5

EDITORIAL

PROTECIA PATRIMONIULUI INDUSTRIAL I

ARHEOLOGIA INDUSTRIAL N ROMNIA1
- SCURT PRIVIRE DE ANSAMBLU -
IRINA IOANA IAMANDESCU
Cldirile i structurile construite pentru activiti industriale, procesele i 1 Textul de fa
uneltele folosite, oraele i peisajele n care sunt amplasate, mpreun cu reia unele
pasaje din
manifestrile lor tangibile sau intangibile, sunt de o importan fundamental. Ele Raportul
trebuie studiate, istoria lor trebuie predat, nelesul i semnificaia lor trebuie naional pentru
demonstrate i subliniate n ochii opiniei publice, iar exemplele cele mai congresul
TICCIH din
semnificative i caracteristice trebuie identificate, protejate i ntreinute, n sensul septembrie
Cartei de la Veneia, spre folosul prezentului i viitorului 2006, precum i
extras din preambulul Cartei Patrimoniului Industrial din articolul

C
Arheologia
industrial
arta Patrimoniului Industrial2 refer la mrturiile, materiale sau repere
TICCIH - adoptat de TICCIH - imateriale, ale modului de via i internaionale i
contribuii
Comitetul Internaional pentru producie industrial, n evoluia lor romneti,
Conservarea Patrimoniului Industrial, la istoric. Interpretnd aceste mrturii din publicat n
congresul su de la Moscova/Nizhny punct de vedere economic, tehnologic, volumul
Patrimoniul
Tagil n 2003, reprezint un document arhitectural, arheologia industrial face, industrial al
de referin n domeniul relativ recent al n secolul al XXI-lea, un important pas Banatului
arheologiei industriale, aflndu-se la nainte, lund n considerare puternica Montan
valoare
captul unei evoluii continue n a doua semnificaie cultural3 a patrimoniului european i
jumtate a secolului al XX-lea, evoluie industrial ca element determinant al potenial de
mpletit deseori cu lupta pentru evoluiei societii umane. Politicile de integrare,
UAUIM,
recunoaterea legitimitii acestui nou protecie a patrimoniului in astzi cont Bucureti, 2005,
cmp de cercetare. de aceast semnificaie. Prin campanii ambele avnd-o
Prima utilizare a controversatului sistematice de inventariere (ca primi ca autor pe
subsemnata, n
termen de arheologie industrial pai indispensabili n protecia dorina de a
apare n Anglia anilor 50 ai secolului patrimoniului industrial) s-au putut oferi cititorilor
trecut, oficializarea sa fcndu-se apoi identifica tipurile de valori de un material de
sintez, ct mai
n 1959 de ctre Council for British patrimoniu industrial precum i riscurile exact i
Archaeology. Odat cu nfiinarea n la care acestea erau supuse, putndu-se cuprinztor.
1973 a TICCIH i, mai apoi, cu prima astfel lua deciziile necesare pentru 2. The Moscow
Charter for the
Recomandare n domeniu a Consiliului salvarea unor situri considerate semni- industrial
Europei (nr. 872 /1979) legitimitatea ficative i ameninate cu dispariia. Au heritage, 2003
domeniului este consolidat iar existat unele pierderi inevitabile, ns www.mnactec.c
om/TICCIH/
politicile de protecie a patrimoniului numeroase monumente au fost 3. Palmer,
ncep s se ocupe cu mai mult atenie recuperate, mai ales ncepnd cu anii 90 Marilyn,
de cercetarea i conservarea patrimo- i, odat cu recunoaterea internaional Neaverson,
Peter, Industrial
niului industrial. a importanei domeniului, mai multe Archaeology,
Chiar dac uneori termenul este situri industriale avnd valoare Principles and
nc contestat i chiar dac specialitii universal excepional au fost incluse practice,
Routlege,
domeniului au fost uneori mai n Lista Patrimoniului Mondial4. London, 2000,
preocupai de protecia imediat a Teritoriul Romniei este depozitar p. 15
patrimoniului industrial periclitat dect al unui patrimoniu industrial construit
4. vezi i http://
whc.unesco.org/
de fundamentarea teoretic a noii sau mobil remarcabil pentru sud-estul en/list/
discipline, arheologia industrial s-a European, datnd n principal din
impus ca domeniu interdisciplinar perioada secolelor al XVII-lea al XX-lea.
