Activities:
>Rough works on the fotress and a well (clearing up waste material)
>Removing vegetation from the walls and around the fortress
>Lectures on stone architecture and fortification architecture
>Excursions (Kotor, Gornji Stoliv, Herceg Novi….)
- Gunilla Ekman, Svenska föreningen för byggnadsvard
- Tatjana Rajic, EXPEDITIO
About the project
During the Europa Nostra Youth Heritage Forum which was held in Piran, Slovenia, two members of the NGO EXPEDITIO had a chance to meet Miss Gunilla Ekman, a representative of the Swedish Association for Building Preservation - Svenska föreningen för byggnadsvard.
Through the support of the Svenska föreningen för byggnadsvĺrd and the Swedish Institute two members of EXPEDITIO took part in the volunteer camp aimed at reconstructing a villa on Öland Island in Sweden.
Being able to see evidence of the good work that volunteer camps organized by the SBF have produced and having the experience that our members have gained through participating with them, has motivated us to try to do something similar in our own country. The first camp that we organized was aimed at clearing up the fortress of St. Cross in Perast.
About the St. Cross Fortress
Being a part of the Bay of Boka Kotorska, Perast was, in 1979, inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list.
Today, Perast is a small baroque town under the threat of serious devastation, which is evidenced by large number of ruined buildings and public buildings that are left to negligence. At the moments, there is about 20 % of deserted and ruined buildings in Perast, one of which is the Fortress of St. Cross.
The Fortress of St. Cross was constructed above the town, at the site of the church of St. Cross, probably from the 9th century, from which it is said to have taken its name. The Fortress was built in 1570 and it acquired its present appearance at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries. It was constructed using old building techniques.
Since 1997, NGO EXPEDITIO has conducted several projects in Perast (two summer schools of architecture, work on drawing up the planning project for Perast, participation in the project the “Chain of Discoveries” …).
During the first expedition in Perast, a group of students of architecture conducted a detailed survey of the fortress walls and made a drawing of the existing condition with all necessary supplements – foundations, cross sections, appearance… Furthermore, architect Radojka Nožica, one of the founders of EXPEDITIO, in 2000 defended her BA thesis, which had for the topic reconstruction of the fortress, at the Architectural Faculty in Belgrade.
Mjesto: Perast
Ucesnici:
Uros Vukovic
Calle von Essen
Moa Andersson
Ola Mansson
Nina Forsblad
Ulf Hägerö
Gunilla Elmkvist
Anna-Stina Jonsson
Djordje Sipos
Rados Vukovic
Davor Eres
Milica Lopicic
Marko Todorovic
Jelena Umiljendic
Result: The fortress was cleared up and made ready for detailed researches and reconstruction works.
Evaluation (pdf)
Partners:
- NGO “Society of Friends of Perast”, Perast
- Svenska föreningen för byggnadsvard, Stockholm, Sweden
- NGO “ Projektor”, Tivat
- NGO “Eco Centar Delfin”, Kotor
- Regional institute for the protection of cultural monuments, Kotor
- Museum of Perast, Perast
- Children's Nursery, Kotor
Donors:
- NGO “Society of Friends of Perast”, Perast
- The Municipality of Kotor
- The Department for the construction and spatial planning of Kotor
- "YU BRIV" firm, Kotor
- Business firm "Napredak", Kotor
- The Port of Kotor
- The Port Director's Office
- Leigh Grant,USA
Photo-gallery
Duration: 4-14 November 2002
