More information
Description
The project will restore and revitalise an important part of the Red Monastery, make it accessible for the general public, carry out educational activities and generate cultural tourism.
The project shall include, inter alia, the following activities:
The complete revitalisation of two buildings of the Red Monastery, including the monastery school as an education and training centre, a Cyprian pharmacy as a centre for renewal of traditional folk medicine and a space for meditation and digital detox in the tradition of the Monastery;
The development and implementation of an entrepreneurship strategy in consultation with the local community;
Training for professionals on cultural heritage management and protection;
Presentations/workshops for visitors on traditional craft, including the historical manufacturing of local products such as medicinal herbs, honey and mead;
The creation of at least three exhibitions on the history of the Monastery and cultural heritage;
The exchange of experience and good practices with the donor project partners.
Summary of project results
The aim of the project was to make the Red Monastery complex more attractive for visitors in the form and in the content of an experiential visit to the cultural-historical monument. The challenge of the project was to create conditions for continuing education activities in the field of monument protection across the Slovakia, not only the monument protection and history of the Monastery . The goal of the project was to provide new offer for the visitor - offer which would be based on an effort to revive particular parts of the monks'' former life and at the same time to create an environment that makes the area of the Monastery complex attractive not only for experts and professionals in the monument protection but also for the general public. The idea was to develop and connect "the school in nature" with the museum and at the same time made this large historic site functional so that the educational activities of the Monument Board headquarter as well as its Branch Offices could take place there.
The project had a goal of "rebirth" of some of the original functions of the Monastery: production of beer and mead in the monastery brewery and mead fermenter, production of medicinal plant products in Cyprián''s pharmacy and manufactory, educational activities for children and whole families (Monastery School). The creation of a space for deeper and longer introspection and meditation without significant interventions of civilization wanted to be a starting point for the so-called Digital detox camp and experience the monastic life.
A permanent educational center of the Monument Board Office and an innovative and visitor-attractive museum exposition consist of three parts : History of the Red Monastery, Monks'' Order in Slovakia and History of monument care in the Slovak Republic.
The project "Red Monastery - Reborn" had two main objectives:
- to restore the selected parts of the Red Monastery complex and make them more attractive for cultural tourism - increase its potential for cultural tourism,
- to create conditions for wide range of the educational activities in the area of cultural heritage protection and history of the Red Monastery complex.
The first activity of the project was the restoration of the premises of Red Monastery complex which were used in the 18th century by the theological institute for the schooling of the novices before their induction into the Monastery Order. The restored Monastery school is providing the premises for the trainings in traditional crafts - through the creative workshops focused on traditional products‘ manufacture such as herbal products, beer or mead. The workshops are offered to the tourist and visitors, focused on the families with children or the specific target groups. The Monastery school is also providing premises for the training centre of the Monuments Board - tranings and seminars for the employees of public administration whose tasks are related to the management and protection of cultural heritage.
One part of the Monastery complex which was restored within the project provides premises as the space for the healing, meditative and relaxing stay, very similar to the original ascetic way of life of the priests - the spiritual fathers. Especially in the off-season, the stay will allow for experiencing the introspection and self-awareness for an unlimited period of time.
The restoration of the Cyprian pharmacy and manufactory includes, in particular, the cultivation, collection and processing of medicinal herbs and their use for the production of herbal products. These processes are taking place not only in the Monastery (cultivation of medicinal plants, their processing) but they are connected to the inhabitants of the municipalities of the subregion Zamagurie and Pieniny and their active involvement in the renewal of folk (traditional) medicine. The specific activities included restoration of relevant premises and the establishment of the Cyprian pharmacy as a manufacture, warehouse and exhibition.
The further activity of the project was the establishment of a new form of the exhibition, which resents the history of the monastery, as well as the history of cultural heritage protection closer to the visitor. New attractive and multimedia expositions with usage of new presentation technologies were established. The main exhibition presented the history of the Red Monastery - the main exposition explaining the history of the Monastery complex and its surroundings. Also the exhibition of the history of monument protection in Slovakia - offering to learn basic facts and personalities in the field of monument protection was established. Museum expositions related to the other restored and newly-appointed premises that document the former spiritual and secular life of the Monastery.
The project included the investment elements which have presented the crutial and necessary prerequisites for other elements of the projects. The investment part of the project included a complex restoration of the selected parts of the Monastery (objects E & F).
Consequently, the beer and mead production operations, Cyprián''s manufactory, as well as Cyprian''s pharmacy were established. The main museum store open during the main tourist season (June - September) as well as the ticket office with the sale of Monastery products outside the main season for the tourists and visitors were established. The Monastery School was completed and equipped and it provides a multifunctional space for workshops and seminars for the public and professionals within the field of monument care as well as a section for children and families. Detox Camp - 5 monastic rooms and adjacent areas were renovated and equipped for a longer, meditative-relaxation stay. The new exhibition, opened in the summer of 2023, was supplemented with a line for the blind and visually impaired visitors. The project included an element of 3 sets of training for professionals in the area of management and protection of cultural heritage, as well as for the general public in the field of tradition crafts, such as the manufacture of products from medicinal herbs, honey and brewing beer. The material and supplies for the production of beer, herbal products, and the Monastery School were purchased, which enabled their trial operations. A survey of the sensory features of the produced beer was conducted, which led to the fine-tuning of its recipe. The Final conference of the project was organized, local representatives of civic society and bussines were invited.
Summary of bilateral results
In addition to creating institutional ties with natural partners in the field of protection and management of cultural heritage, the promoter''s more than four-year cooperation with the DPPs brought an exchange of experiences with advocacy in the field of cultural monuments management. The DPPs really helped with the setting up of some specific activities of the project - they provided Norwegian experience in the creation and distribution of local products, which are provided to visitors as an additional service when visiting the museum and the site of the monastery complex as such.