Heritage in Motion by Europa Nostra

EUROPEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE REVIEW SUMMER 2011

THE WINDS OF CHANGE BIG STONES AND SMALL KIDS THE ART OF REJUVENATION CASTLES, WATER TOWERS AND BIG MACHINES WITH PLﾃ，IDO DOMINGO, ANDROULLA VASSILIOU

ISSN: 1871-417X

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Welcome The Netherlands is a unique country; built, as the locals say, on mud and water. The history of this enterprising people has always fascinated me. Amsterdam’s 17th century canal ring area for instance, which recently has been enlisted by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, combines the technical prowess of the Dutch in draining the swamp land it was built on and their architectural finesse showing off the wealth and power of the country’s Golden Age. Yet there is so much more to discover across the Dutch lowlands. I am therefore delighted as President of Europa Nostra, to introduce you to this special Dutch issue of our Heritage in Motion magazine. I wish you an enjoyable voyage of discovery to historic sites and through heritage stories from across the country. I was born in Spain in the 1940s and am very aware of the fragility of our European civilisation as a whole. Although I grew up in a world of love and music, I have always realised that this cannot be taken for granted. “I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains”, wrote Anne Frank in her diary. These are truly inspiring words. They call for a positive balance between remembering and looking forward. We must never deny or forget the past; rather we must try to find the good and the beautiful in the world around us, try to learn lessons and be led by inspiring examples from those before us. I feel that this forms the heart of Europa Nostra: the conviction that cultural heritage belongs to everybody. In this special issue of our magazine on the Netherlands, we present to you many different people and organisations. We show you the new approaches and models the Dutch have developed to help protect heritage sites, from century old country estates to more recent architecture of the Modern Movement. We talk to individuals who have made a difference. We invite you to travel in time from prehistoric monuments to futuristic applications. We showcase how old factories, water towers, country churches and even a cruise ship have found new life. We introduce you to the Netherlands through the eyes of a president, a food-lover and a painter. Last but not least, in this European Year of Volunteering, our magazine especially celebrates the love, passion and dedication of millions of volunteers who commit their time, energy and often substantial resources to preserving the beauty and the soul of Europe. I feel strongly connected to the cultural heritage of my youth and the history of my family and country, but I have also been fortunate enough to encounter other cultures and to visit breathtaking historic sites all over the globe. Many of these magical places have become forever part of my life and my heart. Because that is where and how we make the real connection with heritage: in our heart. I have certainly reserved a very special place in my heart for the heritage and people of the Netherlands. I hope this magazine will inspire you to do the same.

Plácido Domingo, President of Europa Nostra - The Voice of Cultural Heritage in Europe

Published by EUROPA NOSTRA The Voice of Cultural Heritage in Europe European Cultural Heritage Review (June 2011) ISSN:1871-417X President Plácido Domingo Executive President Denis de Kergorlay Secretary-General Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović Editor in Chief Wolter Braamhorst Concept TV Culture Articles written by TV Culture (except where noted)

Cover Photograph Han van Jool Plácido Domingo Photograph Getty Images, Frazer Harrison Special Thanks Hetti von der Gablentz Karel Loeff Maria Meyer Laurie Neale Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović Roelf Rogaar Astrid Weij Proofreaders Athina Mitropoulos David Kibuuka Photography TV Culture Europa Nostra Wiki Commons (except where noted)

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This Review was produced with the kind support of

Design Supervisor Rauf Kösemen Coordination Damla Özlüer Periodical Design Tülay Demircan, Banu Y. Ocak Page Layout Gülderen Rençber Erbaş Technical Controls Harun Yılmaz Printing Coordination Eddy Hoofteer Printing DeckersSnoeck N.V.-S.A., Antwerpen, Belgium

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All rights reserved. No part of either publication may be reproduced in any material form, including electronic means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Europa Nostra. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of old material. Where these efforts have not been successful, copyright owners are invited to contact the editor.

of the Bartolotti House

10 On Thin Ice

The History of Hans Brinker

Downfall of 26 The the Water Castles

28 The Art of Rejuvenation

The resurrection of a former pumping station and derelict water tower

32 Mounds, Motorways and

Grave Robbers Ancient Burial Sites Under Threat

FEATURE

Lessons from Kamp Westerbork

CITY DREAMS

22 Places of Rememberance

HERITAGE IN DANGER

Stones and Small Kids 18 Big Popularising Prehistory

HERITAGE IN DANGER

The long journey of the steam-ship Rotterdam

LIVING HERITAGE

FEATURE

14 All Aboard!

OPINION

Monuments and Music 06 Of Gustav and Marie Leonardt on the history

TREASURE

CONTENTS

HERITAGE IN DANGER

Excerpts from personal observations by an American president and his wife

SHORT STORY

36 An American in Amsterdam

48 A Matter of Priority

68 Country Living

A visit to a family estate

86 An Island on Dry Land UNESCO World Heritage: Schokland Island

A Taste for Heritage Of Gouda Cheese, Speculaas and Bitterballen / 40

Resurrection The Rescue of Two Remarkable Industrial Heritage Sites / 44

Heritage of a Disaster The Therapeutic Value of Modern Architecture and Industrial Monuments / 54

Losing Faith Country Churches in Danger / 58

Panorama Amsterdam /64 Letters by Van Gogh / 72

Amsterdam Then and Now / 76 European Year of Volunteering People Who Make a Difference / 90 Bond Heemschut A Founding Member Ready for the Next Hundred Years / 94 Monumental Changes Monument Care Should be a Pleasure/ 96 New Energy The Resurrection of theWestergasfabriek / 100 “Heritage is not a Luxury, it is a Necessity” An Interview with Androulla Vassiliou / 102

Family Spirit The Ins and Outs of an Old Family Business / 106

Saving Heritage with Pretty Earth / 110 Success Story 25 Years of Dutch Heritage Days / 112 The Castle and the Water / 114 Narratives 3.0 Designer Gilian Schrofer Turns Virtual Places into Interactive Spaces / 118

Postcard from Brussels / 120

TREASURE

The Beauty of the European Landscape is a non-renewable Asset

COUNTRY DREAMS

60 The Winds of Change

OPINIONS

Cultural Heritage often Victim of War and Conflict

TREASURE

Of Monuments and Music... Gustav and Marie Leonardt on the history of the Bartolotti House

“When we moved in here in the early 1970s, I grew fascinated by this extraordinary building and its former occupants,” explains the world-renowned harpsichord player, organist and conductor Gustav Leonardt in a stately room in the Bartolotti house on the Amsterdam canals. “This house is so beautiful; we derive such joy from its stillness and its architectural details, especially here in this part of the house which is from the middle of the 18th century. Even though we both became very successful during this period (Leonardt’s wife is famous baroque violinist Marie LeonhardtAmsler ed.), I have spent an incredible amount of time researching the archives and even wrote a book about this house.”(‘The house Bartolotti and its Inhabitants’, Amsterdam 1979, ed.)

Herengracht in the 17th century, this page left: front of the house, up: back of the house, below: floor plan.

The harpsichord has been Leonardt’s instrument of love and passion since his early youth. His worldwide fame grew from his decision to play classical pieces on the instruments the music was originally composed for. Until then, the works of Bach and Mozart were played on modern instruments. His original back to basics ideas were not very popular at the beginning of his career, but in the 1970s his approach had gained international recognition. His elegant and friendly wife Marie joins us. An espresso or a port is offered. The tranquillity of the house is in sharp contrast to the busy and rapidly changing city outside. The hands of time move slowly here; it is not difficult to

imagine oneself back in the period the house was built, in the early 17th century. “We have grown so attached to this house,”she says. “It still makes us happy to live here. I could not imagine living somewhere else. We have seven floors and walking up and down the stairs every day keeps us young.” “It is the combination of all the elements that makes it so remarkable,” she adds. “It all belongs together; the white of the stucco and the wood panels: it fits together, it is all right.” Gustav Leonardt nods in agreement. “The front of the building is not that good actually: its quality is not high enough to have been designed by the famous architect Hendrick

de Keyser or even his son, as some claim. I am convinced that builders just copied from one another all the time.” The Bartolotti house, together with the Dolphin and The House with the Heads, is one of last surviving examples of a predecessor of a so-called double canal house. The balustrades and pilasters on either side make the house look taller. The façade is richly decorated with scrolls and vases and adorned with two mottoes: ´Ingenio et Assiduo Labore’ (ability and incessant work) and ‘Religione and Probitate’ (religion and integrity). The monument is built in the Amsterdam Baroque Renaissance style. The ridge of the roof runs parallel with a bend in the canal. The façade has two curves. When the Bartolotti house was built in the early 17th century, Amsterdam’s canal zone was just

TREASURE

A 186 pages inventory dating from 1664 contains room by room descriptions of the possessions of the Bartolotti family. It gives an fascinating insight in an affluent 17th century Dutch household. A small selection... 145 paintings 647 napkins 145 table cloths 248 bed covers One birdcage Many books amongst which all the works of Jacob Cats and a two volume atlas by Hondius A collection of maps 14 pair perfumed gloves 30 small room heaters Two harpsichords, one large one on a walnut foot, and a smaller one Six or seven bigger and smaller violins An East Indian trunk A collection of Turkish carpets 1 long oak table 10 red velvet chairs 1 marble cooler Wall covering made of gold leather A collection of tapestries East Indian cabinets Several ornate beds, one with gilded knobs A silver treasure trove which contained items like 18 silver salt shakers 10 silver glass holders 62 silver spoons 14 silver bowls, partially gilded

starting to be developed on a large scale. Guillermo Bartolotti’s original name was Willem van den Heuvel, but he took the name of a related Bolognese businessman because of a complicated inheritance. “Guillermo and his extended family lead interesting lives as part of Amsterdam’s rich business community,” Leonardt tells with passion. “They worked day and night, trading in grain, weapons or silk. The family was powerful. Kings and princes borrowed money from them. They entertained international guests. But they could also be quite uncivilised; they drank heavily, got into fights, and were sometimes even unscrupulous.” “At the same time they had an eye for beautiful things. They sponsored a publication of lute music, they owned about a hundred and twenty-five paintings and an important silver collection, which they could melt if they fell upon hard times. They also played music and we know they owned a harpsichord. Would it not be wonderful if that instrument were still around? This house was really a centre of Amsterdam’s social life.”

The Bartolotti house changed hands many times throughout the centuries until it was bought by the Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser (Association for the preservation of historic houses in The Netherlands ed.) in 1924. This private organisation - named after the famed Amsterdam architect - aimed to buy and save as many houses as possible from being destroyed. They still own the building today and the Leonardts rent it from them. It is hard to imagine now, but until the 1970s, Amsterdam’s canal zone was not a popular place to live in and plans were made to get rid of it completely. “When we moved to Amsterdam in the 1950s, it was a very different city. Most houses on the canal were not well kept at all. The people had moved out,” Marie Leonardt explains. “The older generation had no interest in living in the city,” Leonardt adds. “When cars got better, people could move further away. Anyone who could afford it moved out. That was still very much the situation when we moved to Amsterdam. From the 1970s onwards, that situation began to change for the better.”

“I wrote a second book, Amsterdam’s Unfinished Past, to help people to distinguish the good from the bad - the 17th century façades from the 16th century for instance - and so on. There are a lot of people who moved into the old city but did not know much of its past. This brings me to the following: I am extremely upset and you can quote me on that – that the governmental attitude today is to keep the monuments as they are now. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with reconstructing or restoring something back to its original splendour.” Leonardt is very clear in his opinions on music, as well as in his opinions on the conservation of monuments; back to the original form. “See what happened to the Pinto house (see also article ‘Amsterdam Then and Now’ ed.). If the local people had not gotten involved, it would have disappeared forever. The Hendrick de Keyser association has similarly saved many buildings in the inner-city of Amsterdam. They moved in next door, by the way. Their offices are today located at the front of this building. Before, when something needed to be repaired, we had to call them; now we just knock on our neighbour’s door. It is very convenient.” They both smile.

Left, garden view Above, ceiling paintings

OPINION

On Thin Ice: The History of Hans Brinker

Statue Harlingen by Roel 1943, Spaarndam statue by Arch Mary Mapes Dodge.

Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland (1865) was written by the American Mary Mapes Dodge. The title of the book refers to the silver skates that were to be awarded to the winner of an ice-skating race. The main character of the novel is Hans Brinker, but the book also tells a side story of an unnamed Dutch boy who saves his country by putting his finger in a leaking dike. The image of a little boy

against the elements immediately triggered the public’s imagination and the book was an instant bestseller. Mapes Dodge wrote many other successful children’s books and also was the first editor of the St. Nicolas Magazine, which referred to the popular Dutch holiday of St. Nicolas, in which the legendary saint gives presents to sweet children. Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel Little Lord Fauntleroy first appeared in

Statue Madurodam by Pieter Donald DuckÂŠ Disney (thanks Thom Roep), Cartoon by IVO

OPINION

Illustration from the original book by Dodge Stahl

books to political cartoons and comic books. One comic was created by the legendary Disney artist Carl Barks (1901-2000), who wrote ‘The Hero of the Dike’ (1964) which stars Donald Duck. A very rare cover page for the story even shows the Beatles in the background. Also Disney’s Pluto saves the day in an animated cartoon, which was later made into a comic.

the St. Nicholas as a serial, as did Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer Abroad and Rudyard Kipling Jungle Book stories. The effects of the popular fictional story of the boy with the finger in the dike are still very noticeable today with tourists coming from all over the world to the Netherlands to find the exact spot where the boy, often

mistakenly called Hans Brinker, performed his brave act. Although the story was unknown in the Netherlands, the Dutch were quick to adapt. Statues of the fictional dike-plugging boy have been erected on several Dutch locations to cater to this touristic myth. The tale has generated numerous versions and adaptations, from poems to films, from children

It is an interesting and maybe even inspiring idea that what could be described as fake heritage can have such a profound influence on tourism and heritage economy. It also raises uncomfortable notions about the need for authenticity and historical accuracy. All over Europe, examples can be found of fake heritage, unsubstantiated rumours and far-fetched legends that fuel the tourist industry and local economy. Justifiable? Maybe. Funny? Definitely!

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FEATURE

All Aboard ! The long journey of the steam-ship Rotterdam The ss Rotterdam is the largest passenger liner ever built in the Netherlands. She was constructed in the 1950s and made more than 1.000 voyages, many around the world. All those years she sailed with her original steam engines and fabulous interior, like a timeless well-preserved globetrotting Dame.

Klaas Krijnen knows everything there is to know about the steamship Rotterdam, the once pride and joy of the Holland-America Line. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The luxury ship not only transported emigrants after World War II to a new life in the Americas but also more than a million cruise passengers.â&#x20AC;? Now permanently moored in Katendrecht - a neighbourhood in the south of Rotterdam which is being revitalised - the Rotterdam has become a pillar in the revival of the southern part of the city of the same name. We see young people doing internships. Several businesses have set up their offices here. Organisations like the one Krijnen works for as a volunteer have permanent exhibitions displaying the story of the ship and related naval history. Some rooms have been reconstructed; the captain quarters for instance. It is a floating conglomerate Pictures before restoration:Klaas Krijnen

Engine rooms of the Rotterdam, partially sealed off. Intern at Rotterdam

both right from the start. So when planes took over, the Rotterdam kept going without major modifications.”

of museums, shops, meeting rooms, restaurants, bars, a fully operational theatre and a luxury hotel with 255 rooms. Krijnen first encountered the ship in 1993 when he was taken a cruise with his family from Lisbon to New York. “It was old fashioned but as it was built by the best designers and artists from the era, it was still beautiful. I am not from a shipping family, it is not my job – I work in law – but the ship fascinated me and has become part of my life ever since. I kept a close eye on it from then on. Most ships from that classic period have been scrapped. Recently the Sagafjord from Norway and the Kungsholm from Sweden are underway to the scrapyard. The reason why the Rotterdam survived for such a long time was its unique design. It could very easily be converted from a passenger ship into a cruise ship. It was designed as

In the late 1990s things started to go wrong with her new owners Premier Cruises. In 2000 a skeleton crew sailed the ship to the Bahamas, expecting their almost bankrupt boss to pay their salaries. He did not and they just dropped everything and left. Literally, got up and left, leaving the dirty dishes and the laundry. “In 2004 I took leave without pay and went to the Bahamas with other enthusiastic volunteers, to document and to assess.” Krijnen

camped out for a week on this deserted, ghostly ship. It must have been quite an experience. The volunteers started on a long road of initiatives and disappointments. They set up a foundation with the aim to save the ship and to raise public awareness. This was a piece of unique heritage that needed to be preserved. After a few failed plans, housing cooperation Woonbron took up the challenge. It saw great opportunities in revitalising the Katendrecht area, creating new jobs and making the area attractive for young people and creative industries. Which brings us to asbestos. “In a strange way, its biggest curse also was its biggest blessing. If the ship had been clean, scrapping would have profitable,” Krijnen smiles. We are walking through large corridors filled with machinery. Calling the engine rooms of the

FEATURE

Rotterdam impressive would be an understatement. It is not difficult to imagine the heat, the endless pounding of the turbines and the smell of oil which lingers even today. We walk through a long

tunnel made of Plexiglas. “Part of the engine rooms are permanently sealed off’,” Krijnen explains. “It was too costly to get all the asbestos out.” The machines look frozen in time and untouchable; close but somehow removed in time and space; an oily rag still hanging from the valves, a forgotten chart still pinned to the wall. “They could not take the ship to India or an African country to have it scrapped there with asbestos in it. That was morally unacceptable. It had to

be done according to the rules and regulations. That gave a chance to preserve the ship. The original plan was, what I call, ‘the vacuumcleaner version’. The asbestos would be secured and only some areas of the ship would be restored.” In the end that was not a viable option. Almost all of it had to be professionally removed. It made the project much more expensive and time consuming. When the restoration of the Rotterdam

Interior Rotterdam.

seemed to get financially out of hand - its budget astronomically growing to at least 125 million Euros, some even putting the teller at 200 - the project started to get national attention. The case was seen as a clear case where the government had failed to keep an eye on what was happening locally. “Now I don’t want to get into that financial and political discussion, I do not know all the ins and outs. From an enthusiasts’ point

of view, the important thing is that Woonbron took the chance and we now have a beautifully restored ship that will hopefully be Rotterdam’s pride and joy for a long time to come. Originally just a small portion of the ship would be restored. Now almost all is restored! She opened to the public in February 2010.” “Luckily we had documented everything, from the smallest detail - like the kind of screws that needed to be used - to ballroom size pieces of art. Some of the art was still in its original place and others we have retrieved like detectives. The most interesting ones like the wall coverings in the entertainment area have been reconstructed. Incredible tapestries have been newly woven on the basis of the original drawings that we manage to get a hold of. We really try to get every possible detail correct, but you cannot win them all, of course. We are still working to do more. We are now reconstructing the living quarters of the crew and we still have swimming pool in the

heart of the ship that desperately needs restoring. We need to find a sponsor for that. So if anybody wants to be part of this incredible adventure, they are very welcome...” Walking around the ship one can but wonder about the enormous size of the project. It is hard to imagine it is not some kind of a listed monument. “Apparently it is not possible. I also think everybody is afraid that when something this large becomes a listed monument, it will eat subsidies like a huge whale leaving nothing for smaller historical ships and boats. So the whole project has to be viable from a commercial point of view in the long run.” The giant ocean liner lies bathing in the sun reflecting its long history. As Krijnen stands on the deck of the ship, talking to tourists, it is clear that he is proud of what has been accomplished here. If and when the project will become commercially viable, only time will tell. But so far, so good.

