Our Campaign to Save Romania's Heritage: The Ambulance for Monuments
Founded in 2016 by ARTTA (The Anglo-Romanian Trust for Traditional Architecture) and sister organisation Asociatia Monumentum, The Ambulance for Monuments project has generated a groundswell of enthusiasm amongst young Romanians, who have stepped forward in great numbers to repair their endangered historic buildings.
In 2019 the Ambulances carried out 17 major rescuing projects all over the country. Most of the interventions were on Romanian Orthodox wooden churches many of which were in a dire state of repair and needed urgent help, often requiring entire re-shingling. We have kept the shingle makers of the Maramures very busy - ordering more than 20,000 in the last year alone.
The project is already making huge strides in the regions of Transylvania and the Banat, benefitting immeasurably from the kind support of HRH The Prince of Wales, The Headley Trust and The Julia & Hans Rausing Trust, but there is still much work to be done. We have been able to purchase three new lorries (Ambulances) for the regions of Banat, Salaj and Southern Transylvania, which we use for carrying tools, materials and volunteers to the interventions. This year we are hoping to acquire and equip a further two ambulances for the regions of Maramures and Northern Moldavia before we set our sights further towards the areas of Oltenia, Mutenia and the Southern Carpathians.
We are seeking donations and grants from individuals and organisations that value the preservation of architectural heritage and wish to support locally-led initiatives to help turn this heart warming local success story into a nationwide movement for the protection of Romania's historic monuments and traditional crafts.
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