An International Academic Practical Conference «Conservation and Revalorization of Monuments in the village of Pidhirtsi. Reconstruction of the Destroyed St. Michael’s Church» was held in Lviv Polytechnic National University.
The notion of «revalorization» denotes the process of re-assessing the value of any object, which has become one of the popular ways of using and reinterpreting historic, cultural and other kinds of heritage in a constantly changeable society.
If you had not been to the village of Pidhirtsi of Brody district in Lviv region, you had missed a lot. First of all, you will be fascinated and stunned by the beauty and grandeur of the local palace. It is an architecture monument of late Renaissance. This pearl of architecture was built in 1635–1640 under the supervision of architect Andrea del Aqua commissioned by Crown Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski. This large-scale building is one of the best samples of combining a Renaissance palace with a bastion fortification. Recently something has been done to save this unique creation. However, big money is necessary to reconstruct the palace. That is why public figures and architecture community are constantly appealing to the authorities of different levels, Ukrainian and foreign institutions, sponsors.
However, this village is famous not only for the castle. The pearl of wooden architecture – St. Michael’s Church – was destroyed by fire. Only foundations in the shape of a cross were left. An ancient church, so called Hetman drive, park zone, cemetery, all the surrounding picturesque landscape are of great value.
A lot of organizations took part in holding the Conference. According to Professor Bohdan Cherkes, Director of the Institute of Architecture, Oresta Remeshylo-Rybchynska, Associate Professor at the Department of Design and Architecture Fundamentals, became a real engine of this outstanding academic gathering. Pidhirtsi is a big part of her life, thoughts and aspirations, beginning with her diploma project connected with the heritage of this village – ancient Plisnesk. During the period of 1996–2016, she initiated and held summer expeditions, where together with colleagues from Ukraine and abroad (namely from Vienna University of Technology) and students from Ukraine, Austria and Poland, she conducted research: cultural passages, architecture measurements of the castle ensemble, of the palace, wooden church, Hetman drive, cemeteries, dendrologic research and park archeology.
On the first day of the Conference, an exhibition presenting the results of the many years of research and measurement, in fact, all architectural and archeological heritage of Pidhirtsi, was opened in the lobby of the University main building. On the same day, the hosts together with their guests went to Pidhirtsi to see with their own eyes the condition of all this historic heritage.
Oresta Remeshylo-Rybchynska made a nice opening to the discussion at the Conference about the fate of architecture monuments with poetic words:
Майнув крилом столітній ворон
Над сущим Плесняви вогнем,
Який жевріє у легендах
Та в піснях монахів з отцем...
Їх лихоліття не зламало,
Лиш віру в правду захитало...
То ж хай горить вогонь Плесняви,
Зазнають ще Підгірці слави!
Professor Nataliya Chuhray, Lviv Polytechnic Vice-Rector for Scientific Research, said that architectural and historic heritage is a valuable thing not only for Lviv region and Ukraine, but also for Europe and the whole world.
Professor Bohdan Cherkes, Director of the Institute of Architecture, said that this international conference consists of three components – practical, financial and academic. He is most interested in the last one:
– There are so many people around Pidhirtsi, but almost nothing has been written. I remember the words of one Moscow professor, who said, «Eternal things, which are not described, are not eternal». I would paraphrase, «Eternal things, which are not described in English, are not eternal». Vice-Rector Nataliya Chuhray and I are ready to provide the authors with a platform, an English-language journal, to publish articles based on the materials of this conference.
Taras Vozniak, Director of Borys Voznytskiy National Gallery of Arts, Professor Marina Dohering-Williams, Director of the Institute of the History of Architecture and Archeology of Vienna University of Technology, architect Herchardt Hauser, Doctor Anton Kraler from Innsbruck University, expert in wooden buildings engineering, shared their thoughts on future fate of architectural and archeological heritage of Pidhirtsi. Doctor Kraler, admired the talent of Ukrainian craftsmen, when he saw wooden architecture in Shevchenkivskiy Hai in Lviv.
Associate Professor Volodymyr Lopatko from Kharkiv National University of Building and Architecture, Mykola Bevz, Head of the Department of Restoration of Architectural and Artistic Heritage of our University, Oleh Rybchynskiy, Associate Professor of this department, Ihor Kavych, Director of «Sholom-Pidhirtsi» public organization, Nadiya Mykhailyshchyn, village council head of Pidhirtsi, who presented the general plan of the development of the village, took part in the round-table discussion. Representatives of the local authorities, for example, Oksana Tkachuk, acting director of Lviv regional state administration department, participated in the Conference.
Conference participants thanked Mr Andreas Weniger, OEAD Ukraine Director, for material support of this serious academic event.
After the Conference, we asked Associate Professor Oresta Remeshylo-Rybchynska to conclude everything she had seen and heard at the Conference:
– We made a Conference resolution, which is now being completed, namely by our partners from abroad. Conference participants made a conclusion that it is necessary to develop documentation for approving conservation landscape zones with marking the territories of architectural and archeological complexes. It is also necessary to continue further research, to conduct expert examination of the General plan of the village development and give recommendations how to improve it.
Conference participant also decided that apart from the above mentioned monuments, other objects, for example, the church in the village of Nyzhni Pidhirtsi, the school built during Austrian period, should also be considered part of cultural landscape. There also many monuments of dwelling architecture that have to be preserved. Our aim is not to create one more conservation area, but to include all the monuments together with Plisnetsk into the National or Cultural park, which could embrace architecture monuments and nature places with the respective landscape borders. As a result of this, we should promote and develop special tourism. Not the kind of tourism which we can see now. A bus arrives, 30–50 tourists get out of it, run to the castle, take photos or make selfies and go back. We should practise family tourism – eco-tourism or «green» tourism. I think that there are people willing to live in a patriarchal atmosphere. To do this, we need to preserve and increase the number of farms.
It is very important that we have discussed the problem of reconstruction of St. Michael’s church. It is not only an aspiration of architects, but also a desire of the people of Pidhirtsi. We have decided that our resolution, signed by our international partners, will be sent to the authorities, conservation institutions of all levels, UNESCO, so that we will be able to get a permission to reconstruct monuments of sacral art.
I am aware of the fact that this serious conference will not solve all problems of Pidhirtsi heritage together with the site of ancient settlement Plisnesk. However, as the saying goes, little strokes fell great oaks. I have felt that all conference participants are willing to continue tireless work in this field.