18 LIVING HERITAGE

Big Stones and Small Kids Popularising Prehistory

Borger Megalith by Corradox

“It’s no holds barred. There is no limit to what we would do to engage the public. 20 to 25% of our visitors are children. We do whatever we can to get them interested and we managed to do so successfully over the last few years.” Hein Klompmaker, the enthusiastic and driven director of the Hunebedcentrum (Megalith Centre ed.) in Borger in the province of Drenthe, explains how it works. “Do you know that Drenthe was the first in Europe to pass a law to protect cultural heritage, back in 1734? So we have a long and strong tradition in this area to live up to.” Huge boulders marking prehistoric graves in the forests

and farmlands in the north of the Netherlands are not the most obvious tourist magnet. But Klompmaker, his team and a hundred volunteers are extremely successful in luring 100.000 people to the museum on a yearly basis. So successful indeed that in 2010 they won an European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/ Europa Nostra Award especially for their outreach programmes. “We get 20% structural support, the other 80% we have to make with tickets, coffee & cakes and with special projects. We are a so-called ‘site museum’. We do not just have modern exhibition spaces (housed in buildings

designed by famous Dutch architects Aldo and Hannie van Eijck ed.) but also the 5,000 year old largest passage grave in the Netherlands on our premises, one of the 52 in this province. Our open approach is quite unique.” Hein Klompmaker knows that his style does not make him friends everywhere. He shrugs. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Nobody wants to run an irrelevant museum without visitors. Awards recognise our credibility. Last year we also received the Dutch Museum Prize.” He smiles. “We ask different questions to access this ancient history. The TRB Culture, as it is officially known, - or Funnel-Beaker culture in English - is mysterious and

historically and emotionally very remote. From 3400 until 2950 B.C. this culture flourished in northern Europe. Funnel-Beaker is a very specific kind of pottery that they used. They had a strong idea of an afterlife and buried their people in these big megalithic structures made of stones, which were brought to these parts in the last Ice Age. We do not know much of the daily aspects of their lives. We cannot excavate the graves because we would destroy them if we did. By approaching this subject from a more fictional point of view and combining different disciplines like biology, geology and sociology we can create crossroads with archaeology. It is

a holistic approach. In our centre you should feel goosebumps when you are confronted with the world of the megalith builders. We use music, sound, visual effects and even smell to enhance the experience. The absence of evidence does not mean it was not there. We created a fictional young boy Oek and wondered what his life would have been like. What did he eat? What would he have done all day? Where did he walk? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll give you an example: we know for a fact that there were bee colonies in this area. We can assume that

Oek would have known honey. We can then imagine that Oek likes honey a lot and make a story that opens our eyes to the natural world he lived in. Around Oek we have not only created educational materials for schools, but we made a feature film, a musical and of course related DVDs and CDs, websites, a comic book; the list goes on. I strongly believe in this total approach.â&#x20AC;?

LIVING HERITAGE

Right small photo Hunebed, Exloo by Gouwenaar

“As a direct result of our European award we took part in the Best in Heritage event in Dubrovnik* to meet up with colleagues from across Europe. We are now establishing a European network and are working on two European projects. We have recruited young students to help us with I-pad applications and social media. We are always on the lookout for partners that are not obvious, like a special project we are developing with the local police. A sort of archaeological detective approach. It is a lot of fun.” It is busy on this Saturday afternoon in the centre and outside where they have

reconstructed a full size FunnelBeaker farmhouse. Close by - in the forest - children are climbing and playing on the largest dolmen of the Netherlands dating back almost 5000 years; something that is of course strictly forbidden. But nobody is telling the kids to get off immediately. They understand the power of dreams here. They know what they can accomplish.

*The Best in Heritage, Dubrovnik, 10th Anniversary Edition from 22nd - 24th September 2011 Organised in partnership with EUROPA NOSTRA. The world’s only annual survey of awarded museum, heritage and conservation projects. www.thebestinheritage.com

Large Sculptures and Small Kids One of the three Dutch winners of the 2011 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards also puts a focus on reaching children. The ArtZuid project involves children of all backgrounds. The latest edition which opened on May 26th – in the presence of HM Queen Beatrix - offers even more possibilities. The ArtZuid Foundation in Amsterdam was established in 2008 to draw attention to the almost one-hundred year old urban design of the architect H.P. Berlage in the Southern part of Amsterdam. The Foundation took the opportunity to restore the original function of the neighbourhood’s spacious avenues by initiating a biannual international sculpture route ArtZuid. ArtZuid allows visitors to enjoy a combination of sculptures of top artists, while rediscovering this area of interesting urban design and the distinctive architectural style of the Amsterdam School. The European jury praised the ArtZuid project: “By uniting visual arts with architectural space, the project has renewed the daily living environment for the inhabitants. It highlights the importance of our 20th century built heritage and the decisive role, which inhabitants can play in its conservation.”

FEATURE

Places of Remembrance Lessons from Kamp Westerbork All around Europe we can find solemn places that remind us of what no longer is, but was: landscapes and monuments that feel almost guilty. The whispers of lost voices echo in an empty square and silent screams still roam the corridors that are now deserted.

These sites loom across the dark shadows of time. How we want to get rid of them, to destroy them or make them disappear, to take them down brick by brick. All over the world painful sites are disappearing at an alarming rate. Remnants of communist repression, dictatorial regimes or recent ethnic conflicts are actively being levelled to erase uncomfortable pasts. But where can we go when the site is gone? How can we show our children and our children’s children what happened and should not happen again? Memories need a real and tangible place that enable us to retrace footsteps or share pain, they need a place that in time may turn into a place of reconciliation or even redemption. A good example of this complicated and long winding road to recognition and acceptance is Kamp Westerbork in the north of the Netherlands. More than a 100,000 Jews, Anne Frank among them, and also homosexuals, dissidents, Sinti and Roma, stayed in this camp during World War II on their way to the concentration camps of Auschwitz and BergenBelsen.

“Our many Jewish friends and acquaintances are being taken away in droves… transporting them in cattle cars to Westerbork, the big camp in Drenthe to which they’re sending all the Jews. Miep told us about someone who’d managed to escape from there. It must be terrible in Westerbork.” The Diary of Anne Frank

that the Moluccans should no longer be kept isolated but should instead be integrated into Dutch society, it was decided that the camp should be closed.

“In 1971 the last buildings on this site were dismantled or sold,” explains Dirk Mulder, a friendly man with long and wild curly hair and round spectacles. He has been managing the Kamp Immediately after the war, the Westerbork organisation with camp was used to incarcerate passion and dedication for the prisoners of war and traitors. In last 25 years. “There had been a quick reversal of fortune, some former prisoners worked as guards. discussion about doing something with the site before, but for a long Soon thereafter in 1948 the camp time most of the survivors felt it was used as temporary housing was too soon. These things need for Dutch soldiers returning time. But in 1971 a monument from Indonesia. Throughout the was unveiled to commemorate 1950s and the 1960s the camp what happened here during World was used to house Moluccans War II. It hadn’t occurred to the from Indonesia. Nearly 3,000 organisers to invite survivors to people were living here, using the the official ceremony. . . Later they buildings that still carried signs held their own ceremony. The like ´Nur für Männer´ (‘Only mayor of Westerbork at the time for men’ in German ed.) When who considered that the renewed politicians came to the conclusion

interest in the camp might be a threat for the development of Westerbork as a touristic destination - hoped that within a few years nobody would care about this. He was very wrong. At the moment the ceremony took place, bulldozers were still busy tearing down the last remaining structures.” At the time, few apparently realised the historical and emotional value of the buildings of Kamp Westerbork. The area was hardly recognisable as an historical landmark. But the times were changing. Maybe

Left road to Kamp Westerbork; Westerbork monument by Blacknight; Westerbork rails by Ziko

24 FEATURE

The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is a worldwide network of “Sites of Conscience” – historic sites specifically dedicated to remembering past struggles for justice and addressing their contemporary legacies. www.sitesofconscience.org

Kamp Westerbork 1944, right: Commandant House

the generation that had suffered through the war did not want to remember, but their children and their children’s children wanted to know what had happened. Westerbork could help them to make that history tangible. It would still take a long time before something happened for real, but the idea started to get momentum. When the museum & commemoration centre officially opened in 1983, 10,000 people visited; soon it rose to 50,000 people and now 140,000 people per year visit the camp and the on-site museum. Every year more people come. Mulder also sees

the downside of success. “We have to think about that seriously. We have to strike a balance between creating a place for silent contemplation and managing mass appeal and access. 1.3 million people come every year to Auschwitz. They need hotels, transport, toilets, fast food and all that. The aims and practicalities are no longer balanced.” But Westerbork has one advantage. The site also houses a large array of telescopes that scan the skies continuously. Silence is necessary, as the delicate signals must not be disturbed. In a large area around

the camp, motorised vehicles and loud sounds are forbidden. The site is an oasis in the already quiet countryside of the Drenthe province. Over the years the area has been partially reconstructed and old roads and paths have been laid out anew. Several works of art were erected. The 102,000 stones is a symbol for the murdered deportees. Mulder is trying to re-create an environment that is as authentic as is possible. “We are still trying to get our hands on the old barracks of Kamp Westerbork that were sold in 1971. Some of them were used in the mining industry in the south of the country and some were sold as cattle sheds to local farmers. A few years back we found one, but unfortunately it was lost in fire. The only building that was not demolished and is still on the site is the house of the Nazi camp commander.” Again the emotional impact of this kind of heritage is clear. “A few years ago we discussed making it a part of what we do

25 Cultural Emergency Response (CER) was launched in 2003 by the Prince Claus Fund in the Netherlands and provides globally ‘first aid’ for cultural heritages that have been damaged or destroyed by man-made or natural disasters. The Prince Claus Fund’s guiding principle is that culture is a basic human need, and is therefore essential for the psychological survival of people in emergency situations. It regards cultural emergency relief as being an integral part of humanitarian emergency relief. By providing financial support within six months of the disaster, CER aims to stabilise the situation, prevent further damage and implement basic repairs. www.princeclausfund.org

here. It was too soon then for the survivors. Now although it is possible, it is not easy. It is very painful that the only remaining on-site building is a symbol of Nazi terror.” In the end they chose for an innovative and respectful approach. They plan to build a glass dome over the wooden structure, protecting and securing it. The whole project will cost about 1.6 million Euros. Mulder takes a moment to recapture his thoughts. His eyes betray his deep commitment. It cannot always be easy for a director of a museum to deal with such a laden subject matter on a daily basis for such a long time. He rolls his cigarette, lights it and eyes his cold coffee, but decides against drinking it. “It is painful and difficult for some visitors to be confronted with an exhibition on the Nazi collaborators who were imprisoned here or with a story from the Moluccan period. But I

Above Westerbork Telescope by Raymond; The 102.000 Stones photo by Bert Kaufmann

think we have to tell those stories, even if they are uncomfortable. We need to be frontrunners, not followers,” he says after a while. Little research has been carried out about the use and importance of places of remembrance. Kamp Westerbork is therefore one of the organisations behind the installation of the Westerbork chair for multidisciplinary research into historical sites. Mulder also applies the lessons of Westerbork to a wider, European context. “We are actively involved in Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, exactly for that reason. We know how important it

is to have physical remains telling the story.” Almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys were taken away and murdered in 1995 during the Yugoslav Wars. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), located in The Hague, ruled that the massacre of the enclave’s male inhabitants constituted a crime of genocide. The Dutch soldiers stationed in Srebrenica at the time could not, or did not stop it. But the political context is not so much important to Mulder. He thinks about the site as a place of remembrance. “Maybe most people in the region do not realise it, but the camp is going to be a place of remembrance, that much is certain. The walls of the former Dutch headquarters are covered with graffiti; the windows are smashed. We have sent a photographer to record everything that is there. We are helping to preserve the wall as it is. Many people want to tear it down, but we know they will regret it later. When it is gone it is gone forever.”

HERITAGE IN DANGER

The Downfall of the Water Castles 1

The French coined the phrase ‘Château d’Eau’ - water castle. In some cases that name is very appropriate. In the 19th century, when tap water became more readily available to the general public, water needed to be pumped high to allow enough pressure. All over Europe, local governments began building water towers, often using innovative designs. How the population hated them! They protested against the building of many of these ‘water head’ monsters looming over the cities. But now a century or so later, water towers are familiar and much loved heritage sites, landmarks that define areas and cities. Only 25% or less of all the water towers are still in use today. Power engines have taken their place. So what to do with the thousands of these single-purpose buildings across Europe? Although most of the buildings are now considered beautiful or at least eccentric landmarks, water towers cannot be changed

and adapted without an inventive and innovative approach. The big water head of iron for instance, cannot easily be converted into a house, a restaurant or an office. Sometimes the local government does not allow major modifications to a listed building, but without such changes, the towers have no future. In the next article we can read about an inspiring example of re-use of a water tower in the Dutch city of Dordrecht. This building has there become a central part of a city renewal plan.

The water towers are one of the most threatened heritage buildings in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. It would be necessary to start a European-wide discussion on the future of water towers. Although the solutions will have to be local, it is important to address the rapid disappearance and destruction of the towers at an international level. Many organisations, from local pressure groups to advocacy organisations for industrial heritage, are seeking to raise awareness: the British Water Tower Appreciation Society, the German Deutsch Internationale Wasserturm Gesellshaft and the Dutch Nederlandse Watertoren Stichting to name but a few. There are adamant enthusiasts and volunteers from Ireland to Romania, from Denmark to Greece. They all need (y)our support.

1. Bergedorf, Germany by Uwe Barghaan; 2. Borovany, Czech Republic by Karelj; 3. Île d’Yeu, France by Stéphane Batigne; 4. Kimberley, UK by Martin Cordon; 5. Kuokkala, Finland by Antti Leppänenr; 6. Maleizen in Belgium by Wouter Hagens 4

7. Naaldwijk, Sangster by Quistnix; 8. Srem, Poland by Klapi; 9. Tallinn, Estonia by Flying Saucer; 10. Tilburg, The Netherlands by Bart van der Pligt 7

CITY DREAMS

The Art of Rejuvenation The resurrection of a former pumping station and a derelict water tower It is clear that she has an almost obsessive eye for detail as she adjusts a frame on the wall, puts a side table where it belongs and draws the curtains from the hotel window to obscure a flat-screen TV.

“I think it’s hilarious,” artist and businesswoman Dorine de Vos confides. She stands energetic, creatively dressed and with a big mob of grey hair crowning her head. “The hotel guests call the reception and ask why there is no TV. Staying in this hotel should be a bit unexpected. It is part of the experience.” We walk around the ‘water tower-changed-hotel’ Villa Augustus on the outskirts of the old city of Dordrecht. It is a large area and besides a hotel, there is a restaurant, several greenhouses and a market shop. One of the main features of this re-used industrial area is the lavish vegetable garden. The main buildings are a water tower (1883) and a pumping station (1942). “We try to grow most of our own vegetables. The garden was really the main reason we took up this challenge.” We refers 4 to Daan van der Have, Hans Loos and Dorine de Vos – a triumvirate of dedicated entrepreneurs that each bring their own expertise and talent into the equation. Dorine is concentrating on the art direction, Daan on the administration and contractual side and Hans on the logistics and the construction work. But all of them appear to get involved in everything. This unique cooperation started in Rotterdam where they previously worked together and started several grand cafés, always on historical locations. One of their most famous creations is Hotel New York.

Hotel New York “It is about the right people, the right time and the right place.” Dorine explains how they got involved in the re-use of the former head office of the Holland-America Line (the shipping organisation that transported many people 7 8 across the Atlantic to America ed.)

Left Dorine de Vos; above Hotel New York

in the south of Rotterdam. In the 1990s the Jugendstil building was in a sad state. “I knew the building from when I was a child. I brought friends to the boat. You would take a little ferry from Rotterdam to the south where the passenger ships were moored to say goodbye. It is a real Dutch landmark. The location was stunning. We saw an opportunity. There was support from the city government. We do not just start something out of the blue. We prepare, prepare, prepare. We stayed in the building 9 – in big sweaters because we had

no heating – for a whole year. We planned, we discussed, we thought out every detail and every eventuality. By staying in the building, we got better ideas and felt connected. This was key to our success: experienced preparation. Because if you know exactly what you have to do, when and how, the period between borrowing the money and opening the shop is as short as possible.” To an outsider it looked like quite a gamble. The hotel & restaurant 10 could only be reached by a dirt

30 CITY DREAMS

Villa Augustus

road. For the first three years there was no close bridge to the city, the quickest route was by their own water taxi. The surrounding area was completely deserted. Hotel New York was an instant success. It quickly became the focus point of the whole renewal of this part of the city. De Vos’ creative illustrations gave the restaurant and hotel a unique and instantly recognisable brand.

“I don’t see myself as an artist, more as an illustrator,” she says. “I doodle and draw, write things on the wall.” But Dorine de Vos’ drawing style is very specific and can be seen again all over their newest project Villa Augustus. Her art direction combines new and old with contrasts in colour and style. “After we sold Hotel New York, we each did our own thing again as we had done before. We saw one another occasionally on a personal basis, but that was it. But then this project came along. I hesitated for a long time. I think we all did. It is quite a commitment. Building things up is wonderful, but keeping it up is like running a marathon. But in the end we did it again. The possibility of a kitchen garden was what convinced us in the end, I guess. Our master chef Michael van der Struis joined the team from the beginning. Again we stayed for over a year on site, planning ahead and thinking our ideas through in every detail. We

wanted to create something special. We created little surprises that you encounter when you walk around the gardens and the hotel. We have a wall made out of all the material we found in the ground, we built a secret hotel room in an enclosed garden and we had artists like Ton Martens design new works of art for us. You will see our logo everywhere, on the cups and saucers, on top of the building, on the door mats and on our menus. And we stay involved.” And indeed, Daan and Hans are also on the premises, discussing the menu with the kitchen staff or in the garden pruning the fruit trees. “If you have fun, it becomes fun and it will radiate fun. That is the secret of success. We never spent a cent on advertisements. We offer no special offers or reductions. We strongly believe in word-ofmouth. We never really thought it could go wrong, not here and not with Hotel New York, because if you create something you love, people will come and they will keep coming.”

HERITAGE IN DANGER

Mounds, Motorways and Grave Robbers Ancient Burial Sites Under Threat â&#x20AC;&#x153;I cannot recall any building project that was ever stopped because of an ancient burial mound. It is difficult to get people excited about something that lies beneath the surface. If a beautiful, historical building is destroyed because of a motorway, people get involved. But a burial mound (or tumulus) usually loses the battle against the need for housing, industrial areas or new roads.â&#x20AC;?

essential part of European history. Most of us are direct descendants from the people who built them.

Dr. David Fontijn, associate professor of European prehistory at the University of Leiden, is one of Europe’s foremost experts on ancient burial mounds, roughly dating from 3000 to 100 B.C. Although burial mounds seem far removed from the attractive, adrenaline-driven Indiana Jones world of archaeology, they are an

Fontijn: “In the Netherlands alone we have about 2,500 registered mounds. It is quintessential European heritage. They can be found all over Europe, from Armenia to Denmark but we tend to find fewer in southern Europe. I guess the total amount of sites would probably be in the millions. Only the ones in nature reserves and forests have survived. I shudder to think how many were bulldozed or flattened over the centuries. And they are still very much at risk all over Europe.” Fontijn speaks softly but with the determination of a true believer.