complex al crui arie de cercetare se Pe lng obiecte singulare valoroase,
6
Revista muzeelor
sunt prezente eantioane coerente de
dezvoltare ilustrnd nc toate fazele
cunoscute ale evoluiei industriale (pre
industrial, manufacturiera, industrial,
fin-de-siecle i hiperindustrializata n
epoca socialist). Dup al doilea rzboi
mondial regimul comunist a confiscat
dar nu a distrus foarte grav aceste dotri
n dorina de a le exploata uneori cu
investiii mai mult dect minime.
Dezvoltarea industrial intensiv, de
multe ori ncurajat artificial, politic, a
dat natere unor noi imense situri
industriale ) care uneoli le-au asimilat
pe cele mai vechi). Unele dintre acestea
au fost, curnd dup 1989, nchise,
acest lucru determinnd probleme
sociale importante i crend importante
zone destructurate.
Situaia economic precar a
multora dintre societile ce dein
patrimoniu industrial le determin pe
acestea fie s abandoneze patrimoniul a
crui ntreinere este prea costisitoare
(un caz trist este cel al Morii Assan din
Bucureti aparinnd unei societi actuali lucrtori ncep s devin
aflate n lichidare, care a lsat, mai mult
sau mai puin ntmpltor, monumentul
prad distrugerii), fie s-l
refuncionalizeze, cu investiii
distructive ieftine i de slab calitate.
Din comoditate sau din lipsa unei
strategii de perspectiv, sunt preferate
construciile noi interveniilor mai
pretenioase pentru recuperare-
restaurare, sunt casate i distruse utilaje
valoroase sub motivul retehnologizri.
Aceste iniiative sunt cu att mai
duntoare pentru marile ansambluri,
mprite prin privatizrile grbite de la productor al mrcii Timioreana).
nceputul anilor 90, ansambluri a cror
coeren iniial nu se va mai putea n legal a patrimoniului industrial este
curnd descifra. Reprezentnd procente
impresionante din suprafaa oraelor i
situndu-se acum relativ aproape de
centre, ariile industriale destructurate,
foste industrii de marc ale oraului,
sunt vzute ca o imens rezerv
urbanistic n ateptare de destinaii.
Proprietarii i investitorii interesai de
amplasamentele foarte avantajoase nu
doresc ns s investeasc n
reconversie simindu-se condiionai de
restricii i probleme de restaurare
pentru ceea ce ei considerau ca spaiu
sau teren disponibil pentru orice fel de
intervenie profitabil.
Susinerea opiniei publice, nu
ntotdeauna receptiv la un astfel de
subiect, este greu de obinut n
Romnia. Pe lng o anumit lips a
spiritului civic, oamenii nu sunt ataai
de acest subiect, considernd uneori
fabrica un simbol al ngrdirii
libertii personale, al subordonrii i
acceptnd cu greu s-o vad, de
exemplu, n cri potale ilustrate,
alturi de monumente consacrate cum
sunt mnstirile din nordul Moldovei.
