Zprávy památkové péče 2014, 74(3):175-183

The Venice Charter and the care of our historic cities

Karel Kibic

The Venice Charter (1964) emphasized that heritage properties are not just individual buildings, but are also entire settlement units - historic cities. Czechoslovak monument care preceded the Charter in 1950 by declaring 30 town cores as heritage reservations, but the Charter also included less pronounced ("modest") buildings into the definition of heritage properties as well as other valuable towns. This became a mainstay in the proposal of the protection of other towns in this country through heritage zones, based on a categorization of towns conducted in 1973 by the author of the post. The paper focuses on the conservation of district towns with a historical core including older settlements as well (Třebíč, Havlíčkův Brod) and emphasizes the principle that the conservation protection of a town requires full respect for its valuable buildings.
This paper is dedicated to the memory of Doc. Václav Mencl, who in 1950 contributed to the declaration of towns as heritage reservations, has essential significance in the research of our historic architecture and towns, and is the author of guidelines for the documentation of objects for which monument protection is being abandoned.

Keywords: Venice Charter, historic towns, urban heritage reservation, urban heritage zones, Václav Mencl

Published: September 1, 2014  Show citation