“These burial hills were the first archaeological sites to be protected but the surrounding area is not protected at all. In recent years we have made many new discoveries with new technologies. We should investigate much larger areas, but that is impossible if a motorway lies on top of it. The mound may be partially intact but if the whole surrounding area is bulldozed, the answers to the many questions about who these people were, are lost forever.” Maybe the most spectacular example of what Fontijn is talking about is the ‘Grave of the King’, a stunning mound near the city of Oss that is 53 metres wide, the largest in Europe. For

HERITAGE IN DANGER

centuries there was a legend about a mysterious king who lay buried there but nobody ever expected to actually find him. It was discovered in the 1930s and the finds were spectacular: an iron sword with a wooden handle and with a gold and red coral inlay, a bronze axe, bronze horse-gear, pieces of woolen cloth and much, much more. The treasures ended up in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, but the site itself was abandoned and forgotten. They even built a junkyard on top of it with car wrecks that leaked oil and chemicals into the ground for decades. Dr. David Fontijn and his team.

Only when a new exit was recently built for the A50 motorway was the mound re-discovered. The ‘Grave of the King’ mound was originally dated to around 600 B.C. but now they learned that underneath it was another, much older grave dating back to 1800 B.C. It soon emerged that the whole area was littered with ancient burial sites. A second important mound was unearthed, 40 metres in diameter, with hundreds of rare, miniscule bronze objects. Fontijn was closely involved in the research. “In the Netherlands

we have the following standard practice: if burial mounds are discovered in an area that will be built upon, they can first be excavated. With this second mound we faced serious excavation problems. Badgers had been living in it for a very long time. Luckily for us, they had not dug very deep into the interior, so it was still largely in tact.” “The people who built these mounds were probably the first cultural heritage protectors. We know that they restored burial sites from earlier times and even buried some of their own dead in these ancient graves. These people had strong connections with the rest of Europe. For example, they had especially good ties with south Germany whom they traded salt with, because it did not have any. One of the traditions we see is that they laid their dead to rest on a large cart. We have found several large wheels in mounds in the Netherlands. We also learn that these people lived in small communities, of about thirty people, which were spread over a few farms that mainly raised livestock. In the Netherlands these villages were not walled like in some other parts of Europe: it

was apparently unnecessary. We have found many weapons, but these were probably used in ritual battles between families. Swords and weapons are in fact very rare in graves because they were usually thrown into lakes and swaps. We do not know why. This is why the bigger picture is so important. The fieldwork is very timeconsuming. It would be impossible without the help of volunteers. I think 99% of what we can do is only possible thanks to their help. They dig, make notes, observe the site and protect it when there is nobody around. They do this sometimes for decades. They know an area like the back of their hand. Someone like Lot Delfin (see also the article on heritage volunteers ed.) for instance, investigated these woods almost every day for decades. She could see things none of us could ever detect.” “One of the biggest problems in archaeology are grave robbers.

They go out and dig up these ancient graves and sell what they find on the internet. Television programmes in which they show these finds only encourage these people by declaring the value of these finds. I know people who would never touch a mound in their own country because they think it is unethical, but would go to Hungary and illegally dig there. Cultural tourists with a

metal detector are destroying sites in Eastern Europe, Turkey or Russia. Everybody is angry when Egyptian graves are looted, but if a burial mound is destroyed by grave robbers here, we hardly seem to mind. And we really should... we really should.” He sighs. “This is heritage that is the basis of everything else. So much is already lost and we must save what we can, when we can.”

SHORT STORY

An American in Amsterdam Excerpts from personal observations by an American president and his wife

John Adams was 2nd president of the United States of America. He lived in Amsterdam for a few years as a diplomat. He wrote many letters home, spiced with humorous and human observations about life in the Netherlands. In 1784 his wife Abigail Adams (nicknamed Portia ed.) joined her husband and her eldest son, John Quincy (the 6th president). In a letter to her sister she recalls her time in the Netherlands.

Letter appointing Adams as Commissioner, Abigail Adams

Amsterdam, 18 December, 1780. My dearest Portia,

Amsterdam, 15 September, 1780. My dear Portia, (…) The country where I am is the greatest curiosity in the world. This nation is not known anywhere, not even by its neighbours. The Dutch language is spoken by none but themselves. Therefore they converse with nobody, and nobody converses with them. The English are a great nation, and they despise the Dutch because they are smaller. The French are a greater nation still, and therefore they despise the Dutch because they are still smaller in comparison to them. But I doubt much whether there is any nation of Europe more estimable than the Dutch in proportion. Their industry and economy ought to be examples to the world. They have less ambition, I mean that of conquest and military glory, than their neighbours, but I don’t perceive that they have more avarice. And they carry learning and arts, I think, to greater extent. The collections of curiosities, public and private, are innumerable.

(…) I should not wish to have children educated in the common schools in this country, where a littleness of soul is notorious. The masters are mean spirited wretches, pinching, kicking and boxing the children upon every turn. There is besides a general littleness arising from the incessant contemplation of stivers and duits (Dutch coins ed.), which pervades the whole people. Frugality and industry are virtues everywhere, but avarice and stinginess are not frugality. The Dutch say that without a habit of thinking of every duit before you spend it, no man can be a good merchant, or conduct trade with success. This I believe is a just maxim in general, but I would never wish to see a son of mine govern himself by it.

SHORT STORY

Transportation in the Netherlands in Adams’ time by P.Constantijn la Fargue. Keizersgracht 529 house of John Adams by Marion Golstreijn

The Hague, 25 July, 1782. My dearest Portia, In this country, as in all others, men are much addicted to ‘hobby horses.’ These nags are called in the language of the Dutch ‘Liefhebbery,’ as they are called in French “Marotte.” (…) Yesterday I made a visit to one Mr. Lionet, a venerable old man of seventy-five, in full health, strength and vivacity, respectable for several offices which he holds, but more so for vast learning in various kinds, and great ingenuity. His hobby horse has been natural knowledge. We went to see a collection of marine shells. We were two hours, and had not got half through. The infinite variety of figures and colors is astonishing. But his curiosity has not been confined to shells. It has extended to insects, and he has had it in contemplation to write as full an account of these, as Buffon has written of birds, beasts and fishes. But beginning with caterpillars, he has filled a folio upon that species, and he drew and engraved the plates himself. Thus he rode his hobby horse and lived. Without it he would have died fifty years ago. Have you an inclination to read and inspect cuts of the anatomy of caterpillars; their nerves, blood, juices, bones, hair, senses, intellects, their moral sense, their laws, government, manners and customs (…) I doubt not the book is worth studying. All nature is so. But I have too much to do to study men and their mischievous designs(...) ever to be very intimate with Monsieur Lionet (whom I respect very much, however) or his book.

Amsterdam in Adams’ time by Jan de Beijer

London, 12 September, 1786. My dear sister, (…) The most important places which I visited, were Rotterdam, Delft, the Hague, Leyden, Haarlem, Amsterdam, and Utrecht. I went through many other villages and towns; the names I do not recollect. (...…) Upon the whole, I was much gratified with my excursion to a country, which cannot show its like again. The whole appearance of it is that of a meadow. What are called the dikes, are the roads, which, being raised, separate the canals. Upon these you ride, through rows of willow trees upon each side. Not a hill to be seen. It is all a continued plain, so that trees, meadows, and canals, canals, trees, and meadows, are the unvaried scene. The houses are all brick, and the streets are paved with brick. It is very unusual to see a single square of glass broken, or a brick out of place, even in the meanest house. They paint every piece of wood within and without their houses ; and, what I thought not so wholesome, their milk-pails are painted, within and without, and so are their horse-carts ; but it is upon a principle of economy. The country is exceeding fruitful,

and every house has a garden spot, plentifully stored with vegetables. (...) I was pleased with the trig neatness of the women ; many of them wear black tammy aprons, thick quilted coats, or russet skirts, and small hoops ; but only figure to yourself a child of three or four, dressed in the same way. They cut a figure, I assure you. Gold ear-rings are universally worn by them, and bracelets upon holidays. The dress of the men is full as oldfashioned ; but the Court and genteel people dress part English and part French. They generally speak both the languages, but French most. Since their intercourse with America, the English language is considered as an essential part of education. I would not omit to mention that I visited the church at Leyden, in which our forefathers worshipped, when they fled from hierarchical tyranny and persecution. I felt a respect and veneration upon entering the doors, like what the ancients paid to their Druids. Adieu. Believe me yours very affectionately, A.A. (Abigail Adams ed.)

CULINARY

A Taste for Heritage Of Gouda cheese, speculaas and bitterballen… “Mentioning the Netherlands and good food in the same sentence is usually not done. If you ask my Turkish friends in the Netherlands about Dutch food, they look at you with a concerned look as if you need medical assistance.” Film-maker and food lover Yelda Yanat Kapkın laughs out loud.

She lives in İstanbul, but visits the Netherlands many times throughout the year to catch up with friends and develop new projects. “Next year the Netherlands and Turkey will celebrate 400 years of diplomatic relations so there are a lot of interesting projects in the making,” she explains over coffee in a café in the city of Rotterdam. “Did you know that the Ottomans were the first to roast and grind coffee and the Dutch were the first Western Europeans to serve it? And of course the Dutch and the Turks are connected through the tulip as well. And – not many people dare to say that out loud nowadays – through the historical trade in narcotics. Dutch businessmen and their families lived in cities like İzmir mainly because of the opium trade. The Dutch still have an international reputation in that field, with their coffee-shops. I think it is hilarious to call them coffee-shops, it sounds very respectable and sweet.” Her laugh rings out around the café.

Left page “When I talk to Dutch people about Speculaas Cookies by Elke their culinary tradition, they say Wetzig and we do not have a cuisine, but I think Poffertjes by BininMesse. that is just silly. The Netherlands Cheese Market has wonderful traditional food Gouda.

that is part of its cultural heritage. Cheese obviously. Did you know that Gouda cheese now has the official Protected Geographical Status? Oh, and then there is this.” She points down at a big piece of apple pie covered in sugared whipped cream. “Dutch apple pie is known all over the world. And everybody should try poffertjes, the small pancakes with powdered sugar and creamy butter they serve in these traditional wooden market stalls in every Dutch town. Not very good for your figure, but I have not met anyone who does not like them. Now I think about it, more and more springs to mind. The Dutch and the Belgians have this endless discussion about who invented the potato fries, called patat in Dutch. My advice would be to leave that question to the philosophers and simply combine the two by eating Belgian fries in the Netherlands. I would add hot

peanut sauce to them, which is typically Dutch. This brings me to another Belgian-Dutch discussion, about the recipe of speculaas, a cookie sometimes in the form of a windmill or a human figure. They are usually quite small, but around the celebration of St. Nicolas in December they appear in enormous sizes. I would give the benefit of the doubt to the Dutch in this discussion because the ingredients are strongly connected to Dutch history. The exotic cookies are made with spices from the former Dutch colonies like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, white pepper and brown sugar. They come in great variety both in quality and taste. Never buy them in the supermarket though. Always buy them fresh and crunchy. The filled speculaas with almond paste

CULINARY

Cheese on planks by Quistnix

could be a hit in Turkey and in the Middle East where everybody is a bit nut-crazy. If I was a businesswoman, I would jump on it. Another colonial connection is the wonderful Indonesian food you can eat here. Indonesia was a Dutch colony until 1948 and Indonesian cultural heritage had a remarkable and lasting influence in the Netherlands. A rice-table is a combination of sometimes more than twenty different tasty dishes. I do not think you can enjoy such high quality traditional ricetables anywhere

else in the world, including maybe even Indonesia.” Yanat Kapkın drinks her coffee and points at the draft beer over at the bar where one of the bartenders is changing the beer taps. “Everybody knows that the Dutch are very successful in marketing their beers. Heineken is famous all over the world and other Dutch brands like Grolsch and Bavaria are very popular as well. If you want to try beers in Netherlands there are

many specialised beer houses, which sometimes have hundreds of different kinds of beer. I always go to De Wildeman in de Kolksteeg in Amsterdam, or if I just want to try another draft beer from some small heritage brewery, I go to De Prael. Another thing that most people do not know is how famous the Netherlands are in strong liquors. The Dutch have a great historical tradition in drinking. Drunk as a Dutchman is even an expression, I think.” She pretends to look guilty for a moment without much success. “The city of Schiedam – close to Rotterdam - had more distilleries than anywhere in the world (see also article on De Kuyper ed.). And there are still a few left that are still extremely successful. There is even a special jenever-museum where you can try them all out. A great Dutch tradition that should be enjoyed with measure, like rakı.” “And of course any beer or drink should be accompanied in my opinion - although probably not

everybody would agree - with bitterballen. I cannot really explain what they are. They are filled with a thick meaty sauce, covered in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. It sounds disgusting frankly. They are something of an acquired taste, like Dutch herring with raw onions, but once you are used to them, you cannot do without them for long. All my Turkish friends have long since bowed to the power of the bitterbal. I have family members who used to live and work in the Netherlands and every time they visit here they take deep-frozen bitterballen back home.” “So, maybe it is not as obvious as it is in France, Spain or Turkey, but the Netherlands has some real culinary heritage to discover. You just have to explore without prejudice and try, sometimes against better judgement.” She waves at the waiter and orders a tradional Dutch beer brewed by Trappist monks, and a portion of bitterballen for both of us. “How I am going to miss this,”she laughs, “but hopefully not for long.”

44 TREASURE

Resurrection The Rescue of Two Remarkable Industrial Heritage Sites

De Cruquius by Bas, De Cruquius by Caspar, De Cruquius by Jim van der Mee.

Cruquius Pumping Station

Unique Dutch Model: Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser, the historic houses association of The Netherlands This private initiative and independent, non-profit charity was established in 1918 by a group of Amsterdam merchants with the aim of preserving the historic heritage of Amsterdam. The association, named after a leading 17th century architect, sculptor and builder, now owns about 386 properties - private dwellings, canal houses, manor houses, city gates, country estates, villas, farms, chapels, cottages and city halls - in over 93 cities and villages. Its income, making costly upkeep and restoration projects possible, comes from the long term letting of properties, membership fees, legacies and donations, as well as public and private fund raising. Membership is open to all. http://www.hendrickdekeyser.nl

Most passengers arriving at Schiphol international airport do not realize they are landing on what used to be a lake, Haarlemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lake (Haarlemmermeer ed.). The planes touch down on a runway 4 metres below sea level. Until the middle of the 19th century the lake was important for transport and fishing but when storms threatened to flood nearby cities, a decision was reached. The lake would have to be drained. Using modern techniques, three giant steam-engine pumping stations were built. They drained the lake in three years between 1849 and 1852. One of them, Cruquius, had not been used since 1912 and was officially taken out of active duty in 1933. The unique pumping station was at risk of being demolished. But fans of the station combined strength and their Cruquius Foundation bought the steam engine pumping station for the symbolic sum of 1 Dutch guilder and built a museum. In the 1970s the Cruquius became a listed building, one of the first industrial monuments in the world. Recently intensive repairs and restoration were deemed necessary and the pumping station was handed over to the Hendrick de Keyser Association in 2009. By April 2011 most of the repairs have been concluded successfully, guaranteeing the survival of this magnificent monument of the industrial revolution. The pumping station is also part of the Holland-route of the ERIH, the European Route of Industrial Heritage. http://www.museumdecruquius.nl http://www.cruquiusmuseum.nl/ englishsite/flashanimation/CruquiusEN. html

46 TREASURE

Unique Dutch Model: Restoration company Stadsherstel N.V. (City Restoration PLC) established in 1956 buys, restores, maintains and also lets (for a long or short term period) iconic buildings in the inner city of Amsterdam. By the 1950s many of the traditional houses were in a dilapidated state. The city council wanted to renew and start a large-scale modern city development. The city should also have to be adapted to accommodate more cars. Stadsherstel successfully challenged this attitude and saved the Amsterdam inner-city from large scale redevelopment. In the last 50 years, Stadsherstel has restored almost 500 buildings. 400 of these are within the UNESCO designated World Heritage site. http://www.stadsherstel.nl/

Shipyard roadside

Museum Shipyard ‘t Kromhout To some the sound of a ship’s diesel engine is one of most beautiful sounds in the world. In Museum Shipyard ‘t Kromhout in Amsterdam, historical inshore vessel engines are kept in perfect working order by a group of dedicated volunteers. The original

shipyard ‘t Kromhout was built in 1757. In 1867 the Goedkoop family took over and turned the shipyard into a successful business. Their keen interest in machines lead to the development of the Kromhout internal combustion engines. An original roof span was built in 1888, a second one in 1899.

ERIH is the European Route of Industrial Heritage, the tourism information network of industrial heritage in Europe. ERIH presents more than 850 sites in 32 European countries. All sites relate to ten European Theme Routes which show the diversity of European industrial history and their common roots. http://www.erih.net/

By 1908 the shipyard location in Amsterdam became too small to accommodate the success of the business and a Kromhout factory was established elsewhere. The dependable Kromhout became one of the most successful engines of the Netherlands, but from 1968 onwards the brand name was no longer used.

By the 1970s the original shipyard area was still in use, but in serious need of repair. The threat of demolition urged enthusiasts to start the Foundation Museum Shipyard â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;t Kromhout in 1973. The shipyard ended up under the protective wings of the restoration company Stadsherstel and in 1999, the overhaul of the original roof spans started, securing the 19th century steel and safely removing the asbestos plating. The environmental issues of the shipyard were also solved.

Shipyard gravure, Old shipyard.

Museum Shipyard â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;t Kromhout is now a unique combination of an industrial monument, an operating shipyard and an engine museum, mostly original Kromhouts. Eight volunteers keep the museum running. The shipyard is still operating, focussing mainly on historic ships. It is one of few still operating Amsterdam shipyards of historical importance. Like the Cruquius pumping station, the yard is also part of the Hollandroute of the ERIH, the European Route of Industrial Heritage. http://www.machinekamer.nl/museum/ engels.html

HERITAGE IN DANGER

A Matter of Priority Cultural heritage often victim of war and conflict Mostar bridge by Smooth.

“The fire lasted into the next day. The sun was obscured by the smoke of books, and all over the city sheets of burned paper, fragile pages of grey ashes, floated down like a dirty black snow. Catching a page you could feel its heat, and for a moment read a fragment of text in a strange kind of black and grey negative, until, as the heat dissipated, the page melted to dust in your hand,”wrote librarian Kemal Bakarsic ( †2006 ed.) in 1994 on the burning of the National and University Library of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo.

The conflict in Europe’s back yard destroyed cultural, religious and historic landmarks. Other conflicts followed like in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. Cultural heritage turned out not to be high on the agenda when lives and livelihoods are at stake. But when peace returns and tangible roots of history and identity are erased, the road to post-was reconstruction and reconciliation is long and difficult. The international community has been active since 1899 to have a system in place that would ensure looting and heritage destruction

Civil Society organisations, like Europa Nostra, have their own important role to play in conflict situations. Upon invitation of Denis de Kergorlay, Europa Nostra’s Executive-President, 38 professionals from Kosovo/UNMIK, Serbia and neighbouring countries met for the first time in November 2006 in an informal setting to start a dialogue and discuss issues of common concern. It was essential to depoliticise the debate on cultural heritage, to acknowledge past wrong-doings of all sides, to show generosity of spirit towards one another and to consider the cultural heritage inclusively, as a rich inheritance of all, rather than as the exclusive property of separate religious or ethnic groups.

