchase the necessary equipment, devices and tools, and to train staff members of the centre and social partners. The Norwegian partner would be involved in training activities to share its experience and good practice in research, conservation and counselling. Thus, the project would contribute considerably to the efficiency of wooden heritage preservation and allow new services to be developed. The LOAM centre could implement specialised research of wooden heritage and provide adequate training and counselling services to the owners and managers of wooden heritage objects in all Lithuania.
Project‘s work group:
Project Manager: Violeta Reipaitė, Open Air Museum of Lithuania Director
Project Accountant: Elvyra Arbačiauskienė, Open Air Museum of Lithuania Chief Accountant
Project training and publicizing activities Coordinator: Gita Šapranauskaitė, Open Air Museum of Lithuania senior museum curator
Project Procurement Specialist: Erika Žukauskaitė, Open Air Museum of Lithuania
Contact information:
Gita Šapranauskaitė, Open Air Museum of Lithuania senior museum curator,
Project‘s coordinator for training and publicizing activities Mobile: +37069917869 E-mail: gita.sapranauskaite@llbm.lt