HISTORIC GARDENS
AUTHENTICITY, PRESERVATION, MANAGEMENT
Our conference is being organized in the year of the end of the reconstruction process of the Lower Gardens of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The opening ceremony of these gardens took place on May 11, 2019. It was a very important event for the Castle awaiting for own, fully arranged garden space almost from the beginning of the facility’s existence. Being aware of the significance of that task, we can say that opening of the Gardens of the Royal Castle in Warsaw to the public completes the process of restitution of the Castle – the residence of the kings and the Republic and the entire Old Town of Warsaw after World War II.
To emphasize this event and draw attention to the problems of revalorizing historical garden assumptions in Poland and Europe, our museum has planned the international conference to take the focus of authenticity, protection and contemporary management of gardens and historic parks. Currently, these issues become more and more popular all around the world, while historic gardens attract attention of masses of turists as well as researchers of many diverse specialties. International garden routes are growing dynamically. Also the Royal Castle in Warsaw has joined them.
Over fifteen speakers, including from abroad and from Poland, were scheduled for the conference program. The conference participants will visit two royal residences: the Royal Castle with the restored Gardens and the Royal Łazienki Park in Warsaw. The discussion will be held in three thematic panels, and the languages of the conference will be Polish, English and German (simultaneous and consecutive translation will be provided).
The first panel shall raise the subject of authenticity in relation to historic gardens and parks. The Nara Document on Authenticity will be mentioned and the interpretation of the Florence Charter in this topic. An understanding of authenticity will be discussed in relation to various conservation doctrines, the authenticity of the place, the criteria which guide the assessment of the authenticity of the monument, and the panel will summarize the discussion if there is any possibility to determine the binding uniform canon of beauty for historic gardens.
The second panel will concern the preservation of historic garden assumptions. The protection and conservation of gardens and parks on the UNESCO World Heritage List will be compared with objects protected by an entry in the register of monuments. Then, the differences between conditions in the preservation and conservation of historical gardens in Poland and Europe will be indicated. Positive examples of the preservation of historic gardens from Poland and Europe shall also be mentioned.
The third panel will take participants to the practical aspects of preservation and conservation of historic gardens. Basing on examples from Poland and Europe, they shall learn about the management of objects entered in the register of monuments in Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Poland. The process of reconstruction of the Gardens of the Royal Castle in Warsaw will also be presented with an emphasis on the historical protection of the place and time.
Excellent moderators of panel data and the Honorary Committee of the conference will watch over the correct course and implementation of the planned topics in the individual thematic panels of the conference. The Committee’s members are: Head Director of the Royal Castle in Warsaw – Museum, Professor Wojciech Fałkowski (the host of the conference) and representatives of the majority of landscape architecture schools in Poland.
To participate in the event, we invite architects, designers, engineers, landscape architects, gardeners, historians, art historians (of all specialties), conservators, officials and all who feel lovers and enthusiast for garden art in its broad sense and meaning.
The fee for participation in the conference is EUR 80.
go to: CONFERENCE PROGRAM