Europa Nostra subsequently organised a public forum at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris entitled “Cultural Heritage in Kosovo: from Apple of Discord to Ferment of Reconciliation”. This initiative reflected Europa Nostra’s deep conviction that cultural heritage – after having been the victim of so much destruction and confrontation – can and must become a powerful factor in the construction of a society based on the respect of human rights and shared European values. Many practical solutions were discussed: the setting up of regional heritage training centres, unbiased history and cultural heritage education in schools and cross-border broadcasting of multiethnic and multi-religious heritage programmes “We need to help the local communities to overcome the ‘logic of confrontation’ and to embark upon a ‘positive spiral’ of mutual understanding and confidence building, for the benefit of the safeguard of the cultural heritage and more generally for the benefit of the lasting stability and future prosperity of the entire region,” stressed Denis de Kergorlay.

to become a thing of the past. But not everybody seems to be of the opinion that culture matters in times of war and conflict. Former US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld famously said when the Baghdad Museum had become a target: “Looting is an unfortunate thing. Human beings are not perfect,” which could be interpreted as We don’t really care. International conventions and protocols safeguarding heritage sites in times of conflict and war make for difficult reading and international negotiations are complex. The Netherlands have always played a central role, in 1899, in 1907 and - most importantly - in 1954 in the Peace Palace in The Hague, where the International Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict, and the related First Protocol, were adopted. In the Convention an emblem, a ‘blue shield’ was introduced, the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross. It is the

Below Tadrart Acacus Libya By Roberdan, Taller Buddha of Bamiyan before & after destruction

protective emblem for marking cultural heritage sites to give them protection from attack in the event of armed conflict. A Second Protocol was put in place in 1999. This contained important legal additions. It made criminal prosecution possible. It limited the use of the term ‘military necessity’ which is often abused. It also included lessons learned in the recent Balkan War. Under the 1954 The Hague Convention this war would be interpreted as a national conflict, which was not part of the agreement. Flora van Regteren Altena (Department for Culture Heritage of the Ministry

of Education, Culture & Science) explains: “These conventions and protocols are today part of the international humanitarian law. Although war is always chaotic, the world has made rules to regulate it, which include the protection of cultural heritage. The 1954 Convention imposes an obligation to the countries that have ratified it, to respect cultural property within their own territory and that of others. This being said, the possibility to enforce this obligation lacked. This was improved in the Second Protocol and is applicable in the event of conflicts both of an international and of a non-

HERITAGE IN DANGER

international character, as in the Balkans.â&#x20AC;? Another example of this is the conflict in Lybia which started as a non-international conflict in which the international community became more and more involved. Safeguarding the five UNESCO World Heritage sites is the responsibility of Libya, but also of the international community. But if anything happens, criminal prosecution would prove difficult.

Criminal responsibility under the Second Protocol is in part based on the official designation of threatened sites as sites under enhanced protection. An attack on those sites as well as their use in support of military action are considered as crimes under the Second Protocol. In 2010 the first four locations in the whole world received this protection, three in Cyprus and one in Italy. Guidelines clarifying the implementation of the Protocol were finalized recently, in 2009.

The Netherlands has the chair of the Second Protocol Committee in 2011. It will seek to bring this process further. But it does not end there. The Convention and the Protocols need to be signed and ratified before a country can be held accountable. The United States ratified the 1954 Convention as late as in 2009, after fierce criticism and continued bad press following the Iraq War. The United Kingdom still has not signed it, while Egypt was the first country to do so â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as early as in 1955. Libya, Iran and Iraq have also signed and ratified it. The 1954 Convention has been ratified by about 125 countries in all, but the more specific Second Protocol has so far only been signed by about 60, Libya among them. So there is no quick and easy solution. Placing the whole World Heritage list under enhanced protection is simply impossible under current international law. The destruction in 2001 of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban in Afghanistan shocked the world and caused a tremendous backlash against the regime. But the Convention did not apply. It was

the legitimate government who destroyed them. The Buddhas were not protected under the Hague Convention, as Afghanistan is not a party to that Convention, and it was only after their destruction that they became protected under the World Heritage Convention and international action could be initiated. The Bamiyan Buddhas show how the international community struggles to find the right answers. But some progress is being made. Another example is the 1970 UNESCO Convention on illicit import, export and transfer of cultural property. During the recent revolt in Egypt, international organisations as Interpol and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) responded with immediate alerts to customs and heritage authorities to prevent illicit export and import of art. Luckily with new technologies it has become easier to bring violations to light. Bringing these practices out of the dark into the open helps to change attitudes, if only because the chances of getting caught are increasing. And what about the attitude of the soldiers on the ground? What

can they do to help? Several international organisations like the United Nations and national governments like the United States and the Netherlands have put special units in place. Many countries have started awareness raising projects within the military. Recently the Dutch government (the Ministry of Defence working jointly with the Ministry of Culture) and the Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO developed playing cards, specially designed for soldiers, with very practical cultural heritage information. Other similar projects are being developed.

52 HERITAGEINDANGER

Appeals judges at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in the Hague have upheld in 2008 the conviction of a Yugoslav army general Pavle Strugar to 7.5 years in prison for overseeing the deadly 1991 shelling of the historic coastal city of Dubrovnik. The shelling triggered an international outcry. It was the first time that shelling of an UNESCO World Heritage Site was part of a war crime indictment.

Peace Palace, Seat of the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

Another organisation concerned is the NATO. How high on the agenda are cultural heritage issues at the NATO’s headquarters? In an exclusive interview, former NATO Secretary-General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer explains how he sees the role of the organisation. “You cannot expect the NATO to intervene on behalf of cultural heritage. Cultural heritage is not part of our mandate, but for instance in Kosovo our troops did step in to protect the endangered monasteries and churches of the Serbian minority.” De Hoop Scheffer, who is now Professor of International Relation in the department of Peace, Justice and Development at Leiden University continues: “If the NATO had been present in Afghanistan during the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha’s we surely would have intervened. We would not have allowed that to happen. It cut

through my soul. But I must stress that we cannot expect the NATO to have a policy for the preservation of cultural heritage. It is not part of its focus. We have no scenario for it. We use of course the United Nations information on the location of cultural heritage sites. And, as representatives of democratically elected governments - although it is not our mandate - it still would be considered as our duty to protect cultural heritage when it is really necessary to do so, when the immediate situation calls for it. The NATO bombing cultural heritage sites for military purposes? I would consider this as unthinkable.” Defending cultural heritage is difficult in the best of times, let alone in the worst of times, periods of conflict and war. The 21st century poses even more challenges as rough states and terrorists tend

not to play by the rules. But there is too much at stake and giving up is not an option. The international community seeks to create binding systems of decent behaviour. The military seeks to make their soldiers aware. When the smoke of battle lifts and the reconciliation process has to begin, cultural heritage can play an important role in healing wounds and renewing trust. One of most prominent cultural tragedies of the war in the Balkans was the destruction of the Mostar Bridge. Now, the rebuilt bridge can do once more what it has done during the last four centuries, bridging cultures and bringing people together.

Further reading: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ images/0014/001407/140792E. pdf http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ images/0018/001867/186742E.pdf American website: http://www.cemml. colostate.edu/cultural/09476/afghanstart. html

Photo: Rudolphous, Logo : Lusitana (CC-BY-SA)

CITY DREAMS

Heritage of a Disaster The Therapeutic Value of Modern Architecture and Industrial Monuments “I was visiting family in the village where I was born called Losser when I saw a column of smoke rise on the horizon. It was a beautiful, sunny and windless day and this black, fat mushroom cloud just hung there; silent, still, unnatural. I knew immediately something disastrous had happened,” says architect and urban planner Pi de Bruijn from his office of De Architekten Cie. in Amsterdam.

On May 13, 2000, the fireworks factory in the Roombeek area in the city of Enschede in the east of the Netherlands blew up, killing 23 people and injuring almost a 1,000. The area near the centre of the city was wiped off the face of the earth. Visiting the site today is still a humbling experience. Walking the endless streets of new architecture and restored industrial heritage, one cannot image what it must have been like. The area is so vast and the scars are so deep that it triggers huge doubts about the wisdom of

building accident-prone utilities and factories so close to homes and schools. “Deep in my heart I know the city had made a mistake by allowing such a factory within the city limits,” says De Bruijn. “The Roombeek area was a poor working class district but a prime location nevertheless. Immediately after the disaster people started talking about a conspiracy between the city and property developers. The people did not trust the motives of the

local government. Even today, more than ten years after the disaster, there are still a lot of questions about the cause and effect that have not been answered.” Pi de Bruijn is talking rapidly, hardly masking his passion and emotion. “This kind of factory would have never been allowed in an affluent residential area. Enschede is not an exception in this. All over Europe money talks and the consequences can be as devastating as they were

to get involved, I jumped to it. After a series of pitches I got the assignment to work as the urban planner for the entire area.” “The way I approach my role as an urban planner is very specific. I believe in the dynamics of interactivity. I do not believe in grand architectural gestures. The end-user should be the central focus in the development of ideas and designs. I started to talk to the people who used to live there, to discuss what they would want to see happen in their neighbourhood. But before you can talk about anything like that, you first have to talk about what happened. You have to go through the tears and the pain. I saw the rebuilding of the Roombeek area as a form of therapy. This positive exchange with the residents fits my personal ideas about architecture and urban planning. You have to know what the people want and I needed to understand the people of Roombeek. I had to make sure that what we did would make their lives better.”

in Enschede. After the disaster a military approach took over. They put up big fences around the place and refused access to the local people who were already traumatized by what had happened. People were allowed in only weeks later. But by then their precious memories, their photo albums, their children’s toys, their clothes, had all been destroyed by rain and smoke. Valuable possessions like jewellery had been stolen by criminals. It was unnecessary and it made the population even more suspicious and angry.”

“When an emotional Queen Beatrix visited the site the following day, the Prime Minister made an important impromptu speech. He said the people should be able to return to their homes and that money should not be an issue in rebuilding the neighbourhood. The city of Enschede also tried to make amends. By using their preferential right to buy up property, they immediately stopped speculators from buying out the owners. I was of course following the developments very closely and when I got the chance

“We used the existing cultural heritage sites in the area to ground the project. Het Rozendaal, a building that was originally part of a textile factory is now a conglomerate of museums. The water tower and buildings of the Menko factories are now apartments and another factory building is now an academy for art & design. A structure where they used to store textiles will be turned into an art museum.” “I not only supervised the whole layout of the area, I also created the over-all urban design and sometimes selected the architects. At time I would get very involved and be strict in order to protect the urban quality, but at other

CITY DREAMS

times I would take a step back. We encouraged the residents to build their own houses and this brought interesting results. Some architects complain to me that I should have taken more control, because it looks messy. But I do not agree. People like diversity. They do not like it when everything looks the same. There now is this variety in Roombeek of old and new, of heritage buildings and modern design, of highly

original and maybe not-so-original architecture. It all fits together. I rate this project in my top three. I worked in the area for ten years and I am still involved in it today.â&#x20AC;?

user-unfriendly buildings. But now, in our economically more challenging times, the pendulum swings the other way. The enduser has become important again. We realise that the city â&#x20AC;&#x153;For years the market was belongs to the population. That determined by property developers. vitality is the central issue. You Because of the economic should not bulldoze an area; you circumstances everything they should incorporate the historical built, good or bad, found a buyer. elements in your urban planning. They made enormous profits and The clean slate thinking belongs to we ended up with a lot of ugly and the past. If you use the historical

elements, you give people a natural surrounding, something to feel at home in. That is what we tried to accomplish in Roombeek and the area is now beautiful and attractive. 40-50% or the original tenants and about 20% of the original homeowners have returned. That is quite a success. The area has vitality and relevance. It was difficult, it was challenging, but we really created something good out of something bad.â&#x20AC;?

HERITAGE IN DANGER

Losing Faith Country churches in danger

Once they were the centre of their community, sometimes even for centuries. Now an old signpost is swinging in the wind. The overgrown graveyard has not seen visitors for years. When the heating in the building is turned off and the roof starts leaking, the way down is a slippery slope. The last local juvenile delinquent

finishes the building off with some graffiti, while smashing a window and demolition is just around the corner. Keeping up country churches without the faithful is a difficult task. But if these buildings are lost, what will replace them? These monuments keep local communities together - not so much in a religious sense

- but in a sense of belonging and identity. Large areas in eastern Europe, the centre of Spain and France or the north of Scotland to name but a few, have growing difficulties in keeping their religious monuments relevant and in good shape. Young people are leaving

Power of Example: Faith in Maintenance in the United Kingdom was 2010 winner of an European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/ Europa Nostra Award in the category â&#x20AC;&#x153;Education, Training and Awareness-Raisingâ&#x20AC;?. The project gives volunteers the tools and skills to do essential maintenance work on the buildings. Their website give handy tips for anyone who wants to get involved. http://www.spabfim. org.uk/

for the big city. And if a village is losing its population, there is little chance that converting a church into apartments is a viable solution. In remote villages there is little interest in the commercial exploitation of an arts & culture centre. Also in the Netherlands there are many examples of local churches and monasteries that are losing the battle. Churches are among the most torn down buildings in Europe. Especially the churches built after World War II have a hard time surviving, in the countryside as well as in the cities. Most of them have not obtained any form of heritage status and have disappeared before anyone could protest. But there are also

hopeful examples where local churches have found new life through creative ideas and the help of volunteers. One example is the St. Antonius church in the hamlet of Kranenburg in the east of the Netherlands. This church, which was built in 1856 by the famous architect Pierre Cuypers (1827-1911) - who would later build the Central Station and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam - has recently been sold for 1 Euro to a foundation for the preservation of religious buildings. The deed has a specific clause that if the church is ever used as a nightclub or a brothel, a daily 10.000 Euro fine would be applied. But chances of this happening are remote, as the church today houses a national museum of religious sculpture.

Left page Church of Cuypers in Kranenburg, Church in Wytgaard collapsing by Documentatie Centrum RK Converted church Ipswich docks by John Goldsmith, Djupivogur church. Iceland by Christian Bickel, Kotor, Montenegro by Sares, Converted church, Reading UK by Philafrenzy, Graubunden, Switzerland by Falk Lademann, Scotland, Isle of Arran, St.Georges church by Vincent van Zeijst

Luckily all across Europe similar initiatives are developed to save country churches from being torn down. As the problems are comparable all over Europe, the power of example, the exchange of new ideas and smart solutions are key to finding viable alternatives. More recently, several European organisations active in this field, including Europa Nostra, came together to launch a European Forum for Historic Places of Worship. It is inevitable that some churches will lose the battle - like the Pierre Cuypersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; church in the village of Wytgaard - but through cooperation between civil society, local communities and government, miracles can happen.

OPINIONS

The Winds of Change Windmills are one of most lasting and iconic symbols of the Netherlands. The countless windmills were not just used to empty the lakes and lagoons of this river delta; they were also used to grind endless bags of grain into flour to feed a nation. It is impossible to look at a 17th century Dutch landscape painting without seeing a windmill. There were so many in fact, that people did not see any historical value in them.

by Denis de Kergorlay, Executive President of Europa Nostra

Kinderdijk by Lucas Hirschegger, Netherlands by Loranchet

polluting our countryside. It is easily forgotten that the beauty and harmony of our European landscape is also a non-renewable asset! It is a difficult balancing act between the necessity of finding green solutions and the destruction of the soul and spirit of Europe. These issues are thoroughly examined in the Europa Nostra Declaration on Wind power. (http://www. europanostra.org/UPLOADS/ FILS/DECLARATION%20 ON%20WINDPOWER%20 Final%202008.pdf)

Only in the 19th century, when they became more and more obsolete, did enthusiasts grow worried about the rapid pace with which they were disappearing. And today some cities, like the old town of Schiedam, are even rebuilding their windmills one by one. The newest addition just became fully operational. Schiedam harbours the highest historical windmills in the world. The tallest windmill is 42,5 metres and has a staggering 55 metres wingspan. They are indeed a sight to behold. The famous row of windmills in Kinderdijk are UNESCO World Heritage and nearly every Dutch town or village sees their local windmills as important landmarks. There is even talk of using old style windmills to generate wind energy, which might be a typical, Dutch solution for making the historical circle complete.

Nowadays there is a new type of windmill, which has a much more uneasy relationship with the landscape. All over the Netherlands and the rest of Europe, huge wind turbines have been appearing with a wing span similar to an Airbus 380. It is a quest for clean energy that is slowly but surely visually

These turbines are not just a tragedy for the European landscape, they have a negative influence on the lives of thousands of people. Often built close to homes, their incessant noise, freak winds and the degradation of the value of property create a social problem.

OPINIONS

generous subsidies can do what they want. The European Union and its Member States stimulate the use of the wind turbines but at the same time wash their hands like Pontius Pilate when it comes to the long term effects of these machines.

Permission by aerophotoschiphol Right page, Mont St.Michel in France, Bird versus wind turbine by Dirk Ingo Franke, 2010 windmill in Schiedam

Another point I want to raise is the impact on biodiversity. Bird populations literally do not know what hit them. Bats become disorientated. Some of these issues can be avoided by building the wind turbines outside of bird migration routes and far from bat habitats. But are these concerns taken into account? Is there an honest discussion about the real carbon footprint of these turbines? And what happens to the wind farms when they are at the end of their cycle? Who is responsible for the clean-up? These are not small structures that can be easily and cheaply removed. The rules and regulations differ in every city, province or state. Companies that profit from this lack of rules and

Let me also be clear about something else. Europa Nostra has never been an organisation that just says “no”. We understand that alternatives for the current energy problems will have to be developed. Relying on our traditional energy sources is indeed a dead end road. Nuclear energy faces its own problems especially after the recent disaster in Japan. Renewable energy sources are the future and Europa Nostra is very willing to partner with governments and civil society organisations to find the best solutions. Maybe wind-farms built in the sea just beyond the horizon can be an option, if built outside of bird migration routes. It would also solve the “not-in-mybackyard” discussion. In other places, like in the new polders of the Netherlands, the skyscraper windmills might fit the landscape and hurt no one.

Allow me in closing to point out one of the most alarming plans concerning one of France’s top heritage vistas: Mont Saint-Michel. If the city councils concerned get their way, instead of enjoying an iconic view that has been unaltered for centuries, the hundreds of thousands tourists will enjoy a forest of white steel wind turbines, spreading their wings along the horizon. Board members of Europa Nostra visited the municipality of Argouges, which overlooks the bay of Mont Saint-Michel, to evaluate the risk of visual degradation by the proposed 100 metres high wind turbines. Mont Saint-Michel is not just one of the most visited monuments in

the world, it is also one of the jewels of Christian history. It is a monument of both spirituality and architecture. The fact that the splendour of this site and its setting is at risk from dozens of industrial machines, which rival the height of the archangel Michael atop the abbey’s spire, is a dangerous mixture between public policies and private interests. In spite of the fact that UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has already expressed to the French government its grave concern, neighbouring municipalities continue to investigate wind farm proposals, notably in the adjacent department of Ille-et-Vilaine,

also located on the hill-crest overlooking the bay. The battle for Mont Saint-Michel is just a striking example of what is happening all over Europe. Development of wind-farms may seem like a green solution for our power hungry society, but that same society should safeguard our European landscapes. The Dutch poet Lucebert created the phrase ‘everything of value is defenceless’... our landscape is indeed a far too easy victim of uncontrolled development. The winds of change have made fossil fuels and nuclear energy problematic, but wind energy also brings new challenges that need to be openly discussed and addressed.