Pe de alt parte ns, unii foti sau
interesai i decid uneori s ia atitudine
n favoarea pstrrii memoriei
industriale (aa cum a fcut-o recent un
grup de foti muncitori i ingineri de la
Combinatul Siderurgic Reia pentru a
salva ultimul Furnal de la Reia de la
distrugere). Unii proprietari de situri
industriale au nceput, de asemenea, s
neleag potenialul vechilor cldiri
industriale pentru imaginea unei mrci
de tradiie, deciznd chiar s fac mici
muzee de fabric (cum este cazul
Fabricii de bere din Timioara,
n momentul de fa, protecia
asigurat, n principal, prin Legea
182/2000 privind protejarea
patrimoniului cultural mobil i Legea

422/2001 privind protejarea monu-
mentelor istorice, cu modificrile i
completrile ulterioare. Cele dou legi,
stabilesc responsabiliti i unele (nc
discrete) faciliti pentru deintorii campanii de inventariere i releveu.
de patrimoniu i pentru cei care doresc
s investeasc n restaurare. n
conformitate cu cea de-a doua
(modificat i completat recent de
Legea 259/2006) monumentele
protejate din Romnia sunt cele nscrise
n Lista Monumentelor Istorice
L.M.I.. Dintr-un total de 29425 de
monumente, ansambluri i situri, un
numr de 716 sunt industriale sau n
relaie cu dezvoltarea industrial. Lista
monumentelor istorice (2004) are ns
scpri importante. Informaiile legate
de monumentele clasate sunt deseori
limitate la denumire i adres potal,
pentru ansambluri de mii de metri
ptrai neexistnd vreo ierarhizare
valoric a numeroaselor corpuri de
cldiri, sau un inventar al utilajelor
coninute. Cele mai periclitate situri
sunt cele care nu sunt nscrise n L.M.I.
(ntruct la procesul de elaborare a
acesteia, la nceputul anilor 90, au
participat diferii experi, receptivi sau
nu la subiectul patrimoniului industrial)
i deci neprotejate prin Lege. Dei
clasarea de urgen n caz de pericol
este posibil, chiar fr acordul
proprietarului, procesul de clasare de
noi situri este lent i dificil. n schimb
cererile pentru declasarea siturilor
industriale sunt, din cauza diverselor
presiuni economice, destul de
numeroase. Ministerul Culturii i
Cultelor Serviciul Monumentelor
Istorice, a elaborat un nou proiect de
Lege a patrimoniului industrial ce se
afl n momentul de fa n dezbatere
public i este menit s coreleze
elemente ale legislaiei actuale, s
7
EDITORIAL
acompanieze metodologic sau s
ntreasc unele prevederi cum sunt
accesul n situri industriale, metodele
de privatizare a societilor industriale,
Rspunznd necesitii unei
inventarieri sistematice a acestui
patrimoniu, Ministerul Culturii i
Cultelor a demarat, de asemenea, un
program pentru Salvarea patrimoniului
industrial din Romnia, program care
urmrete declanarea inventarierii
specializate, identificarea obiectivelor
n pericol, gsirea de soluii i parteneri
pentru salvarea lor, mediatizarea
domeniului i stabilirea unei strategii
naionale coerente pe termen lung. n
prima etap, care este acum n derulare,
avnd n vedere resursele materiale
limitate i neuniformitatea prezenei
specialitilor din domeniu n teritoriu,
s-a iniiat un experiment axat pe
identificare / minim catalogare /
urgene de salvare / propuneri de
clasare. Prin intermediul aceluiai
program se urmrete, de asemenea
identificarea de resurse umane n
domeniu.
Dei primi pai valoroi s-au fcut
n anii 80, n special n zona Banatului,
prin eforturile unor istorici - muzeografi
sau arheologi, arheologia industrial
este nc un domeniu nou i nu foarte
bine definit n Romnia. Cercetarea n
domeniu este ilustrat de unele studii i
articole referitoare la situri sau evolutii
particulare. Nu au fost publicate studii
sintetice de amploare. O prim lucrare
de specialitate - Arheologia Industrial
pe teritoriul Romaniei (V. Wollmann,
2003), furnizeaza prime informaii
despre patrimoniul din Transilvania i
Banat. Cursuri introductive ocazionale
au fost organizate la Universitatea de
Arhitectur i Urbanism Ion Mincu
8
Revista muzeelor
sau la Universitile din Cluj Napoca,
Reita sau Timioara i au fost, de
asemenea, introduse n programa
Centrului de Pregtire Profesional n
Cultur, centru care a iniiat recent i o
baz de date a specialitilor din
domeniu. Cteva proiecte de licen sau
teye de Master n arhitectur sau
geografie au fost dedicate cercetrii i
restaurrii patrimoniului industrial.
