Szanowni Czytelnicy!

• Authors: Siwek Andrzej

Title variants

EN

Dear Readers!

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

It is with pleasure that we present to you the recent issue of our periodical – a result of editorial work which continued despite the extraordinary situation we have been forced to face. We would like to thank all those involved in the creation of this issue of “Ochrona Zabytków” for not giving in to the difficulties we encountered! The global pandemic, isolation, working from home, shutdown of various services, insti¬tutions and areas of the economy are experiences which were hard to imagine not too long ago. It is an extraordinary situation with no end in sight. We are reliving the threat and concerns from which our modern “civilised world” appeared to be free. However, this situ¬ation can also be viewed from a different perspective. It is a time of intensive medical research. We are observing the global clash between science and the virus with great hope. We are hoping for a quick remedy, an effective vaccine. It is also a time which is conducive to philosophical, social, economic and humanistic reflection. From a historian’s perspec¬tive, one could say that we are not the first and not the last to experience fear which stems from an epidemic. Perhaps it is easier now to understand the people of the past who were helpless in the face of the “Black Death”, “pestilence” or other plagues and epidemics. After all, our cultural heritage abounds with traces of struggle against most dramatic pandemics. The writings of religious mysticists, The Decameron or The Plague by Albert Camus are one some literary traces connected with reaction to the threat of an epidemic. When it comes to cultural goods, we can also find artworks and heritage sites which are connected with this subject in various contexts. They include the nearly forgotten and nameless cholera cemeteries, which are often represented by nothing more than the preserved outline and unremarkable crosses in the landscape. Among them, there are also the spectacular sculp¬tures in the form of “plague columns”, which can be found in the city centres in across the old Habsburg Empire. Finally, they include the worship of Patron Saints, such as Saint Roch, Saint Sebastian or Saint Rosalia, who were supposed to protect against the plague and whose likenesses can be found in both artistic masterpieces and folk wayside shrines. It is no coincidence that one of such likenesses has made it to the cover of this issue. It’s the Virgin of Mercy, who protects from plague and breaks thunders of God’s wrath. It originates from Faenza, Italy, form the 15th century. It can be found in many European towns and cities. The photograph depicts the figure from Krakow made by Jan Krzyżanowski in 1771. Originally it stood on the top of the gate of a cemetery of St. Mary’s parish, presently – on a high pillar where Jagiellońska Street meets Planty Park. May it remind us of our history, protect us and serve as inspiration. Finally, may it be a sign of the times when articles pub¬lished in the presented issue remain in line with the routine contents and mission of our journal. We encourage our Readers to familiarise themselves with the extensive block of articles under the common subheading of “Conservation research”. It includes many varied texts which illustrate the ambiguous and interdisciplinary nature of what we call conservation research. They show the various ways to recognise the substance of a monument and plan for protective action. For example, Anna Feliks and Jakub Markiewicz present the palace and park complex in Otwock Wielki in the light of the beginning non-invasive research. Ewa Popławska-Bukało relates the conclusions related to the discovered map of Śródborów, which gives rise to research into implementation of the concept of garden cities in Poland as well as the spatial development and buildings in one part of Otwock. Maciej Warchoł reveals the results of the architectural and dendrochronological study of a former Greek Catholic church in Hanna and Tomasz Wujewski presents a report on the architectural study of the castle in Chodzież. The issue also features articles on the history of monument protection and conservation. In this part, Adriana Merta-Staszczak discusses the issue of protection of monuments, the natural environment and landscape in the context of Poland’s agricultural reform in the interwar period, while Paweł Dettloff comments on the working methods followed by the Krakow heritage protection office in this period. This brings us closer to legal aspects, which in these issue are discussed by Anna Mazurek, who analyses the administrative and legal protection of historic necropolises as cultural heritage sites, and Maciej Nowak, who discusses the most important issue of spatial policy instruments as measures for managing heritage and guiding heritage-based development. Thus, as always, the topics and methodological approaches are truly diverse, which in the Editorial Team’s opinion best reflects the multitude of theoretical and practical issues related to the protec-tion of cultural goods. To avoid any ambiguity, we must also refer to the ever-relevant issue of the journal’s score. The news on that and our feelings about it are rather ambivalent. Owing to the Authors, Reviewers and a number of activities undertaken by the Editorial Team and the Management of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage, the journal meets high academ¬ic standards and is international in nature (bilingual). However, it would seem that this is still not enough to change the score. According to the letters exchanged with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, “the procedure of list creation does not include evalu¬ation of academic journals which are not indexed in [international] databases or are not funded under the programme Support for Academic Journals”. While our journal has already received a positive evaluation from the Scopus Title Evaluation Team and is close to being indexed in the Scopus database, it is difficult to say when and how this will be reflected in the actual score. As a side note, it can be said that Polish lawmakers unexpectedly decided to leave the fate of a Polish journal in the hands of international corporations. While this is understandable in the case of science and applied sciences, it seems alarming in the context of humanities, and especially in the field of cultural heritage. For many centuries now, Pol¬ish humanities have played a role in the shaping of national identity, attitudes and social missions. They are inextricably linked with such issues as historical memory, cultural herit¬age or the shaping and understanding of local and regional distinctness. The importance of the relationship between humanities and action aimed at the protection of cultural heritage and the protection of monuments cannot be overstated. The cultural assets from the ter¬ritory of Poland or land historically associated with Poland are specific in that alongside artworks of global importance, there are also those which are important first and foremost from a local perspective. However, these seemingly unremarkable, local traces of history are often extremely important bridges between the past and the future on the scale of “lit¬tle homelands”. These local or regional communities which make for the colourful and valuable cultural diversity of our society. They are vital for the preservation of distinctness despite the process of globalisation. From an international point of view, it is easier to gain recognition by presenting universal topics. Naturally, we could focus on the goods included on the World Heritage List, on the international flow of artistic forms and patterns or trendy analyses (e.g. in the field of colonial art) in our publications. However, would that not be detrimental to the mission of our journal? Is it not our duty in the field of protection of cultural goods to pay attention to the smallest and most local elements of heritage? This is how we see our mission, regardless of the “score” or “overseas evaluation” of our activities. As we continue our efforts to ensure an adequate formal and academic standard, we remain on the margins of ministerial evaluations (or rather face the inability to have them veri¬fied without the interference of global consortia), although we never cease in our efforts to change this. Nevertheless, we wish to continue the mission of a journal which is dedicated to the protection of cultural heritage in a broad sense. By doing so, we refer to the traditions of “Ochrona Zabytków”, which have always strived to accompany the conservation community. This is the reason behind the call to Voivodeship Heritage Protection Officers and employ¬ees of Heritage Protection Offices which can be found below. A call to all those who work or used to work in the structures of public administration in charge of the protection of cultural heritage. We hope that this call, which the Management of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage has sent by post to the incumbent Heritage Protection Officers but which is also addressed to all those who have been professionally involved with heritage protec¬tion offices, will be widely distributed. We are hoping for a response and involvement of the community of Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office employees in shaping the periodi¬cal. We invite you to start reading this issue from the call found below and heed its words... We hope you will remain in good health and find this issue of “Ochrona Zabytków” a useful and inspiring read! On behalf of the Editorial Team of “Ochrona Zabytków” Andrzej Siwek

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 2020
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 3-8

Dates

published

2020

Contributors

author

Siwek Andrzej

• Redakcja „Ochrony Zabytków”

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247