PANORAMA

Panorama Amsterdam

Amsterdam, like New York and Paris, has a very recognisable city-grid. The canal district of Amsterdam - added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2010 - is an historical marvel of canals and 16th and 17th century houses. It was a planned city extension that changed wetlands and swamps into a harbour city

that became a global player. It is a true masterpiece of hydraulic engineering, unique in the world. Not everybody is pleased with the addition of the city centre to the World Heritage list. Some are afraid the lively city will change into a sleepy museum town. But most - including Esther Agricola,

director of the Amsterdamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Monuments and Archaeology - agree that the city will keep renewing itself as it has always done. The canals are lined with buildings from different periods, each with very different styles. The UNESCO status should not stop development, but help to make the quality choices instead of

promoting convenient or financial ones. Aerial pictures of Amsterdam beautifully show the inner structure of the Dutch capital. They are reproduced with kind permission from www.aerophoto-schiphol.nl

PANORAMA

Defence Line of Amsterdam (De Stelling van Amsterdam) UNESCO World Heritage Site* The capital of the country was protected by a network of 45 armed forts, built between 1883 and 1920 and extending 135 km around the city, which acted in accordance with temporary flooding from polders and an intricate system of canals and locks. The defence line became obsolete with the introduction of aeroplanes into warfare. Part of the flooding-system was however activated when the German army invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, but no fighting took place. Some structures are still in use by the Ministry of Defence. * source: whc.unesco.org

COUNTRY DREAMS

Country Living A visit to a family estate

Baron Van Dordt tot Medler telling the story of the deed

69 The Association of Privately Owned Country Estates (Vereniging Particuliere Historische Buitenplaatsen.ed) is an important Dutch organisation to protect this unique cultural heritage and a member of Europa Nostra http:// www.vphb.nl

“I got a phone call from some government official, something to do with forms or regulations and he could not find any proof of ownership in the register. He asked if I could maybe send him papers showing when we bought the property.” Mr. Zeno baron van Dordt tot Medler and his sister Reiniera Wefers Bettink, baroness van Dorth tot Medler, show me around their stunning family estate ‘t Medler in the east of the Netherlands. “I politely explained that we have been living here for more than 350 years and if he wanted to, he could come up and look at the original deed signed in 1612. He hung up very quickly after that.” The former diplomat

Personalised horse box

laughs loud and long, revealing a life lived well. “Our estate is about 300 hectares big, of which 200 hectares is cultivated land; 165 hectares is rented out. 90% of the estate’s income comes from rent and about 10% from forestry. We use the money mainly for the upkeep of the buildings. We share the responsibility for the estate with the four of us, two brothers and two sisters, each owning 25% of the shares. We decided not to set up a foundation, as you have to have independent strangers on the board. You never know what can happen then. We have made arrangements that if one of us wants or needs

to sell, the shares are first offered to the others. We have recently decided to appoint a manager who runs the day-to-day business. It is much better for the family relations,” he says with a smile.

COUNTRY DREAMS

70 The Union of European Historic Houses Associations (UEHHA) promotes European cooperation in the conservation of historic houses and gardens to ensure the continuity, as living entities, of private historic houses, their contents, gardens, parklands and estates. The UEHHA is a member of Europa Nostra. http://www. uehha.org/en/index.php

Only half a gate remains after a poplar fell on it, Kitchen

“Keeping up an estate like this is hard,”his sister adds. “When you are a listed building of national importance, you have special privileges. You can deduct certain costs, but you have to do everything precisely according to the rules.” The baron gets up to serve another coffee. “One of things that saved many historic family estates in the Netherlands are the low succession rights. The value of the estate is in the estate, not in cash. You live poor and die rich, we always say. The government is now busy changing all the rules for monuments now, so hopefully all the changes are for the better.” He has his private apartment in the main building. His two sisters live on farms on the estate and his brother also has an apartment next to the main building. “An old

poplar fell on one of our gates but repairing it costs too much money. We have been discussing within the family other options to generate income, like placing a transmission tower for mobile phones, a golf course or building a windmill park, but all these solutions are difficult and intrusive. Some estate owners make the decision to change into a hotel or to build holiday houses on the estate, but we have decided we will try to keep it as much as possible as it is. This is the house my sister and I grew up in.” “For a long time all the people who lived in the main house were old. In our family we tend to reach a very old age. The children only moved in when the former generation passed away. They would then be in their sixties or so. To a certain extent that saved our family, as we only

had three generations per century while others tended to have four or five: we had less chance of messing it up. It was a little different in the case of our parents. Because my grandfather died young, our parents moved in to live with my grand mother when they were still young. My sister and I were even born here. I am the youngest. For the first time in centuries children lived here and it was a wonderful house to grow up in.” “My grandmother and our family basically ran two households on one estate. Grandmother lived downstairs. She had the most beautiful rooms and she was the official lady of the house. She had her own servant and her own living room, kitchen and dining room. We were living on the first floor mainly. She had a television

in her room and we were allowed to come on Wednesday afternoon and Saturday to watch. And on Sunday, one of us was invited to lunch with our grandmother. She had the large dining room where she would dine alone and we would dine with the six of us in something of a broom closet. But do not get me wrong, there were no misgivings about it. None whatsoever. It felt very natural and we all loved my grandmother dearly. It was just the way it was and that was fine with all of us, including my parents.” The baron shows me the first floor of the house. His portrait as a young boy adorns the stairways, together with paintings of his brother and sisters. We enter a small family chapel. “We are a Catholic family in an area that is mainly protestant,” he says while showing me drawers

full of chasubles. “Recently a grandchild was baptised here. We still use it. It is of great sentimental value to us.” The next room reveals fluffy creatures, sitting amidst new and old toys. It is still used as much as when the baron was a child. “This playroom is just above my grandmother’s living room, so she must have suffered severely from the noise we made. But she never ever complained about it.” In each room the history of the Van Dorth tot Medler family can be felt, partially as a tangible presence, but mostly because centuries of furniture blend together; an 18th century fireplace next to a 1980s stereo-set; a vintage Alfa Romeo sits where once carriages stood; a storage building where we can still recognise the personalised horse boxes.

“We feel a moral obligation to hand the estate over to the next generation,” the baroness explains. “A lot has changed over the years of course. When we were growing up and going to the local school, you could still feel you were singled out because you were privileged. You still had a special position in the village. Most people had very little or no schooling. But now their children are doctors and lawyers. When we grew up we had servants that lived with us in the house. We had two and my grandmother had one, but in the sixties that also changed. You could no longer find people who would be willing to live and work as a maid on the estate. It also became less necessary with washing machines and dishwashers. It has all changed for the better.”

Living room, Private chapel

SHORT STORY

Letters by Vincent van Gogh Vincent by Paul Gauguin 1888

Vincent van Gogh (1853 -1890) was born in Zundert, a small village close to the Belgian border, the son of a preacher. His brother Theo was four years younger. Throughout Vincent’s life he was a prolific writer. He started writing letters to his brother from 1872, when he was working as a young assistant in his uncles art gallery Goupil & Cie in The Hague. In 1873 Vincent moved to the London branch, later to Paris and then back again to London.

As Vincent’s depression got the better of him, he got himself fired in 1876. After part-time jobs as a teacher, assistant priest and bookseller, he arrived in 1877 in Amsterdam to try and pass a state exam that would give him access to the university to study Theology. In 1878 he left without sitting the exams and went to Belgium where he would decide to follow his calling as an artist. During his time in Amsterdam he sent many letters

to his brother Theo, which reveal a sensitive young man with a great gift for observation. The largescale “Letters Project” carried out by the Van Gogh Museum and the Huygens Institute have now made the letters easily accessible on-line. Except for the small drawing referred to in his letter of 28th of May 1877 and maybe Winter, In Life As Well (after Jozef Israëls) there are no Van Gogh’s art

Vincent by ToulouseLautrec 1886.

Amsterdam, 28 May 1877

works known from his time in Amsterdam. Most articles on Vincent van Gogh are illustrated by Van Gogh’s own paintings, but in this case we have chosen to show you how others viewed him: a photograph taken when he was 19 years old and three portraits painted by Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin and the Australian artist Russell, all dating about ten years after his time in Amsterdam.

(…) Walked to the seaside in the afternoon, and spent the rest of the day writing. The work and writing don’t yet go as fast and easily as I’d wish, but I hope to learn by practice, but, old boy, if I could I’d like to skip over a few years, though I trust that I shall succeed and that my lips shall speak the fullness of preaching the gospel and that my hand shall write it. (…) Last week I got as far as Gen. XXIII, the burial of Sarah in the field that Abraham bought to bury her there in the cave of Machpelah, and I couldn’t help making a little drawing of how I imagined that place to be, it’s nothing very special but I’m enclosing it anyway.(…) Right now all the people are leaving the dockyard to go home, that’s nice to see. One hears them already early in the morning, I think there are around 3,000 of them, the sound of their footsteps is something like the sound of the sea.

SHORT STORY

John Peter Russell Studies of Vincent

In 2010 the “Letters Project” was awarded with one of the Grand Prix of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards in the category “Research”. Since 1994, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Huygens Institute have been working on this extensive research and digitalisation project. The European Jury stated: ‘Thanks to the digitalisation and free internet access of this fascinating project, it is now possible to read the entire archive of letters of the painter in their original version and in translation.’ http://vangoghletters.org/vg

The Cave of Machpelah 1877.

Amsterdam, 30 May 1877 (…) There were some words in your letter that touched me: ‘I should really like to get away from everything, I’m the cause of everything and only make others sad, I alone have caused all this misery to myself and others.’ Those were words that touched me – because that same feeling, exactly the same, nothing more and nothing less, is also on my conscience. When I think of the past – when I think of the future, of nearly insurmountable difficulties, of much and difficult work which I have no passion for, which I – the evil part of me, that is – would prefer to avoid, when I think of the eyes of so many that are fixed upon me – who, if I do not succeed, will know the reason why – who will not utter any ordinary reproaches but who, because they have been tried and are well versed in what is good and proper and fine gold, as it were, will say it by the expression on their faces: we helped you

and have been a light unto you – we did for you what we could. Did you sincerely desire it? What are our wages and the fruits of our labours? You see, when I think of all that and of so much else, all manner of things – too many to mention, of all the troubles and worries which do not become less as one progresses through life, of suffering, of disappointment, of the danger of failing to a scandalous extent, then that desire is no stranger to me either – I would really like to get away from everything! And yet – I go on – but with caution and in the hope that I’ll succeed in warding off all these things, so that I can somehow answer all the reproaches that threaten, trusting that in spite of everything that seems to be against me I shall attain that thing that I desire, and, God willing, shall find grace in the eyes of some whom I love, and in the eyes of those who shall come after me. (…)

Vincent by Australian artist John Peter Russell 1886

Amsterdam, 27 July 1877

Amsterdam, 12 June 1877 A terrible storm blew up here this morning at quarter to 5, a little while later the first stream of workers came through the gate of the dockyard in the pouring rain. Got up and went into the yard and took a couple of notebooks to the cupola and sat there reading and looking round the whole yard and dock, the poplars and elders and other shrubs were bent by the strong wind, and the rain pelted on the wood-piles and the decks of the ships, sloops and a little steamboat went back and forth in the distance, near the village on the other side of the IJ, one saw brown sails passing quickly and the houses and trees on Buitenkant and churches in more vivid colours. Again and again one heard thunder and saw lightning, the sky looked like a painting by Ruisdael, and the gulls were flying low over the water. It was a magnificent sight, and really refreshing after the oppressive heat of yesterday.

(…) A couple of days ago a couple of children fell into the water near the Kattenburg bridge.(...) A little boy was pulled out; I went along with two ship’s doctors whom Uncle had sent over, and the men carrying the boy into a chemist’s shop made every effort to resuscitate the child, but to no avail. In the meantime it was recognised by the father, who’s a stoker at the dockyard, and the little body was taken home in a woollen blanket. The search went on for an hour and a half, as it was thought that a girl had fallen in as well, though happily that seems not to be the case. In the evening I went back to see the people, it was then already dark in the house, the little body lay so still on a bed in a side room, he was such a sweet little boy. There was great sorrow, that child was the light of that house, as it were, and that light had now been put out. Even though coarse people express their grief in a coarse way and without dignity, as the mother did, among others, still, one feels a great deal in such a house of mourning, and the impression stayed with me the whole evening when I took a walk.

Vincent van Gogh photo 1872

Amsterdam, 18 Aug. 1877 I had quite a time on Thursday morning; (…) So had got up early and seen the workers arriving at the dockyard with the sun shining wonderfully. ‘It is a good thing to praise the Lord God in the morning’, that’s what one thinks at such times. You would like the curious sight of that stream of black figures, large and small, first in the narrow street into which the sun shines only briefly and later at the yard. Had breakfast afterwards, a piece of dry bread and a glass of beer – that is a remedy Dickens recommends to those on the verge of committing suicide as being very efficacious in ridding them of that intention, for a while at least. And even if one isn’t exactly in such a mood, it’s nevertheless good to do it now and then, and to think at the same time of, for example, Rembrandt’s painting of the supper at Emmaus. Your most loving brother

FEATURE

Amsterdam Then and Now Amsterdam grew from a small dam in the river into the centre of an empire spanning the globe. Some parts of town have changed dramatically over time, but some buildings and sites have remained remarkably unchanged. Many of the most visited landmarks of this Venice of the North are the result of private initiatives.

The Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum (Netherlands Maritime Museum) is housed in a former naval storehouse, the Admiraliteits Magazijn, designed by the Dutch architect DaniĂŤl Stalpaert and constructed in 1656. The museum moved to this location in 1973 and recently has undergone a major renovation.

Pierre Cuypersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (1827 -1921) design for the Rijksmuseum (National Museum) in Amsterdam was a combination of gothic and

renaissance elements. Construction began on October 1, 1876. The museum was opened on July 13, 1885. Until 2013 the Rijksmuseum

The Sint Antoniesbree Street was a thriving neighborhood in the 17th century especially for the artistically inclined. Rembrandt van Rijn lived on the street from 1631 until 1635. The monument now known as the Rembrandt House - he lived there between 1639 and 1656 - is just down the

will be restored and renovated based on a design by Spanish architects Antonio Cruz and Antonio Ortiz. Many of the old interior decorations will be restored. During the restoration and renovation process only about four hundred of the one-million piece permanent collection are on display.

road on Jodenbree Street 4. The street changed dramatically in the late 20th century when almost all the original buildings were torn down. The historic picture is probably from the late 1890s, taken by the famous photographer Jacob Olie.

Anne Frank House

FEATURE

Prinsengracht 263 was originally built in 1635 and the annexe was built in 1740. Just another typical canal house, were it not for a girl that lived there in hiding with her family in an annexe concealed by movable bookcase during World War II. Her name was Anne Frank. On August 4, 1944, she and her family were betrayed and arrested. The house was stripped by the Nazis and only Anneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diary was saved. When Otto Frank returned after the war as sole survivor of the family, the house was in a dilapidated state. In the years that followed, plans were being made to tear down the house and a row of adjacent ageing canal houses to make place for a new textile factory. Frank and his friends tried to delay the seemingly inevitable. By then Anne Frankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diary had become a global bestseller. Public pressure was mounting. In 1957 the Anne Frank Foundation was founded, to save and open the building to the public. Their efforts were successful and the textile company donated the building to the foundation. But that was not the only hurdle that had to be overcome. In the end several buildings were bought with support of the city council and concerned citizens who wanted to keep Anneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s memory alive. The museum was opened in 1960 and is visited by around 1 million guests per year. Recently the buildings were completely renovated to be able to cope with the rising amount of visitors.

The DeLaMar Theatre in Amsterdam is an interesting heritage location. It is not so much the actual structure, but the spirit of the building that still remains. The location had been used as a gentlemen’s club, a school, a warehouse and a Nazi forced employment office. After the war Piet Grossouw converts the building into a thearre for his wife, comedian Fien de la Mar. The DeLaMar Theatre becomes a famous place for great comedians but also a stage for drama classics and youth festivals. That tradition now lives on in a new theatre based on the same concept. On January 12, 200 , the VandenEnde foundation presented

their ambitious design for the resurrection of the DeLaMar theatre. The foundation, initiated by Janine and Joop van den Ende (the famous Dutch media tycoon, theatrical producer and cofounder of Endemol and founder/ owner of Stage Entertainment ed.) had a dream of creating a theatre in which high quality and attractive performances could be combined with stimulating talent and cultural entrepreneurship. An independent board would determine the programming. The façade of the school, built in 1887 in which DeLaMar Theatre opened its doors in 1947 was to be reconstructed. The architecture would be a combination of old and new.

The resurrected theatre opened in November 2010 and now programs more than 500 performances by over 50 different producers each season. The foyers of the DeLaMar Theatre houses a permanent photo exhibition. The collection was brought together by Janine van den Ende. She bought historical photographs, but also commissioned new works around the theme of theatre. Janine van den Ende:“I wanted to combine two art forms in the photo collection - theatre and visual arts and show art to the general public. I hope our collection will surprise and enchant our visitors.”

FEATURE

For Europa Nostra, the Portuguese Jewish Synagogue is an important and emotional place of remembrance since a special memorial service for its former Executive President Otto van der Gablentz (19302007) was held here. This service showed how much Von der Gablentz was admired and respected within the (Dutch) Jewish community. Otto von der Gablentz was a long time ambassador to the Netherlands, later to Israel and Russia. He was a man of many talents. As a true European he helped improve Dutch - German relations with his open and constructive diplomacy. After his retirement as German diplomate he was rector of the ‘College of Europe’ in Bruges. He spent the last years of his life with his wife Hetti in Amsterdam. He was Executive President of Europa Nostra from 2002-2006. His erudition, his European vision and friendly demeanour were key to the current recognition of Europa Nostra as the Voice of Cultural Heritage in Europa.

During the 17th century, many Jewish refugees from the Iberian peninsula arrived in Amsterdam. They called themselves Portuguese Jews to avoid being identified with Spain, which was at war with the Dutch Republic at the time. In the Ijar 5430 (the year 1670), the Sephardic Jewish community of Amsterdam acquired the site to build a synagogue. A year later architect Elias Bouman

started to build the synagogue or Snoge of Amsterdam. In 1675 the impressive structure was finished. The building is surrounded by lower structures where also the famous Jewish library Ets Haim is housed. The building was recently beautifully restored and re-opened to the public in June 2011. CEPIG – The Stichting Cultureel Erfgoed Portugees-Israëlietische Gemeente (Foundation Cultural

Heritage Portuguese-Israeli Congregation ed.) is responsible for the cultural heritage of the congregation and the Ets Haim library. The Jewish Historical Museum, situated just across the road, takes care of the synagogue complex since 2009, not only to protect and manage, but also to open up the monuments to a general public of all ages, and of all cultural and religious backgrounds.

Dam square with the Royal Palace (once City Hall) lies at the heart of the city. It was named after the dam in the Amstel River. Built around 1270, the dam linked the settlements on both sides of the river, thereby creating the city of Amsterdam. As a market square, the Dam originally had a weigh house. It

was demolished in 1808 by order of Louis Bonaparte who hated the sight of it. A national monument “Unity”, personified by the statue of a woman, was unveiled in 1859 to commemorate the Ten-Day March during the independence uprising of the Belgians. It was made of soft stone and the statue rapidly started to show serious signs of decay. She lost part of her

nose and then an arm dropped off. Her head had to be screwed back on. “Unity” ended up with the nickname Naatje (which means ‘rubbish’ in Dutch) and was removed in 1914. In 1956, on the other side of the square, the Dutch National Monument was unveiled as a memorial to the victims of World War II and as a monument to liberation and peace.

in the Friends of Amsterdam Inner-city Foundation. In 1975 citywide riots forced the city’s hand. Lessons were learned,

the historical street plan was respected and the building was restored. It has now found a new life as a library and office-building.