n intenia de a corela aceste
eforturi mai degrab dispersate,
Ministerul Culturii i Cultelor a
organizat, ncepnd cu 2001, o serie de
ntlniri tiinifice internaionale learning) n domeniul arheologiei
ateliere de arheologie industrial (2001
- Bucureti, 2002 - Banatul Montan,
2003 - Cluj Napoca, 2004 - Baia Mare).
Atelierele au fost susinute de TICCIH
(n al crui Buletine se pot gsi
rapoartele a dou dintre ele) i au avut o
semnificativ participare romneasc i
european, contribuind la o mai
profund nelegere a arheologiei
industriale n Romnia prin colaborare
European. Prin schimbarea anual a
locului de desfurare, atelierele au
fcut posibil contactul cu importante
situri industriale din Romnia, de la
instalaii tehnice din lemn ( numeroase,
de multe ori bine pstrate i nc n
funciune) la mine i situri metalurgice.
Pe parcursul atelierelor a devenit clar
necesitatea crerii unei organizaii
naionale pentru arheologie industrial
care s fie afiliat la TICCIH. Acest
proces este n curs de definitivare
existnd intenia lansrii oficiale a
Asociaiei la cel de-al cincilea Atelier
internaional de arheologie industrial
ce se va organiza n 10-15 octombrie
2006 la Bucureti i Reia.
O serie de proiecte internaionale
au fost demarate n ultimii ani, unele
dintre ele datorit Atelierelor, printre
care: Ministerul Culturii i Cultelor, i
Institutul de Cercetri Ecomuzeale -
parteneri n programul Patrimoniu
industrial ntre pmnt i mare pentru
o reea european de ecomuzee un
proiect european Cultura 2000 derulat
sub patronajul TICCIH i n parteneriat
instituii din 7 ri europene
(www.amers.info); Universitatea de
Arhitectur i Urbanism Ion Mincu
partener n FORCOPAR un proiect
european Leonardo privind realizarea
unui studiu de fezabilitate pentru un
sistem de nvmnt la distan (e-
industriale (www.forcopar.com);
asocierea Romniei la propunerea de
creare a unui nou itinerariu cultural
european privind patrimoniul industrial
(www.itinerairesculturels.com); Dintre
proiectele naionale sunt de menionat:
proiectul Memoria Patrimoniului
Industrial derulat de Complexul
Naional Muzeal Moldova Iai i
finanat prin Fondul Cultural Naional;
Proiectul de Cercetare Patrimoniul
Industrial al Banatului Montan
valoare european i potenial de
integrare, derulat de Universitatea de
Arhitectur i Urbanism Ion Mincu
din Bucureti i finanat de CNCSIS.
Dei exemplele de recuperare a
patrimoniului industrial sunt nc rare
n Romnia (aici ar fi de menionat
restaurarea Fabricii de bere din
Timioara sau reconversia unui fost
depou de tramvaie la Bucureti),
experiena ctigat deja la nivel de
concept va duce probabil, n scurt timp,
la rezultate concrete.
Nu n cele din urm, sunt de
menionat evenimentele culturale
organizate n Romnia cu ocazia zilei
internaionale a monumentelor i
siturilor (18 aprilie) ce a avut n 2006 ca

tem patrimoniul industrial. Pentru
contientizarea de ctre public a valorii
culturale a patrimoniului industrial au
fost organizate expoziii, dezbateri
publice, lansri de carte, un forum on-
line cu tema Patrimoniul industrial n
fostele ri comuniste, precum i
lansarea paginii oficiale de internet
dedicate patrimoniului industrial din
Romnia, ca prim instrument de
comunicare n domeniu (www.cimec.ro/
patrimoniuindustrial).
