TOMASZ MERTA 1965-2010

• Authors: Rouba Bogumiła J.

Title variants

EN

REMINISCENCE ABOUT TOMASZ MERTA (1965-2010)

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

“…Heritage is a great national treasury, which stores absolutely everything that influenced and continues to affect the moulding of our identity…” Tomasz Merta, Nieodzowność konserwatyzmu. W odpowiedzi Timothy’emu Snyderowi, „Res Publica Nowa”, listopad 1997, nr 126, s. 54. When five years ago Minister Tomasz Merta was appointed General Conservator of Historical Monuments, our milieu assumed an anticipatory stand and full of uncertainty observed how he would fulfil this function. He was expected to tackle the increasingly complicated situation of the Service for the Protection of Historical Monuments, serious problems emerging and surrounding us on all sides, the prominent battle for “centralisation”, suspended in a void, insufficient staff, low wages, and the relegation of our difficulties by the world of politics to the margin… We were anxious about the time needed to introduce a person “from another world” to our specific concerns. After all, he was totally unfamiliar with them and with us – who had shared years of joint debates, conferences and confrontations concerning differently comprehended but ultimately similar causes, and involved in the welfare of historical monuments. Tomasz Merta managed to overcome this barrier, observing the people around him and seeking those whom he could trust, and whose opinions could be regarded as objective and free from egoism, and for whom concern for historical monuments was an actual priority. He did so in an extremely discreet manner, but consistently. As an excellent and keen observer, he was interested in learning about the situation of the conservation milieu. Tomasz Merta treated the Council for the Protection of Historical Monuments very seriously – as an advisory and auxiliary body and not as an obstacle. He always attended its sessions, and whenever his multiple duties made it possible he participated from the beginning to the very end. Already during his first term in office, once he realised just how many problems he was compelled to face and how serious was the overall situation, he invited the Council for longer meetings. Separated from the greenery and tranquillity of the Radziejowice palace park by a white curtain fluttering in the breeze, we spent long summer afternoons discussing fervently every issue possible. Upon certain occasions, our meetings produced heated disputes. Minister Merta calmly listened to all the arguments, at times giving the impression of being deeply lost in thought and as if only partially present. He never took notes, but at the end summed up the hourslong discussion by analysing all the mentioned questions, referring them to a wider backdrop of social phenomena and proposing a synthesis. The aptness of his conclusions was always astonishing! Upon the occasion of assorted conferences and a joint celebration of the International Day of Historical Monuments, Tomasz Merta made speeches – these were by no means the glib words of a politician or populistic praises of the milieu. Each time, he touched upon the most essential aspects of the protection of the national heritage, its determinants and the relations between the monument and society, trying to understand, deliberate and refer to the topics of current discussions. His words were not conceived as instruction or an attempt at an arbitrary solution of controversial issues. These were the subtle reflections of an intellectual, presented in the manner of essays about our connections with historical monuments and obligations towards them. Each speech went further and dealt with new areas. I am well aware of the fact that I was not the only person eagerly awaiting his next statement. When in April 2009 we met in Leżajsk to analyse the significance of authenticity, competent opinions were interspersed with highly contentious declarations. Half a year later, in Toruń, Minister Merta returned to the value of the authenticity of historical monuments and the original. This time, he went a step further. He discreetly reminded his listeners, tired of daily battles waged for salvaging monuments from greed, and frequently simply from a lack of common sense, that not only original qualities are of importance. The Minister spoke about the significance of history recorded in each monument, and recalled the relevance of the preservation of their authentic form so that they would document the time of their origin as well as the time that had passed since. This is the time in which they coexisted with generations of our ancestors and amassed and recorded traces of war, neglect or respect and care. In this subtle way he expanded our field of observation and, for all practical purposes, delineated successive tasks. Tomasz Merta appreciated the value of authenticity He also understood the essence of protection and the fact that this was a joint task – both ours and his. Tomasz Merta told us that conservation never ends, and that the ideas of refurbishing and preservation are eternal. He was disturbed by the fact that contemporary times alter the relations between people and objects, and that man’s attitude towards things is becoming nonchalant and arrogant – this is the reason why so many would like to replace the old with the new. He considered this particular feature of social transformations as extremely dangerous for the realisation of our mission of protection. When in November 2008 we met in Wojanów to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Service for the Protection of Historical Monuments, the prevailing mood was despondent. Only conservators were present. Enclosed within our own milieu, we presented successive recollections and reflections, proving to ourselves that we are but a diminutive particle of society, albeit important, hard working and with imposing accomplishments. Minister Merta managed to join us in the late evening, straight from Paris, although being quite ill he should have gone home. He knew, however, that he could not leave us alone in those circumstances. On his part, this was a magnificent gesture of respect to the whole conservation milieu. While engaged in political battles for the protection of historical monuments, and especially against the ill-fated “centralisation”, he encountered considerable obstacles. The tendency to relegate culture to the margin, especially in the case of the requirements of conservation, was the reason why the target, which upon several occasions he appeared to be so close to attaining, suddenly became distant and everything had to be commenced anew. Each time, Minister Merta was ready to hand in his resignation – he was crushed by successive failures. Not always were we capable of appreciating his efforts aimed at guaranteeing historical monuments and our milieu the suitable interest of legislators and representatives of state administration. With incredible culture, reserve, tact and calmness he explained to us the complicated labyrinths of ministerial offices, the principles of and reasons for his own conduct, and the political conditions decisive for our situation. We trusted him because his activity incessantly confirmed that all his endeavours were ultimately pursued for the sake of historical monuments. Tomasz Merta was greatly concerned with the fate of the conservation services staff, He considered our humiliating wages to be one of many degrading factors, and thus was greatly pleased when at the beginning of 2009 he finally managed to achieve considerable salary rises. His sensitivity, culture and unique intellect were the reasons why every meeting with him and every conversation proved to be a fascinating and enhancing event. Now, his sudden loss came as a painful experience to all…

Keywords

PL

Tomasz Merta; Generalny Konserwator Zabytków

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 2009
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 96-99

Dates

published

2010

Contributors

author

Rouba Bogumiła J.

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247