Pinto House The house is named after the De Pinto family, a rich PortugueseJewish family, known as the Rothschilds of their time. The house was originally built in the early 17th century, but the family altered the building in 1686 in Dutch classicist style. Until the beginning of the 19th century the house remained family property, but at the end of the century the building stood empty and was re-used by small businesses. By the Second World War, the once beautiful city palace was a shadow of itself. The Jewish neighbourhood in the same area was in bad shape. The city bought the building in 1968 with the aim to demolish it and to modernise the whole district. By the 1970s it was the last building still standing in a wasteland. But the local population frustrated the plans. Squatters took possession of the building, united

FEATURE

In June 2011 Europa Nostra was proud to organise the Awardgiving ceremony of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards in Het Concertgebouw

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Het Concertgebouwâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is one of the most famous concert hall in the world. The hall was built in 1883 in a pasture (then) just outside the city on the initiative of well-to-do citizens. It is still today sustained by citizens and private funds. Only 5% comes from public funds. 2,186 piles were used to ground the building in the muddy soil. The hall opened in April and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra gave its first concert on 3 November 1888. The architect of the building was Dolf van Gendt (1835-1901). He designed an incredible amount of signature buildings in Amsterdam. He was more merchant than artist, but according to many he was the right choice for designing an affordable, solid, representative

and user-friendly building. According to his own children, he was not very musically inclined, so the renowned acoustics of Het Concertgebouw may be a wonderous accident and a lasting mystery. The Great Hall seats more than 2000 people, is 44 meters long, 28 meters wide, and 17 meters high. With audience present, the reverberation time is 2.2 seconds. It is considered one of the best concert halls in the world and one of most successful. In addition to orchestras, opera, jazz, pop, rock and world music groups perform here. A second, smaller concert hall in the building is an almost exact copy of the concert hall of Felix Meritis.

84 FEATURE

Felix Meritis: Fortunate through Merit The Felix Meritis Society (Fortunate through Merit ed.) was founded by 40 citizens of Amsterdam in 1777. In 1788 they moved into a purposebuilt neoclassical city palace on the Keizersgracht in what is now the World Heritage zone of Amsterdam. The society was to become a flourishing centre for art, culture and science for almost a century. The beautiful concert hall was the capitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important music temple and Schumann, Saint-SaĂŤns and Brahms performed here. Its design was later even copied for the small concert hall of the Concertgebouw. By the late 1800s the financial situation of the society grew increasingly dire. The organisation had become elitist and membership went down. The building was sold and used for almost 60 years by a printing company. It did not enjoy a good reputation. The owners treated their workers, some of them

Artist Joseph Semah (Baghdad 1948) is creating a new art work for the famous observatory of Felix Meritis, where Arthur Schopenhauer once enjoyed the view. On eight heritage buildings across Amsterdam citations from world literature will be projected in neon. They can only be seen through telescopes installed on top of the Felix Meritis. On the oval floor of the roof a starry sky will be reproduced using copper and wood.

children, badly. Day and night the printing presses rotated where once only music and polite conversation could be heard. A fire in 1932 severely damaged the front of the building. In 1948 the Netherlands Communist Party bought the building and a politically turbulent period commenced. The building was even beleaguered in 1956 after the Hungarian uprising. Windows were smashed and the atmosphere was explosive. In the late 1960s the building went back to its artistic roots with the Shaffy Theatre. The City of Amsterdam bought the building in 1981. By 1988 the theatre lost most of its financial support and the Foundation Felix Meritis took over the building. Joanneke

Lootsma, director of Amsterdam Summer University (now AMSU ed.) remembers that the mood was still hostile when the theatre was moving out and she, as part of the new Felix Meritis team, was moving in. Slowly but surely the organisation transformed the building â&#x20AC;&#x201C; literally through two major restorations - into an influential European House of Culture and Debate with international projects like GRAD in Belgrado. The old concert hall and the Shaffy Theatre have been recently restored. Felix Meritisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; director Linda Bouws describes the mission of the organisation as redefining the Enlightenment ideas. International networking, international debating and daring new projects have made the building once again an

important cultural centre in the heart of historic Amsterdam. With all these re-discovered and international merits, the future of Felix Meritis looks bright, and maybe even fortunate.

TREASURE

An Island on Dry Land UNESCO World Heritage: Schokland island

In 1825 a huge storm raged over the tiny island of Schokland. The small fishing community had been fortified with wooden poles, but the devastating strength of the wind ripped out most of them. Houses and people were swept out to sea. It was not the first time the dire population of this secluded isle was in trouble. “They started a campaign to collect money for the poor people of Schokland. Again, I should say, as it was not for the first time. The rest of the Netherlands was growing tired of rescuing the Schokkers, as the islanders were called. It started a discussion about the future of Schokland as a community.” William Vercraeye of Natuurlijk Schokland (Schokland, Naturally) shows us around one of the most fascinating natural and cultural treasures of the Netherlands, an island on dry land. It is a magnificent place, rising not even a few meters from the surrounding farmland. Once, less than 70 years ago, we would have seen nothing but sea from here. It is not difficult to imagine how close and threatening the water must have been and how fragile this closeknit and remote community must have felt.

“Then in 1854 there was a fire and an extremely cold winter. Children died. The government had to do something. A decision was reached to evacuate the island permanently. In 1859 the last Schokkers voluntarily moved to the mainland. They received a small compensation. Nobody was interested in welcoming the Schokkers in their midst. They had a very bad reputation. The islanders had a legendary talent for living each day as it came and worrying little about tomorrow. Ownership was difficult concept and cargoes would disappear from visiting ships. The houses on the island were levelled, as the government was afraid that the Schokkers would return after they had spent their money. They were lucky that Legebeeke, a local teacher, had bought a piece of land nearby on the mainland. He built small houses in which some of the Schokkers could live. But the island was not completely deserted after the evacuation: there was a skeleton crew of lighthouse keepers and emergency facilities. Life was hard and lonely. It would get to you after a while. People usually did not stay long.” We are strolling on what are essentially three man-made

mounds. It is a quiet, slightly melancholy place. Ruins of a 13th century church and the foundation of a lighthouse can be seen, the twittering of birds can be heard and a slight breeze can be felt, that blows over what were once medieval dikes. The previously treacherous Zuidersea was subdued by the Afsluitdijk in 1932 and in 1942 Schokland became an island on dry land in the southern part of the

TREASURE

North part of the island The restored church

newly created Noord Oostpolder. Engineer Gerrit van der Heide (1915-2006 ed.) was instrumental in saving the island from bulldozers. His research showed how important Schokland was as a treasure trove of history. Archaeological sites showed that humans lived here 10,000 years ago. Schokland was not an island then but a viable community of farmers. Only later, when flooding slowly changed the area into an island did fishing become important. In the heydays of the Hanze cities and the Dutch Republic, Schokland was a lucrative harbour. Later it was still successful as a fishing community and trading post, divided over three small villages: Catholic in the north and Protestant in the middle and south.

Prehistoric bear, interior church, tomb stone light house, old drawing of Schokland

“There was talk in 1942 of levelling the island so it would be easier to farm. But luckily people started to realise the unique natural and cultural value of Schokland. I came here as a child and I wanted to get involved in safeguarding it as an adult. The soil of the island began to dry out and it became harder and harder to farm Schokland commercially. Since I lived close by, I offered to cultivate the land on a non-profit basis in 1992.” Vercraeye’s eyes wander along

the endless horizon of the polder. “It is a wonderful, magical place. From 1995 we began to get people together to create something unique here. The government, the local authorities, the old Schokker families, the new Schokkers – we have about eight people who live on the island now - the farmers, Old Schokker boot the nature lovers: all worked as can be seen in towards its status as UNESCO the museum. World Heritage. Now we have it. We have been able to preserve the

natural beauty of the island and the surrounding wetlands. We restored some of the buildings, created a museum and reconstructed the original harbour on the north side of the island. We show people around from all over the world, re-telling the history of Schokland, to keep the memory alive. We are very proud of what we have accomplished by the collective effort of so many enthusiasts, professionals and volunteers. Schokland is now thriving more than ever.”

LIVING HERITAGE

Volunteers and professionals working together to restore the old harbour of the city of Hulst in the province of Zeeland.

European Year of Volunteering People who make a difference Why would anybody want to dig up a prehistoric village, standing in the rain, ankle-deep in mud on a Sunday? To get rich? To get famous? For most volunteers the answer to these questions is obvious. They are there because the work needs to be done. Of course it is great to work together to save or protect heritage, to do something meaningful and important, but that is almost beside the point. The point being that without volunteers the field of heritage would simply collapse. Volunteers show you around in a museum, organise an activity or simply make the tea. They work

day and sometimes night to help restore an old building or site or to run a heritage organisation. They take to the streets to campaign and never give up. In this European Year of Volunteering, on behalf of all its members across Europe, Europa Nostra wants to thank all tireless volunteers. Without you, we would not exist. Without you, hundreds of sites would not be here today. Without you, Europe would not be as beautiful as it is. And if you are not yet a volunteer, please become one today. There are sites and monuments, and

also heritage organisations, all over Europe that are desperately waiting for your help. The Netherlands has a longstanding tradition of voluntarism in the heritage field. A recent official survey showed that most Dutch volunteers feel appreciated in the work they do. In this Dutch special of our magazine we want to show our appreciation by inviting you to meet some Dutch volunteers, almost chosen at random. These are people who make, or have made, a difference.

Volunteers on the Rotterdam

*Students, scientists and volunteers combine talents in excavating burial mounds

Photo by Ruurd Kok

Charlotte Delfin-Van Mourik Broekman (19142010) was an amateur archaeologist who had been enchanted by prehistory since she was a young girl, growing up in an affluent and artistic family. For years she explored the Dutch forests and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;read the landscapeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; like very few others could. In the 1970s she found traces of burial mounds on the Elster hill, which still bear her name.

Klaas Krijnen, chairman of the Stichting Behoud Stoomschip Rotterdam (the Foundation for the safeguard of the steamship Rotterdam ed.). After a family cruise on the Rotterdam in the 1990s, Krijnen became fascinated by the ship and its history. For years he worked tirelessly to document, research and rediscover every aspect of the Rotterdam.

LIVING HERITAGE

Garrit Hendriks and Matthieu Zuiderwijk are both voluntary millers in the city of Schiedam. Garrit passed his official miller exam in 2004 and Matthieu more than thirty years ago. Matthieu worked for many years as a professional miller and still works every Sunday as a volunteer in Schiedam. Garrit works in provincial water management, but he has been an active volunteer in milling since he was fourteen.

Willem Vercraeye grew up next to what is left of the ancient island of Schokland. As a young boy he became fascinated by the strange history of this island, which was on dry land. As an adult he actively got involved as a farmer and volunteer. Willem and other volunteers were instrumental in saving Schokland from degradation and securing its place on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Wilma de Rijk worked for seventeen years as a volunteer on the Batavia shipyard in Lelystad, where the legendary Dutch galleon was reconstructed. After moving to the northern province of Drenthe to take care of her mother-inlaw, she immediately got involved with the Hunebed Centre as a volunteer.

Reiniera Wefers Bettink baroness Van Dorth tot Medler became a volunteer in the local church that had been built by her forefathers in the nearby village. The country church now houses the national museum of religious sculpture and together with many other volunteers from the village, they succeeded in keeping the church - one of the first by renowned architect Pierre Cuypers - from becoming derelict.

Gerard van Gelswijck has been active as a volunteer in Museum Shipyard ‘t Kromhout in Amsterdam for the last sixteen years, the last twelve as chairman. As a professional engineer, he has always loved the technical side of anything that rides, flies or floats. “The only difference between a man and a boy, is the size of his toys,” he laughs.

94 LIVING HERITAGE

Bond Heemschut A founding member ready for the next hundred years

Bond Heemschut is a winner of the 2011 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award in the category ‘Dedicated Service’

“I often have the feeling that local and national governments do not like the public to get involved in heritage matters. They think that participating citizens are a bit of a pain in the neck. We complicate their decisions, but we live in a democracy and they have to deal with it.” Karel Loeff, the energetic director of Bond Heemschut, talks about the role the organisation has played in the last hundred years. We sit on the first floor of their charming headquarters in the middle of historical Amsterdam. Loeff is passionate about getting

the general public involved in heritage. He works for instance as an expert in a heritage television programme. “Bond Heemschut is an organisation of activists and of course that does not always sit well with project developers and city planners. For a long time we were seen as the people who always said “no” to everything. But it is just as easy for us to give compliments as it is for us to complain. We have made a list of the ten most threatened buildings in the Netherlands. We have made that list not to complain about it, but to get people involved and do something about it. We think that more should be done for “younger” monuments, like the iconic buildings from after World

of cultural heritage can be instrumental for the renewal or urban areas and for the local economy.”

War II. If we are not aware of the value of recent heritage, it will be demolished before we even realize what is lost.” You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, is a line from the famous Joni Mitchell song and that is especially true for the buildings that were made shortly after World War II. It was an optimistic period when the Netherlands changed rapidly socially and economically. All of a sudden, the architecture became very modern and interesting. “The government has taken an important step by making a list of 100 buildings of the more recent period that have heritage value. We do not really like such lists

very much, as they automatically exclude many other potential monuments. What about number 101 and 102? We felt we needed to make some important additions to the governments’ choice and we did.” “We strongly advocate the reuse of buildings, even though demolition and new construction work is more profitable for the city and project developers,” Loeff continues with conviction. “We jump into action against the ease with which a carefully planned built environment can become a victim of neglect, short term interests and the urge to score points. Our attitude is often mistaken for a “hands off” approach, but the re-use

“Heemschut represents people. We do not own buildings and we do not restore buildings. We are active in the field of advocacy. We are doing the same as Europa Nostra is doing at the European level and that is not always easy to communicate to the general public. Bond Heemschut has 6,500 members, of which 150 are active volunteers. We are organised by province, each consisting of about ten expert volunteers. We ask them: what is worrying to you? What is happening in your area that we should know about? They are our eyes and ears on the ground and we help raise their concerns from the local to national level. We concentrate our efforts on the three different levels of decision-making, each with their own challenges and opportunities: local, regional and national. We are proud to be a founding member of Europa Nostra because we are convinced that some of our national issues should be brought to the international, European level. We are ready for the next hundred years.”

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Monumental Changes Monument care should be a pleasure and not a burden

“It was dreadful,” sighs Jan de Jong, ministerial project leader for the MoMo (Modernising Monument Care ed.). “Refinements of laws on every government level had grown into a jungle of regulations. We cut 30% in a first phase and we will be able to simplify even further.” We are sitting in the stylish offices of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in the centre of The Hague. The Netherlands are not alone in facing these issues. All across Europe the rules seems no longer to help heritage, they are instead obtrusive in developing new initiatives. The Dutch government consulted some fifty experts from the field and

conducted four elaborate studies to come up with new solutions. “The system had a bad reputation with the owners of heritage buildings. The costs and the administrative burdens were too high and the positive effects too few. We started to investigate the laws of other European countries to see what we could learn. In Ireland they have a system that when a heritage building becomes uninhabited, the building is secured against the elements. Instead of letting rain and wind damage the building while we are making plans for securing financing, they make sure it is kept safe. In Germany they look at the role of monuments from a larger perspective, as part of the historical value of a whole area. We had a lot of rules about

the monuments, but very little was said about the surroundings. Theoretically you could build a huge apartment building next to a medieval castle. Many buildings that are not listed monuments can still be valuable. It is more of a helicopter view. In Berlin we learned that it is important to make all the information you have accessible to the public. You can no longer hide behind the fact that owners do not know anything about it.” To an outsider it feels like the black box of heritage care is opened. Could it turn out to be a Pandora’s box? Some worry that

the new approach may endanger heritage buildings. De Jong is not worried. “The major change is the shift in attitude. We had created a system of mistrust, making sure that the owners of heritage buildings could not do anything bad to the building. But why would they? 99% of the owners want the best for their home. The good owners had to suffer because of a few bad apples. Now there is a mentality developing of cooperation and trust. We simplified the rules. You don’t need a permit for small changes which do not affect the monumental value. If you want to remove a kitchen from the

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The three pillars of change: Pillar 1: Take into account the cultural historical context when preparing and implementing infrastructure, land use planning and municipal zoning plans. Pillar 2: Stronger and simpler rules Pillar 3: Promote re-use and immediately protect buildings from degradation

Inside RCE, Ministry of OCW

1980s or upgrade your bathroom, it’s all right. We care less about what happens at the back of the building in a protected area if no one can see it. We used to believe in a system of subsidies, but now we think low cost loans from our National Restoration Fund are a much better solution. These kinds of revolving funds are very important. The original investment comes from the ministry and then it keeps itself going. The fund can relatively easily and cheaply attract new capital as a government related

fund. Owners can borrow that money against low interest rates. We are planning a new revolving fund especially for large-scale projects like industrial heritage sites that take years and years to develop. In the near future monument care will be more a pleasure and less of a burden,” De Jong concludes with a smile. Monument care is broadly supported in the Dutch society. Some 750.000 people are member of one of the circa 1000 historical societies in the Netherlands.

Every year the Dutch version of the European Heritage Days (Open Monumenten Dagen ed.) are visited by almost a million people. The Dutch sociologist Kees Schuijt uses the term civilised nationalism to describe this interest. It means that we can be proud of what we have and who we are, without thinking that this is better than what someone else has or is. “We are working for the 17 million heirs to Dutch heritage,” explains Cees van ‘t Veen, director of the Netherlands Cultural

99 Unique Dutch Financing Mechanism: The Nationaal Restauratiefonds (The National Fund for Restoration ed.) was established in 1985 to promote the preservation and restoration of historic buildings by providing financial facilities and services. The foundation is managed by ‘Rabo Vastgoedgroep’, one of the largest corporations in the Netherlands engaged in development, financing and management of property. The most important role of Nationaal Restauratiefonds is to grant low interest loans to the owners of listed buildings. Interest and installment (repayment) of low interest loans are coming back in the fund. In this way a so-called ‘Revolving fund’ is created. The approach of the Nationaal Restauratiefonds has been very successful. The message of Nationaal Restauratiefonds can be summarized as follows: • Do not use subsidies as the only financial resource for preservation and restoration of listed buildings. Replace subsidies in part by low interest loans. This creates a “Revolving Fund” and a long lasting ‘recycling of money’ • Solve financing problems for the owners of listed buildings in one stroke. This can only be done if the government and private enterprise provide for a range of facilities together. Make sure these facilities are easily accessible to the owners • Establish the fund as an independent foundation.

Heritage Agency (Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed ed.) in Amersfoort that plays an important role as a centre of knowledge in the practical applications of the new policy. “We used to focus on just the heritage buildings. We would collect them like you would collect stamps. Now we look at the context of the monuments, at the lines on the map, the importance of the building in a social context. Each monument has its own story to tell. Rules alone won’t get you where we need to go. When I first came to the agency, the organisation was not keeping with the times. We were housed in introvert buildings, closed to the outside world. Now we are in a new, open and transparent building which welcomes visitors.” “Citizens are more involved than ever before. This is what I call the democratisation of heritage.