9
EDITORIAL
Prin urmare se poate spune c
Romnia ncepe s reacioneze (chiar
dac mai trziu dect ar fi putut s-o
fac) n faa provocrii reprezentate de
acest inedit domeniu i c, ncet, unele
iniiative sunt puse n practic n
domeniul legislativ, n realizarea de
inventare, n formarea de specialiti, n
recuperarea de patrimoniu industrial
sau n sensibilizarea publicului n faa
urmelor unei evoluii industriale ce a
contribuit esenial la definirea identitii
noastre.
10
Revista muzeelor

INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE PROTECTION AND

INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN ROMANIA1
- SHORT OVERVIEW -
IRINA IOANA IAMANDESCU
1 This text
The delegates assembled for the 2003 TICCIH Congress in Russia wish to
refers to some assert that the buildings and structures built for industrial activities, the processes
paragraphs of and tools used within them and the towns and landscapes in which they are located,
the National along with all their other tangible and intangible manifestations, are of
Report for the fundamental importance. They should be studied, their history should be taught,
TICCIH
Congres of their meaning and significance should be probed and made clear for everyone, and
september the most significant and characteristic examples should be identified, protected and
2006, and from maintained, in accordance with the spirit of the Venice Charter, for the use and
the article

T
Industrial
benefit of today and of the future
Heritage extract from the preamble of the Industrial Heritage Charter.
international
issues and
romanian he Industrial Heritage Charter2 material or immaterial traces of the
contribuition, TICCIH - adopted by TICCIH industrial society in its historical
published in The international committee for evolution and its research methods are
Patrimoniul the conservation of the industrial including the interpretation of these
industrial al
Banatului heritage, at its Moscow/Nizhny Tagil traces from economical, technological
Montan Congress in 2003represents a reference or architectural point of view and are
valoare document in the relatively new field of considering (by taking a step forward in
european i the industrial archaeology, at the end of the 21st century) their strong cultural
potenial de
integrare, a continuous evolution during the significance3 as an element of the
UAUIM, second half of the 20th century, often evolution of the human society.
Bucureti, combined with the struggle for its International heritage protection
2005, both recognition. strategies are now taking into account
signed by
myself, in The term industrial archaeology this significance. Through industrial
order to offer was first employed in England, in the heritage systematic inventory cam-
the readers a early 1950s and was then officially paigns (as first indispensable steps in its
larger study. accepted by the Council for British protection) types of industrial heritage
2. The
Moscow Archaeology. Once TICCIH was values as well as types of risks were
Charter for the founded in 1973 and the first Council of identified. This helped in taking
industrial Europe Recommendation in the field conservation decisions for significant
heritage, 2003 was adopted (no. 872/1979) the and endangered sites. Inevitable losses
-
www.mnactec. legitimacy of the discipline is were recorded, but also various sites
com/TICCIH/ consolidated and the heritage protection were recovered, particularly in the
3 Palmer, politics is beginning to pay attention to 1990s and, together with the
Marilyn, the research and conservation of the international recognition of the field,
Neaverson,
Peter, industrial heritage. several industrial heritage sites, having
Industrial Even if sometimes the term is still outstanding universal value, were
Archaeology, controversial and that, more than often, included in the UNESCOs World
Principles and the field specialists were more Heritage List4.
practice,
Routlege, concerned with the immediate heritage Romania still preserves industrial
London, 2000, protection than with the conceptual heritage objects of the past, from the
p. 15 definition of the field, industrial 17th to the 20th century, quite
4 archaeology proved itself as a new and remarkable for the south-eastern
http://whc.unes
co.org/en/list/ complex contemporary discipline. Its Europe. Besides singular sites of
main research area comprises the particular value (sometimes, still in

use), coherent samples of industrial
development stages (pre-industrial,
manufacture, industrial, fin de sicle,
modern inter-bellum era) are still very
present. After the war, the communist
regime confiscated, but didnt destroy
all these assets (unless for technological
reasons), with the intention of using
them for as long as possible, often with
less than the minimum necessary
maintenance works. Intensive industrial
development, often artificially and
politically encouraged, gave birth to
huge new industrial sites (that
sometimes swallowed the former and
smaller ones). Some of them were, soon
after 1989, closed, creating important
social problems and leaving behind
immense derelict areas.
