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Description
The cultural monument iron smelter Barbora is the most important and complete technical monument of the older era of blast furnace pig iron production in the Bohemian lands, but also in Europe, with origin in 1805. It was in operation for over sixty years until modern metallurgy come around. The project will save the cultural monument and return it to its original state and into the life of Jince Township thanks to the reconstruction of the destroyed buildings.
We will save the smelter Barbora by revitalization and added construction of the original object, indoor displays and outdoor displays preparation. Within the object reconstruction, we will repair the exterior and interior plasters, preserve the furnace body and restore the floors. The window and door panels will be preserved or replaced in their original style. As for the object renovation, we plan to build the building according to the original plans and according to National Heritage Institute recommendations. We will connect this building with the reconstructed object in order to preserve the value of the cultural monument. We will create space for exhibitions and Jince community meetings within added building.
In total, we will create 4 indoor displays. The first display will be interactive and will focus on “Life in iron smelter Barbora” (animation and 3D reality). The second is dedicated to "new Paganini" Josef Slavík (born in Jince) and the third is dedicated to the Geopark Barrandien and paleontological findings in Jince. The last display concerns Brdy nature. We will organize workshops, cultural events and experience activities for Jince residents or Brdy visitors.
Two project partners participate in the project: Ecological Centre Orlov o.p.s.(CZ) and Fjellugla Competence Ltd.(Norway). The Norwegian partner will provide guidance in cultural tourism, local community development, establishing new jobs, educating young people and their future and other subjects.
Summary of project results
The project was necessary to save a cultural and technical monument - the Barbora smelter- the last Walloon furnace in Europe, which was founded in the beginning of 19th century. This monument´s historical and cultural value is incalculable. The project succeeded in saving this building, but also in integrating the smelter into everyday life of the local community.
The main project activity was the revitalization of the Barbora smelter. The construction work was carried out for about 2 years under the supervision of an architect and conservationists. As part of the revitalisation, the smelter building itself was restored and a second building was added, which is used as a community centre. In the renovated premises of the main building, the exhibitions of the metallurgy, the Barrandien geopark, the nature of the Brdy Protected Landscape Area and the exhibition of the Czech Paganini J. Slavik were placed, and the annexed building is used as a hall, classroom and bistro facilities. In the course of the project we organized several cultural events (concerts, talks, Antonín Dvořák festival, etc.). There were also workshops on the restoration of cultural monuments and old crafts. Publicity was ensured mainly through the website and FB page, all complemented by publicity events and interviews in newspapers, radio or web articles.
The project purpose was to strengthen the management of cultural heritage through the preservation of the cultural monument Barbora smelter and its accessibility to the public. This purpose was fulfilled through the completed revitalization and opening to public. The management of the cultural heritage was thus strengthened. The visitors number within the project was 2 500 (cultural actions and days of open door). The number of cultural activities was 18 in the project. The project contributed to the programme''s objective of strengthening social and economic development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management by revitalising the Barbora smleter and making it accessible to public. The smelter transformation into a community centre has contributed greatly to the objective of the programme (increasing the number of visitors to the region).
Summary of bilateral results
The project was designed so that the Norwegian partner would lead workshops and participate in public education through seminars. Unfortunately, due to unspecified reasons, cooperation with the partner was more difficult in the second half of the project. Nevertheless, we managed to carry out one study trip to Norway and representatives of the Norwegian partner made several trips to the Czech Republic and led several worksops in Barbora smleter.