People feel more emotionally attached to their cultural environment. The notion of my father used to work in this factory is very important. They get involved. The same is true for the owners of heritage monuments. In the past you had to try really hard to find any reference to heritage owners in government regulations. It was like they did not exist, even though most of our monuments are privately owned. The role of our agency is to inspire and facilitate, to connect and to broaden our appeal. We play a more vital role than before. We moved from a defensive position to a proactive attitude, a force for positive development.” The agency not only has a new building, it also has new responsibilities. Besides its central role in the field of archaeology, monuments and cultural landscapes, it is responsible for

managing the gargantuan National Collection of more than a 100.000 objects. “One of the biggest advantages we now have as an agency is that we combine tangible and intangible heritage. It makes it easier - to give you an example - to deal with the interiors of historic buildings. We want to be an authority not because of rules and power, but because of the knowledge we share. We are working on new practical brochures on the re-use of historical farms, churches and water towers. The “National Agenda for Heritage Re-use” is another important initiative. We look at the full historical environment in all its aspects. The democratisation of heritage means that more and more residents of the Netherlands actively take part in determining the future of the built environment. That’s real empowerment.”

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New Energy The resurrection of the Westergasfabriek In 2010 the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam won an European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award in the category ‘Conservation’. The Jury stated: “In a European context, the Westergasfabriek is a model for the implementation of new creative, social and cultural life into an industrial heritage site.”

BOEi (National Society for the Upkeep, Development and Exploitation of Industrial Heritage) is a not-for-profit organisation that is active in the field of re-use of industrial heritage, either as an investor, a project developer, in an advisory capacity or a combination of all three. BOEi aims to protect this unique heritage regardless of their official monument status. www.boei.nl

Restoration Fund gave MAB a loan of € 26.5 million, which was guaranteed by local government and for which the buildings served as security. In total the financial agreement between the city of Amsterdam and the National Restoration Fund amounted to € 31 million, the largest contribution in the history of this fund. The project is a strong example of private-public partnership.

The Westergasfabriek (Western Gas Factory ed.) in Amsterdam was the largest gas works in Europe when it was built in 1885. Originally, the gas was used for street lighting. The buildings were designed by the Amsterdambased architect Isaac Gosschalk (1838–1907). Gosschalk worked in the picturesque Dutch NeoRenaissance style he initiated. The Westergasfabriek ceased gas production in 1967. The site was heavily polluted, making it difficult to find a new purpose for the area. Since 1992, the buildings were used temporarily for creative and cultural activities.

Adventurous entrepreneurs and artists flocked to the site. But the creation of a fully-fledged ‘Westergasfabriek Culture Park’ was a long and difficult road. Not only a new landscape park had to be laid out, a large-scale clean-up operation was needed and the historic buildings had to be restored. Use was made of every possible subsidy and grant, but the local government did not want to bear the risks of investing in these heritage buildings on its own. Visionary property developer MAB was prepared to take the risk. In the end, the National

Now, the Westergasfabriek is providing a whole new kind of energy. The redeveloped factory site and the beautifully laid out park are an asset for the local area. The Westergasfabriek is one of many industrial areas that are being redeveloped across Europe. Some similar projects have been unsuccessful, but Westergas is seen as an international showcase of its kind. An extensive and comprehensive website was created about the history and transformation of the Westergasfabriek: www.project-westergasfabriek.nl

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‘Heritage is not a luxury, it is a necessity’ An interview with Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth

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We meet up with the Commissioner in Villa Empain, in a leafy area of Brussels. She is charming, elegant and erudite. She enjoys taking a few minutes out of her very busy schedule - a diary her aides call “supercharged” - to walk around the art exhibition Of women’s modesty and anger and the landscaped garden of the villa. A true European at heart, the politician of Cypriot origins has a warm and more than professional interest in cultural heritage. Coming from a country where questions of heritage are not always easy to unravel from questions of history and national identity, she has an innate understanding of the importance of cultural heritage in people’s everyday lives. Can you share with us a personal memory related to a cultural heritage site, which has an emotional significance for you? If I look back a few years, the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award was given to the Omeriye Baths in Nicosia. I was present at the time for the local ceremony and I remember thinking back to my childhood. Because, when I was a little child, we did not have a modern bath in our house. At least once a week I went with my grandmother, my mother and their friends to the Turkish baths. We would get our bath, our scrub, a massage and then sit down in the rest room and talk. It gave me a feeling of great nostalgia. The emotional value of heritage is quite clear - we identify with heritage sites - regional, national or European, we are connected to them, we can feel a sense of

pride in them. But you can look at ‘value’ at other levels too. If we start with the historical value: cultural heritage helps us understand where we come from. Europe’s cultural diversity is mirrored in the richness of its heritage. It is a link to our past - and to our future. We need to ensure that our heritage and our legacy can be handed on to future generations. The social value of heritage is also undeniable - heritage brings people together, sharing experiences and a sense of belonging. Then of course there is the economic value of our heritage sites. Europe’s tremendous and diverse cultural heritage is one of the attractions which make it the top tourist destination in the world. If we want to hold on to this position, we must invest in the upkeep of our heritage and more

generally in culture. We only have to look around us to see that both direct and indirect investments by past generations, from the great Greek and Roman civilisations onwards, are still delivering a vast return - centuries after they were made. Many of them are still generating jobs, contributing to our GDP and spurring our never ending quest for knowledge and innovation. The European heritage sector is an important part of our cultural and creative industries, which provide quality jobs for 8,5 million people in the European Union and contribute 4,5% to Europe’s GDP. Can you give us an example of this? Where do you want me to start? Perhaps with the location for this interview. We are here in the recently restored Villa Empain in Brussels, one of the jewels of European Art Deco architecture

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and a winner of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage, which we organise with Europa Nostra. European funding - through the Culture Programme and European Regional Development Fund - also helps to support the preservation of cultural heritage. Let me give you an example. We invested 30 million Euros in transforming the Zollverein mining complex in the Ruhr. Once a derelict site, it is now home to 170 enterprises - mostly in the creative sector - and has created 1000 new jobs. How do you view the different roles of European Union and the civil society movements in the field of heritage? The upkeep, protection, conservation and renovation of cultural heritage are primarily a national responsibility, but the European Union supports Member States in this work, as I have just mentioned. The European Commission also seeks to encourage cooperation between cultural operators in different EU countries, so that they can learn from each other and increase their international outreach. We also want to raise awareness of the European dimension of cultural heritage. Last year I proposed a new European Heritage Label which will highlight sites that symbolise European integration, ideals and history. I hope this will come into effect next year. Civil society has an important role to play in cultural heritage. At European level, civil society is the link between the European Institutions and the public. I am

committed to working with civil society organisations, as well as public and private stakeholders. Civil society also provides a bridge to the world of volunteering. Volunteers play an essential role in supporting and working for cultural heritage sites. 2011 is the European Year of Volunteering and I would like to salute the work that volunteers are doing in the area of cultural heritage. Volunteering is an expression of civic participation which strengthens European values such as solidarity and social cohesion. Volunteering also provides important learning opportunities, because involvement in voluntary activities can provide people with new skills and can even improve their employability. The European Commission works together with Europa Nostra on the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards. Why is the Commission supporting this prize? The European Commission has supported the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage since 2002, through the Culture programme. There is a lot of excellent work being undertaken in the field of cultural heritage in Europe - in conservation, research and awareness-raising - and I see a clear added value for the European level to contribute to this work. We want these projects to be even better known, to receive the attention they deserve and to inspire future projects. Europa Nostra is a natural partner for us because of its wealth of experience in this field. We share the same vision and the same goals. Prizes are very important, but we have to talk money too. How

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can the European Union support heritage? There is a lot of support available â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and I want to make that better known in the heritage sector and among the public. In terms of financial support, the EU Culture Programme has invested 26 million Euros in co-financing heritage projects in the past four years. I already mentioned the European Regional Development Fund, one of our so-called structural funds. Between 2007 and 2013, 3 billion Euros will be allocated for the protection and preservation of cultural heritage, 2.2 billion Euros for the development of cultural infrastructure, and 775 million Euros to support cultural services. Almost 6 billion Euros all together. We also support the European Capitals of Culture and the European Heritage Days initiative.

citizens of the cities themselves who are sometimes not aware of what is on their doorstep. How about future challenges?

The latter attracts more than 25 million people to monuments and buildings that open their doors to the public during a weekend in September. The European Capitals of Culture is one of our best-known â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;brandsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. As well as supporting regeneration and jobs, especially in tourism, the Capitals raise awareness of cultural heritage - first and foremost among the

The potential of cultural heritage in Europe is enormous. The same is true for the whole sector of cultural and creative industries. The Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth is now in the implementation phase. We face big global challenges: globalisation of markets, the digital shift, exiting the crisis. I believe cultural heritage can be part of the solution. By working together in a focused way to address the challenges facing our heritage and cultural sectors, we will not only be making Europe an even more beautiful place in which to live and work, but we will also be increasing our potential to create growth. Heritage is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

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Family Spirit The ins and outs of an old family business Bob de Kuyper, the former CEO of De Kuyper, established in 1695, shows us around the family business. 311 years ago Petrus Kuyper - a manufacturer of wooden barrels for the transportation of jenever and beer – married Anna Custers and started a dynasty. In 1769 De Kuyper started the distillation of beverages and has never stopped since. Bob de Kuyper is Petrus’ direct descendant and proud of his family tradition. We enter a listed building – a 19th century factory hall in Schiedam, the distillation capital of the Netherlands - with crates of fresh ginger from China, bags filled with juniper berries from Italy, oak barrels

filled with aged rum and strong smelling cacao and coffee beans. In comparison to the modern and fashionable entrance, this working area where the aromas for their world-renowned liqueurs are being made is surprisingly mundane and traditional. “For a long time jenever (also known as Dutch gin or Geneva ed.) was our core business but for the last 15 years we concentrate on liqueurs,” De

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Kuyper explains. “The Dutch have a long tradition as traders, but not as marketers. Whiskey and gin - an English copy of Dutch jenever – went global, but jenever never did. It is too late now, I fear.” “We moved here in 1911 and the jenever-lords of Schiedam loathed us. They did not even talk to my grandfather. It’s much better now.” I see a twinkle in his eye.

Bob de Kuyper is a tall, amiable man with a knowing smile and eyes that have seen the world. He shows us the hyper modern bar of the company, straight from the early 20th century into the 21st. Subdued and subtle lighting. Lots of dark purple. Square seats. Hundreds of bottles. “We do not target the general public; we target the barkeepers. The public usually doesn’t ask for a specific brand in cocktails, so we have to convince the people who mix the drinks to use our liqueurs. It gives us new ideas as well.”

“The past is obviously very important to us, but the future is even more essential. In the public eye, family businesses are seen as dusty and old fashioned. But family businesses survive and there are still many jenever companies in Schiedam that are family-owned, like Nolet, Jansen and Dirkzwager. They managed always to change course in time. The pressure of short-term success is lower and you can be more stubborn in your strategies. Old family businesses tend to have a

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international giants like Procter & Gamble, Mattel and Maxxium.“I noticed short-term gains became more important over the years. The focus on shareholder value and quarterly results increased the pressure on the executives. It looks like success, but what is the truth behind the numbers? Continuity, quality and careful positioning is more important.”

strong and conservative financial “When my father stepped down, I basis. Many companies suffered was 31 but I did not feel ready. I from the economic crisis with wild needed to learn and so a temporary investments and towering debts, CEO Frans Auer was appointed. but for us that is less of a problem.” He was an excellent coach. It worked very well for me and that is the reason why we are doing it “Another thing I think we did well again. I said from the beginning is making clear choices in the rules that I would step down before my and regulations of running the 60th birthday to work somewhere family business. Traditionally the else. To the surprise of many, I oldest son would inherit and buy did. I work now as a consultant out his brothers and sisters. The advising family companies. My way this was done was very fair son Marc is working for De and honest. Because we have Kuyper in the USA and the been doing it for more than company is run by Ben van 300 years - I was the 10th Doesburgh, who is not a generation to run the company - we know what family member. You have the pitfalls and snags to find the right person and we did.” are.” Van Doesburgh used to work for

De Kuyper is connected to Europa Nostra through the Hénokiens, the international association of family and bicentenary companies, and an associate organisation of Europa Nostra. Bob de Kuyper is on the board of the Hénokiens. The only other Dutch member of the organisation is the Van Eeghen Group (est. 1662), which specialises in the processing, trade and distribution of food ingredients.

Van Doesburgh became disenchanted by the short-term culture, he explains on the phone: “I think this kind of attitude is commercially counter productive if you look at the big picture. The long term focus at De Kuyper after all those years of increasing short term focus felt like a warm bath. I am staying until the 11th generation of De Kuyper is ready to take over. Marc de Kuyper has shown interest: he is currently working for us in Miami, positioning another heritage brand we acquired, Mandarine Napoléon, the favourite drink of Bonaparte. But there are other De Kuypers who are also keen to get involved. The family communicates a lot with one another. The agreements within the family are clear, as is the role of the family as shareholders. The supervisory board of three consists of one member of the De Kuyper family and two independents. They are responsible for the succession questions. It is all well balanced.”

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Saving Heritage with Pretty Earth

Text: Petra Nikkinen (left to right) Markus Bernoulli (Europa Nostra council member), Laura Lares (CEO Lapponia Jewelry), Poul Havgaard (artist) and Sneška QuaedvliegMihailović (SecretaryGeneral Europa Nostra)

In 2010 Europa Nostra entered a three year cooperation agreement with the Finnish jewelry company, Lapponia Jewelry. The lauch of this cooperation was launched during the gala dinner marking the 50th anniversary of Lapponia last October in Helsinki. Part of the sales proceeds (5% ed.) of the Pretty Earth necklace by Danish jewelry artist Poul Havgaard will be donated to help Europa Nostra in safeguarding Europe´s cultural and natural heritage. Havgaard himself is constantly inspired by the beauty of the world, but reminds us that if we want our

Lapponia stands for bold, original design with unique motifs in a sculptural style. Lapponia jewelry combines artistic design, choice of material, skillful handicraft and small series. From the very beginning, Lapponia’s mission has been to revolutionize the classic approach to jewelry design with its unique artistic jewelry inspired by Nordic nature. All its jewelry is manufactured in Finland.

grandchildren to enjoy it in the same way, we should take a better care of it. ”The Pretty Earth necklace is a tribute to the Earth and its wellbeing. My aim was to portray the beauty of the world, our pretty earth, in a form of a long necklace,” says Poul Havgaard. ”We all should be responsible for the world and for the way we are living in it. We need to take responsibility for it for our children, the children of our children, and so on.” Havgaard joined Lapponia Jewelry in 1971. Before his career as a jewelry designer he worked as a blacksmith and a painter, restoring old churches. In the beginning of his career he designed impressive belt buckles, which were used in Pierre Cardin´s fashion shows. His first jewelry collection for

Lapponia was 3-D SILVER, the name being a reference to the sculptured look of the jewelry and to the fact that all sides of the pieces looked good. “The basis of my jewelry lies in organic forms. An essential principle of my design is the creation of tension. It is achieved by letting two interesting forms communicate with each other as well as their surroundings,” says Havgaard. He is a designer who does not create solitary pieces. He designs entire jewelry collections, which can be easily combined with other elements. In addition to jewelry, Havgaard also creates sculptures. His work has been displayed in museums and galleries across the globe, including Berlin, London, Paris, Sydney and Tokyo.

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the art of expression pretty earth â&#x20AC;˘ design poul havgaard lapponia, through its pretty earth necklace, supports europa nostra in safeguarding europeÂ´s cultural and natural heritage. europa nostra. the voice of cultural heritage in europe.

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Success Story 25 years of Dutch Heritage Days It all started 25 years ago in the Spanish city of Granada during the Architectural Heritage Convention on October 3rd, 1985. Jack Lang, the then French Minister of Culture, suggested that a successful initiative launched in France the year before Les JournĂŠes Portes

Ouvertes, during which monuments normally closed to the public open their doors, should be extended to the rest of Europe. It was to become the most successful cultural heritage event in Europe. The Dutch quickly embraced the concept when they started Open Monumentendag (literally Open Monuments Day ed.). The Dutch Open Monumentendag inspired Heritage Days all across Europe. Under the leadership of Emil van Brederode in 1991 in Gouda, the first official opening of the European Heritage Days took place and the ground rules were agreed upon: each year during a weekend in

September, all over Europe, the European Heritage Days would enable the general public to visit monuments and sites which are usually closed to them. The European Heritage Days became an immediate success, the result of an unprecedented cooperation between governmental bodies, NGOs, associations, voluntary organisations and private owners of monuments across Europe. The efforts of the Open Monumentendag foundation and its many volunteers were instrumental in achieving such a success. This year, as many as 4,000 monuments and sites will participate in the Dutch edition of the European Heritage Days. 80 to 85 per cent of Dutch municipalities will join in and around 900,000 visitors are expected. It is one of the Netherlandsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; premier cultural events. Across Europe the Heritage Days attract millions of visitors each year. The theme of Open Monumentendag in 2011 is Re-use: new use for historic buildings. The 25th Open Monumentendag takes place on 10 & 11 September. This year it will not be just about conservation, but about new ideas on sustainable development and new uses and prospects for built heritage.

113 The Inktpot building (Ink Pot building ed.) in the city of Utrecht was once the head office of the Dutch rail road authorities. It is one of the monuments open to the public in September. A unique work of art in the form of a crashed UFO adorns the top of the building. Photo by Jan Lankveld

3 Questions on 25 years European Heritage Days to Jack Lang Had you expected the European Heritage Days to still be here, 25 years after you suggested it? Yes. I suggested it in Granada in 1985, when I was the French minister of Culture. It was a simple and sympathetic concept, inviting people to look behind the doors and windows of monuments, to use curiosity to learn about history and heritage. Not stuffy, not official, but an experience everybody could enjoy.

What is the most important thing it has to offer the Europe of today? The European Heritage Days are essential because they create an opportunity for you to talk with your friends and family about history, about how things used to be and how they might be in the future. Europe is a colourful canvas in which civilisations and cultures have had violent encounters throughout the centuries. Cultural heritage helps us understand the complexities of our history, but also shows the continuity. Some conflicts have been forgotten over time; in other cases memories are vivid and emotions raw. From personal experience, I am convinced that these constant negotiations with our past are vital to the European spirit as a whole. The future? I would like to pose the challenge to ask new and daring questions about cultural heritage and to use technical innovations where possible to reach and activate new groups and especially young people. If our cultural heritage is no longer relevant to new generations of Europeans, our monuments have no chance of survival. (Source: 25 years of European Heritage Days â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Council of Europe)

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The Castle and the Water

The Netherlands and the struggle against water: two things that are inseparably linked. Over the centuries, due to the position occupied by this ‘low country’, the Dutch have both benefited from the water and fought against it. The landscape still bears witness to this fact, with the windmills as world-famous landmarks behind the protecting dikes. In the Defence Line of Amsterdam (known in Dutch as the Stelling van Amsterdam), the Dutch used water as a weapon. A system of widespread defensive flooding, or inundations, was combined with 36 forts, two coastal forts, two fortresses, four batteries and two coastal batteries to create a cohesive defence structure. The greater part of the Defence Line was constructed by the Dutch War Department in the period 1881– 1914. The Muiderslot forms part of the Defence Line, which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

The Muiderslot is one of the best-known castles, and the oldest moated castle, in the Netherlands. The history of this site has been influenced by seven centuries of water defence, but it is a history which has remained almost invisible up to now. Thanks to funding from amongst others the BankGiro Lottery, the Muiderslot will soon be able to display this history once more. Ties Hilgers, the director of the Muiderslot, explains the background: “The Muiderslot is an important place of remembrance in the Netherlands, with a special significance in Dutch history. The castle is wellknown throughout the country and receives around 120,000 visitors each year, including many families with children.”