After 1989, the bad economic
situation of many industrial buildings
owners made them either to abandon
the heritage for being too expensive to
maintain, or to renovate it by low-
cost destructive methods, in order to
make an immediate profit. Due to
unawareness, inertia or lack of strategy,
new buildings were preferred to old
ones, which were in need of more
delicate restoration works, old
machines were scrapped in the name of
the renewing of the production
methods. This attitude was even more
dangerous for the big industrial sites
divided by the rushed privatization
process from the beginning of the 90s
these sites initial coherence will be soon
impossible to read. Representing
important percentages in our cities and
being now rather close to the city
centres, these huge sites are seen as
immense empty areas fit for new urban
developing. The investors are attracted
by the good location of the property, but
are not willing to invest in reconverting
11
EDITORIAL
the old buildings, considering this a too
complicated and uncomfortable
process.
The public support in preserving
these industrial objects is very difficult
to obtain in Romania. Besides a
somewhat general lack of civic
reaction, people are still not receptive to
this particular subject - they rather
consider the factory as a place of
exploitation and they could hardly
accept it in postcards, for example,
together with Romanias famous
painted medieval churches.
However, on the other hand, some
of them are slowly becoming interested
and choose sometimes to plead for
preserving their industrial memory
(very recently a group of former
workers and engineers organized
themselves to fight for the Resita tall
furnace that is facing an imminent
demolition danger). Some of the
industrial sites owners also started to
see the potential of preserving the old
buildings as being valuable for their
brand image and even decided to do
small factory museums.
The legal protection of the
industrial heritage is now ensured
through two main laws regarding the
movable and immovable heritage (2000
and respectively 2001). The law sets
both responsibilities and some (still
discreet) facilities for the heritage
owners and for the ones willing to
invest in restoration works. According
to the second one, regarding the
protection of historic monuments, an
official list of historic monuments has
been established. Out of a total of
29425 monuments ensembles and sites
in the list, a number of 716 are
industrial or related to industry.
However the list has important
12
Revista muzeelor
inaccuracies regarding the industrial
heritage and the information is often
limited to the denomination and
address; so, for some lost objects, there
is no inventory, no image, and no
survey. The most endangered sites and
objects are the ones that are not listed
(as the listing process used, in the early
1990s, different experts, not always
receptive to the subject), therefore
unprotected by the law. Although the
immediate listing of a building in case
of danger is possible, even without the
agreement of the owner, this process is
slow and difficult and the demands for
delisting industrial buildings are, due to
different development pressures, quite
numerous. A new project for a
Romanian Law of industrial heritage
was proposed by the Romanian
Ministry of Culture the Historic
Monuments Department, and is now in
public debate. Its purpose is to
accommodate the inaccuracies and deal
with aspects not taken into
consideration by the actual law frame,
regarding access in not protected sites,
ways of privatization of industrial
societies, specialized inventories and
surveys.
Responding to the necessity of a
national strategy in the field, the
Ministry of Culture also initiated a
program for the Salvation of the
national industrial archaeology
heritage, whose aims are to begin a
specific inventory, to identify the most
endangered sites, to find viable
solutions and partners in saving them,
to make a press campaign in order to
get the people understand these values.
In the first stage, which is now in
process, taking into account the limited
as well as imbalanced human and
material resources in different areas of
the country, an experimental national
survey was initiated in order to identify
unprotected sites, to establish which
sites are to be immediately listed, which
sites are in immediate danger etc.
