Description
The project aims to preserve Czech cultural heritage and to stimulate economic development in Tanvald area through (cultural) tourism by creation of a unique living interactive museum in former building of a heating plant in a railway station Kořenov on the railway track Tanvald – Desná – Kořenov – Harrachov in the northern part of the Czech Republic. Thanks to the project the almost destroyed building of the heating plant will be reconstructed according to its original looks and new museum will come into being in the newly reconstructed space with thematic collections of historical railway cars. Among others, the exhibition will present cogwheel diesel engines, regular diesel engines and motorcars from 1960s. The museum will be opened for broad group of visitors, ranging from children, youth and families to specific interest groups. The living museum will let visitors see the cars inside, show how to care for them and it will present their technical excellence. The cars will be mobile and it´ll be possible to ride in them during promotional events or nostalgic rides. The living museum will enable a safe and dignified deposit of movable cultural heritage, i.e. of historical cars listed as cultural heritage, which deserve proper care to be preserved for future generations. Thanks to the shared experience with the long term project partner – the Norwegian Railway Museum Steam Railway, the partnership will be promoted and strengthened for the future. The partners will share experience mostly during the process of creation of the museum collection, deposition of the cars, protection measures. The partner will also cooperate on promotional and PR activities
Summary of project results
The former "Roundhouse" (a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives) and the locomotive shed owned by the project promoter - The railway company Tanvald - was badly neglected, in a critical condition and on the edge of total collapse. The volunteers of The railway company Tanvald have been restoring historical trains and railway cars for a unique rack railway between Tanvald and Kořenov / Harrachov for many years. However, due to devastated roundhouse and a locomotive shed the historical train had to be stationed in the open air facing a risk of corrosion, vandalism and loss of value. The objective of the project was to restore the building of cultural heritage value and transforming the restored building to the building used for museum-type collections. The outcome of the project was reconstruction of the former "Roundhouse" and a locomotive shed and to create interactive living railway museum with collection of historical rolling stocks nad other railway artefacts. Achieved: the former "Roundhouse" and a locomotive shed were totally reconstructed, historical locomotives and railway cars are deposited within the building and together with railway artefacts and picture presentations related to the local rack railway they create the complex living railway museum preserving a rich culture heritage for wide target groups (children, young, families with children, adults, specific in-groups of visitors). Major outputs delivered: - reconstructed former "Roundhouse" and a locomotive shed of cultural heritage value - collection of historical rolling stocks situated in the renovated building of the "Roundhouse" and the locomotive shed and complex living railway museum created - promotion of the living railway museum and elaborated marketing strategy for the museum The main changes that occurred for the main beneficiaries of the project are a) new possibility to place historically protected rolling stocks restored by volunteers of the project promoter in the reconstructed building of cultural heritage value - roundhouse and the locomotive shed and b) creating the new railway museum that let a visitor (target group) insight into a rolling stock and learn how to care about it, offers the possibility of admiring technical perfection of these machines and also bids the opportunity for the target group to figuratively attend the restoring of the locomotives.
Summary of bilateral results
Partner of the project was Norwegian volunteer organization Norsk Jernbaneklubb Museet Gamble Vossebanen, which has 30 years’ experience with restoration of historical trains and their operation through the historic train rides on exhibition railway (part of the original railway from Oslo to Bergen). The organization also services and operates its own museum and three original railway stations. The project promoter - The railway company Tanvald - established cooperation with Norsk Jernbaneklubb Museet Gamble Vossebanen already in 2012 (the first partnership contract was signed in October 2012). Since then the partnership has been improved by Tanvald Railway association visit to its partner in Norway in 2013, by a partnership event (‘‘Norwegian day‘‘) in August 2014 during a historic train rides in Kořenov and by joint implementation of the project in 2015-2016 (incl. bilateral project under the bilateral fund at programme level Measure B). Further cooperation will continue after the project is completed. The partnership within the project was mainly focused on exchange of know-how and sharing best practices in terms of creating and operating of the new interactive living railway museum with collection of historical rolling stocks nad other railway artefacts and development of marketing and communication strategy for this new museum. The collaboration was based on several meetings of representatives of both organizations in the Czech Republic and Norway. In February 2016 Norwegian partners visited the roundhouse and the locomotive shed under reconstruction, discussed a design of the new museum exposition and chose suitable artefacts related to rack railway for the best authenticity of the museum. Czech representatives visited Bergen in May 2016 in order to draw inspiration from their Norwegian partner regarding way of operating museum railway, possibilities and proper use of old railway station as museum buildings and organizing supporting a promotion events. The last meeting of the project partners took place in the Czech Republic at the occasion of the opening ceremony of the reconstructed roundhouse and the locomotive shed and the new railway museum. During all above mentioned visits and by means of mail communication the Norwegian partner gave essential counsel to the Czech partner in connection with developing the new marketing strategy and communication plan towards visitors (target group).