“The Muiderslot is also a superb embodiment of a major theme in Dutch history: the relationship between the Dutch people and the water that surrounds them, as reflected in seven centuries of water-based defence.” “The Muiderslot is able to unearth this hidden, but at the same time very current history of the castle through the construction of the Water Shield: a new monument that will be built on the old foundations of a 19th-century defence bunker. The generous and substantial donation by the BankGiro Lottery - 40% of the required total - has ensured that we will really be able to build the Water Shield. Water and its major role in this history of The Muiderslot will form an important element in the museum’s presentation to the public.” The Muiderslot is a place that invites visitors to learn, where learning and entertainment go hand in hand. This is also what the museum can do best: to illuminate the history of the castle itself by telling background stories and connecting past history and the present day, as well as the years to come. It presents cultural heritage as a process involving the past, present and future. Ties Hilgers continues: “Both the shape and the content of the Water Shield illustrate and evoke the defensive nature of this site, which means both using the water and struggling against it. The Muiderslot is situated at the mouth of the River Vecht, built to be – in every sense – a tower of strength on the coast of the former Zuidersea. The moat around the castle was the first concrete form of water defence. In the following centuries this was extended to

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Marieke van Schaik BankGiro Loterij

form a fortress with defensive installations, surrounded by water. From the end of the Middle Ages onwards, the Muiderslot Fortress occupied a unique position within the various defensive waterlines because it lay at the intersection of the New Dutch Waterline, listed as a Dutch National Monument, and the defensive structure for Amsterdam and Holland known as the Defence Line of Amsterdam, now a World Heritage Site.” “The Water Shield gives visitors a sense and an experience not only of the defensive but also of the threatening potential of water; water is portrayed as both a friend and an enemy, in the past, present and future. Visitors are challenged to form their own opinion: what does water mean to me? A friend, or an enemy? In this way the Water Shield can effectively increase awareness about the role of water in the heart and soul of the Netherlands and of the Dutch.”

Culture enriches us all The BankGiro Lottery is the Dutch cultural lottery and supports institutions such as

museums, windmills and heritage monuments. Last February the lottery announced its total contribution to culture in the Netherlands: almost 60 million Euros. This is money generated by the 750,000 participants in the lottery. The Muiderslot was one of the beneficiaries for these funds. Asked about what prompted the BankGiro Lottery to make a onetime donation of 400,000 Euros to the Muiderslot, the lottery’s managing director Marieke van Schaik answers: “The Muiderslot is a popular excursion destination that tells the story of the castle itself, the knights, the Count of Holland Floris V and the nobility. Now a new structure is planned which will further highlight the role of the Muiderslot in the Defence Line of Amsterdam: this will be the Water Shield, situated within the fortress walls but outside the castle, in a sunken location partly below ground level. This will allow the Muiderslot to achieve two goals. Firstly, the Water Shield tells visitors the story of the castle as a defensive work, both against the water itself

and also against human attackers. Secondly, it gives the Muiderslot organisation the opportunity to provide further services to the business community. In the past the castle was a place of encounter for the nobility, for dignitaries, for administrators and merchants, and now it aims to be a prime location for business partners from the Gooi en Vecht region and from Amsterdam.” “The lottery’s contribution ensures that the castle will be able to realise this dream: shortly after the donation by the lottery, the provincial government also issued its definitive funding approval. In this way the lottery was able to achieve the catalyst effect which we often hope for.”

A visit to the Muiderslot Just a stone’s throw from Amsterdam, you can go back 700 years in time to experience a genuine piece of Holland’s history. The imposing Muiderslot castle, part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam, is situated on the former Zuidersea in the watery Vecht region.

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As they enter the site of the castle, visitors are watched by no less than 48 embrasures in the walls. The Muiderslot was well-equipped to be an important defence point on the approaches to Amsterdam. The Muiderslot was built around 1285 by Count Floris V, an ally of the French court and later of the British king Edward I. In 1296 Floris was overpowered by his own noblemen while out hawking and was imprisoned in the castle. When the local populace rallied to free him, his captors fled with him from the castle and brutally murdered him at Muiderberg. Some 300 years later, the author Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft took up residence in the castle. This “Dutch Shakespeare” is the most famous inhabitant of the castle. In 1609 he was appointed as sheriff and bailiff of Muiden and the Gooiland region and occupied this post for almost 40 years until his death in 1647. Hooft is famous chiefly for his prose and poetry and for an impressive contemporary chronicle, De Nederlandsche Historiën or “Dutch Histories.”

The guided tour through the castle’s Golden Era, featuring the imposing Knights’ Hall, the towers and the dungeon, the film in the Castle Chapel and of course the Armoury with its fine suits of armour, is a must-do for young and old alike. There is also an interactive discovery trail for children that takes in a large part of the castle. The superb herb and vegetable gardens exude the atmosphere of the Dutch Renaissance. Or one can stroll along the fortress walls which offer a fantastic view of the watery surroundings and the Pampus fortified island. Falconry is inseparably associated with Floris V and the Muiderslot. During the summer months the Castle Falconer presents his birds of prey on the theatre bastion.

10 billion Euros could be raised… The BankGiro Lottery is the charity lottery in the Netherlands for cultural heritage that donates 50% of every lottery ticket to museums, monuments and other cultural institutions. In 2010, 120

million Euros was raised of which 60 million was distributed among 57 cultural organisations. This year the Lottery celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Ties Hilgers Muiderslot

The BankGiro Lottery took the initiative, together with other private charity lotteries, to establish the Association of Charity Lotteries in the EU (ACLEU) to promote this successful private fundraising tool for the benefit of cultural heritage organisations as well as for other NGOs in every EU Member State. Over 10 billion Euros per year could be raised if all 27 Member States would allow private charity lotteries on a national scale, next to existing state lotteries. This is the reason why ACLEU is advocating these charity lotteries to national and European policy makers. For the third year in a row ACLEU is proud to be the main private sector partner of the Award giving ceremony for the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/ Europa Nostra Awards which is taking place on 10 June at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

More information: http://whc.unesco. org/en/list/759 http://muiderslot.nl/ english http://www. bankgiroloterij.nl http://www.acleu.eu

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Narratives 3.0 Designer Gilian Schrofer turns virtual places into interactive spaces.

By Enrica Flores d’Arcais, European Cultural Foundation

Everyday every European experiences and engages with culture and heritage in the spaces and places that surround them. But we rarely connect with them or consider them as something intrinsically ‘European’. Perhaps it’s because we are too distracted with our lives to go beyond the surface. Or perhaps we are merely not aware of how something connects with the ideas and history it embodies. Now however, with the continual rise of mobile technologies, we have unprecedented access to the stories behind the façades, as well as the possibility for adding our own meanings, understandings

and personal expression to the mix. Amsterdam has a wealth of artists, designers and creative innovators who have been inventing new ways for people to connect with their surroundings and, in turn, with others. Since helping develop Amsterdam 3.0 in 2008, designer Gilian Schrofer has been at the forefront of these developments as co-founder, partner and creative director of multidisciplinary design company Concern. He is a fervent advocate of making information free, accessible and interactive.

Left page Zuiderkerk Cave Gilian Schrofer

Schrofer established himself as a multi-disciplinarian early in life. After working as a cook, pastry chef and furniture-maker, he co-founded the design bureau Concrete, which received much international acclaim for its interiors for De Lairesse pharmacy (Amsterdam), Laundry Industry Fashion (Amsterdam, London and Berlin), Supper-club (Amsterdam and Rome) and the Australian Home-made shops. Since founding a new bureau Concern in 2005, Schrofer has worked with such clients as Hotel de l’Europe, Lost Boys, the Dutch Cultural Broadcasting Fund (STIVO), the Must See cinema chain and Amsterdam University College. He is currently busy designing the interiors of the four refreshment areas of Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, which is set to re-open in 2012. Schrofer is driven by a passion for creating spaces that improve how people live, work, eat, heal and function. That’s why Concern focuses on areas that make a difference: healthcare, education, public spaces, exhibitions and museums. He is also an educator who wants to teach and learn from younger people. Indeed, it’s all about the process, and if it was up to him, “a designer should always smell of sawdust.” Developed as a network organisation, Concern brings together different disciplines that can work together in inspiring ways. While the group may change from project to project, they are always bound by a common method of, as Schrofer describes it, “digging deep into a client’s DNA.” Concern dug deep into their home town’s DNA when they were asked

Gilian Schrofer by Paul De Bruin

The European Cultural Foundation (ECF) and Europa Nostra, two European organizations based in the Netherlands, have a shared vision for Europe - one that bridges our different pasts with the future through culture and heritage. We look forward to joining forces and identifying collaborative projects to help us realise this vision. For almost six decades the mission of ECF has been founded on the belief that culture is a key building block of Europe and that culture is invaluable in helping us live together as Europeans. Europa Nostra and ECF are particularly interested in the potential of contemporary cultural expression and new technologies to connect Europeans of all ages to past and future narratives for Europe and to the rich environment that surrounds us. People can now not only connect with culture and heritage in unprecedented ways, they can also participate in and share their experiences, from wherever they are, bringing an increased understanding of and engagement with Europe.

to help develop Amsterdam 3.0 for the IT World Congress 2008. As Schrofer describes it, “Amsterdam wanted to make a real statement on a level it has not made since its 17th century Golden Age. It wanted to be the first to develop an advanced information centre about the city. The intention was to make the UNESCO heritage part of the city attractive and accessible in a virtual way for tourists, young people and inhabitants of Amsterdam. We came up with a kind of cave from where you could virtually fly over Amsterdam in 3-D.” The resulting system is still being used as part of a search machine for the city’s new residential architecture projects. People looking for new homes can not only check for availability and living conditions but also directly interact with their future neighbours. According to Schrofer, there are still many challenges to opening up data to the masses and letting everyone

do their thing. “Everything is out in the open. So you already have routeplanner companies like TomTom which are sharing information with the Dutch police. We are really at the beginning with this. But being scared will not achieve anything. Organisations with important virtual data should be much more open in sharing their data. We should dare to be much more digital.” Schrofer believes that the age of one-way information is over. It’s no longer about people accessing data; now it is about people sharing their own stories and experiences related to that data. “We really should not try to control this user-generated content too much,” says Schrofer. “It’s very interesting to see what input you receive if you just open yourself up to it.” The question now is how we can better use these technologies in opening up Europeans up to the idea of Europe.

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Postcard from Brussels

Dear Reader, This year again, I wish to share some of my impressions about our Brussels related activities. A lot has happened since June 2010 and one can say that Europa Nostra is gradually but steadily expanding its “territory” and making its “voice” heard in the European capital. 1 July 2010 – Just after our Istanbul Congress, Belgium takes over the EU Presidency until the end of December; after Spain and before Hungary. A great opportunity for our Brussels office, which opened only 4 months earlier! Numerous meetings are organised in Brussels with relation to culture and we try to be present at all of them: a colloquium on creativity, culture and innovation; the contribution of culture in combating poverty and social exclusion (theme of the European Year 2010); a meeting of the experts of the European Heritage Label; and last but not least the Bruges Conference on 9 December: “Cultural Heritage: a Resource for Europe - the Benefits of Interaction.” We gladly give our advice to the Flemish Government to prepare the Conference and I had the pleasure to be one of the four panelists in the closing round-table discussion. At the end of the day, the “Declaration of Bruges” is officially presented by the Belgian Presidency. It seeks

to ensure that cultural heritage is better incorporated in the general policy of the EU and suggests the setting up of a European platform, which will bring together all heritage stakeholders, both public and private. We are following this initiative closely! 15 September 2010 – Following the adoption in June of the Europe 2020 Strategy for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth for the coming decade, the European Commission, DG Education & Culture launches the public consultation on a future EU Culture Programme which will replace the current one from 2014 onwards. Naturally, we take active part in all phases of the consultation and meet regularly our colleagues of the DG EAC and other DGs concerned to convey our views. September 2010 – The “greening” of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - the most complex and the most expensive of all EU policies - is a hot topic in Brussels. Europa Nostra seeks to influence this debate through a wide dissemination of its position paper, drafted jointly with other European organizations: “Europe’s living landscapes: cultural heritage as a force for rural development.” 30 November 2010 – We organise a public hearing on “Roşia Montană in peril” in collaboration

with our Romanian Member Organisation Pro Patrimonio and Mrs Daciana Sarbu, member of the European Parliament. This is the occasion to hear the arguments from different stakeholders on this complex case of heritage in danger where a Canadian-based mining company plans to exploit what would become Europe’s largest open-cast gold mine at Roşia Montană in Transylvania (Romania) with far-reaching consequences on cultural and natural heritage in the wider area. A few months later, Europa Nostra wrote to the Romanian Government urging it to take responsibility and ensure the longterm sustainable development of the Roşia Montană area, including a highest level of protection of its environment and of its cultural heritage. March 2011 – One year after the opening of our Brussels office, its “energizing” effect is indeed very noticeable: we are invited to present our views to an ever growing number of meetings and debates. On March 24th, I had the opportunity to present the views of Europa Nostra at an important conference on “Increasing Europe’s competitiveness through cultural heritage research.” The conference was organised by the EU-project “NET-Heritage” in cooperation with EC’s DG Research and Innovation (see photo). We look forward to our future cooperation with NETHeritage in this important field of EU policy and funding. Cordially yours,

Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra

EUROPA NOSTRA The Voice of Cultural Heritage in Europe OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE In a globalised world, cultural heritage is vital to a better understanding and a deeper respect between Europe’s citizens. It brings us closer together, regardless of our cultural, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and across national and linguistic boundaries. Cultural heritage builds bridges between past, present and future generations, and brings beauty, enchantment and significance to our everyday life. YOUR EUROPEAN VOICE Whether you care for your cultural heritage at local, regional or national level, you will have discovered that many questions transcend borders and affect all Europeans. These questions require a European response: Europa Nostra is the voice of European civil society caring for cultural heritage. Europa Nostra is your voice in Europe. YOUR NETWORK In over 45 years Europa Nostra has built a network of more than 400 member and associate organisations from all over Europe. They represent millions of citizens supporting or working for heritage as volunteers and professionals. As a member of this growing network, you can share your ideas and exchange best practices with European colleagues. You can contribute to and benefit from our website, magazines, heritage tours and meetings. YOUR LOBBY Join us in making cultural heritage a European priority. Together we will promote sustainable development and quality standards in urban and rural planning. Together we will safeguard our cities, our countryside and our historical, architectural and archaeological sites. Together, we will demonstrate that our cultural heritage is a key asset to Europe’s society and economy, and is essential to our identity and quality of life. Europa Nostra is your connection to the European Union, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. YOUR SUCCESS Each year, we reward the best of cultural heritage achievements. Through our European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, we celebrate excellence and dedication by architects, craftsmen, volunteers, schools, local communities, heritage owners and media. Through the power of their example we stimulate creativity and innovation. Submit your project and share your success. YOUR CONCERN Europa Nostra campaigns against the many threats to Europe’s cultural heritage. When monuments or sites are in danger by uncontrolled development, environmental change, neglect or conflict, we raise our voice. Cooperation and solidarity between heritage organisations and activists are vital to ensure that witnesses of our past are here to enjoy today and in the future. YOUR MOVEMENT We invite all committed to cultural heritage to join: heritage professionals and volunteers; associations, networks and federations; foundations; public authorities and agencies; museums, schools and universities; corporations and businesses. Support us in taking care of our shared history and the unity in diversity of our common culture. EUROPANOSTRA.ORG

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Become a Member of Europa Nostra Make Cultural Heritage a European Priority

GIVE US A CALL, SEND US AN EMAIL OR FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW

EUROPA NOSTRA The Voice of Cultural Heritage in Europe International Secretariat Lange Voorhout 35 NL - 2514 EC The Hague

Europa Nostra is a non-profit organisation, which is financially supported by membership fees and donations, by the European Commission and other public bodies, and by private sponsors. Europa Nostra is a registered charity. Donations may be tax deductible.

T +31 (0) 70 302 40 50 F +31 (0) 70 361 78 65 E info@europanostra.org MEMBER ORGANISATION Are you representing a non profit organisation which supports the aims and activities of Europa Nostra, wholly or in part? You are very welcome to join as a member*. Annual Fee € 200 minimum ASSOCIATE ORGANISATION Are you representing a public organisation like, for instance, educational institutions, public authorities, tourism organisations, foundations, museums and professional organisations, which supports the aims of Europa Nostra? Please join us as an associate organisation.**

Commercial enterprises are welcome to become a Corporate Friend: Annual Fee €1500 minimum or Corporate Supporter: Annual Fee € 10,000 minimum INDIVIDUAL MEMBER If you personally want to support Europa Nostra’s aims and activities, you are invited to become an individual member of Europa Nostra. You can take part and vote at the General Assembly and also participate in the Congress and other public events or Heritage Tours. You will be kept regularly informed on heritage matters through Europa Nostra’s website and publications.

Annual Fee € 200 minimum

Annual Fees Junior Member (under 30 years)

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*The application is submitted to the Board for approval. **Associate Organisations are invited to take part in Europa Nostra activities, including the General Assembly (without voting rights)

CONTACT FORM Yes, I want to become a member and make cultural heritage a European priority... Name/Organisation: Address: Email:

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My Legacy My late husband Hans de Koster was deeply committed to Europe and to Europe’s cultural heritage. He became president of Europa Nostra in 1984 and ever since our lives – as a family – have been dedicated to this worthy cause. The Hans de Koster Fund – which was set up in 1992 as a tribute to my husband when he retired as president – continues to enable members and partners from Central and Eastern Europe to take part in Europa Nostra’s activities. Over a period of two decades this fund has effectively helped to connect West and East within our ever-growing pan-European heritage movement. I am very proud of this achievement just as Hans would have been very proud of it! Heritage belongs to all of us, young and old, irrespective of one’s ethnic, cultural or religious background. I strongly believe that cultural heritage binds us all together as human beings – across time and across borders. This is an inclusive and positive message which is close to my heart. Therefore I gladly continue to contribute as a full-time volunteer and as a Benefector to this remarkable European organisation. This is my legacy to my late husband and to my family and also to Europa Nostra. Dineke de Koster

Should you wish to follow this powerful example and create and leave your own legacy, please contact Europa Nostra’s Secretary General, Mrs Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović (T: +31.70.302.40.56./57 or E: sqm@europanostra.org).

The Experience of a Lifetime

Europa Nostra Heritage Tours Contact Barbara Zander, Heritage Tours Co-ordinator Tel: +31 70 302 40 54 bz@europanostra.org

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EUROPEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE REVIEW SUMMER 2011

THE WINDS OF CHANGE BIG STONES AND SMALL KIDS THE ART OF REJUVENATION CASTLES, WATER TOWERS AND BIG MACHINES WITH PLﾃ，IDO DOMINGO, ANDROULLA VASSILIOU

ISSN: 1871-417X

VINCENT VAN GOGH AND MANY MORE

DUTCH SPECIAL