Through the same program also human
resources are to be identified.
Although first steps were taken in
the 80s, especially in the Banat area,
through the efforts of a few
archaeologists and historians, industrial
archaeology is still a rather new and not
very well defined discipline in
Romania. The research in the field is
illustrated by a number of articles and
studies mostly related to particular
sites. No synthetic study was published
although a first introductory book on
Industrial Archaeology in Romania
(Arheologia Industrial pe teritoriul
Romniei Wollmann, Volker, 2003)
gives information on the industrial
heritage of Transylvania and Banat
regions. A number of dedicated courses
were organized at the University of
Architecture and Urban Studies Ion
Mincu in Bucharest, at the
Universities of Reia, Timioara and
Cluj and were as well included in the
curricula of the Centre for Professional
Training in Culture (the centre also
established a database regarding
Romanian specialists in the field).
Quite a few architecture or geography
diplomas and master thesis were
dedicated to industrial heritage study
and restoration.
In order to bring together these
quite dispersed efforts, a series of four
international workshops on industrial
archaeology were organized in
Romania, by the same Ministry, starting
with 2001. Having TICCIHs support
(reports of two of the workshops can be
found in the TICCIH bulletin) and a

significant national and European
participation, they essentially
contributed to a better understanding of
the industrial archaeology in Romania,
through scientific exchanges between
experts and enthusiasts form all over
Europe. By constantly changing the
location, they also made possible the
direct contact with various industrial
heritage sites in Romania from tradi-
tional wood installations (numerous,
quite well preserved and often still in
use) to mines or heavy metallurgical
sites. During these meetings the
necessity of a national organization for
industrial archaeology that should be
affiliated to TICCIH became clear and
the formalities for the creation of such
an entity are in process. Hopefully the
future Romanian industrial archaeology
association will be launched at the 5th
international workshop on industrial
archaeology which is to be organized in
October 10-15, 2006.
A number of national and
international projects were initiated,
also due to the exchanges facilitated by
these meetings, among which:
Industrial heritage between land and
sea for a European network of
ecomuseums a Culture 2000 project of
several European partners, developed
under the patronage of TICCIH
(www.amers.info); Forcopar a
Leonardo European project for a
feasibility study regarding distance
learning in industrial archaeology
(www.forcopar.com); the association of
Romania to the proposal of a new
Cultural Route of Europe regarding
Industrial Heritage (www.itineraire
sculturels.com); Industrial Heritage of
the Mountaineous Banat European
value and integration potential a
research project of the University of
13
EDITORIAL
Architecture and Urban Studies Ion
Mincu in Bucharest dedicated to the
region that contains the highest
concentration of industrial heritage in
Romania.
Although examples of industrial
heritage recovery are still very few in
Romania (one could mention the
restoration of the Timisoreana brewery
in Timisoara, or the reconversion of a
former tram depot in Bucharest), all the
conceptual experience brought by the
quoted projects is expected to lead to
more concrete results in short time.
Last but not least, on the occasion
of the 18 of April - the international day
of monuments and sites, dedicated in
2006 to the industrial heritage, a series
of events were organized in Romania in
order to raise public awareness on the
subject. Besides exhibition openings,
book launches and a forum on the
Industrial heritage in ex communist
countries that contributed to a the better
understanding of the common issues
related to the protection of industrial
heritage in the East-European context, a
web site dedicated to the Industrial
Heritage was launched (www.cimec.ro/
patrimoniuindustrial/) as a first needed
working instrument in the protection of
the industrial heritage of Romania.
Therefore one can say that
Romania is beginning to face (even if
later than it could have done it) the
challenge represented by this rousing
field and that some initiatives are,
slowly, beginning to be put in practice
in various directions as law
improvement, inventories, training,
industrial heritage restoration or raising
public awareness for the valuable traces
of an industrial evolution that
essentially contributed to the
construction of our identity.