Family, Heritage and Culture. A Different Perspective on the Preservation of the National Heritage

The purpose of this research is to address the ownership and abandonment issue of the historical monuments, one of the main causes of the national decay of historical architecture in Romania. After World War II, in 1948, the Nationalization Law was enacted, leading to the confiscation of private enterprises. Two years later, a decree was issued that extended the state’s control to the headquarters of these enterprises, along with the homes and other forms of immovable heritage the elite owned. Afterwards, the state often confined the rightful owners of historic buildings to a small section of their property, imprisoned or dislocated them to forced domicile, replaced them with other social groups, or, in some cases, forced them to cohabitate. This upheaval disrupted many individual and family lives across generations, severing the natural familial connection to their ancestral homes. Consequently, we now face a situation where multiple tenants, concessionaires and administrators inhabit one historical monument and lack a natural attachment to the building they inhabit as well as they lack cultural knowledge. Some of the original families spent decades reclaiming their properties. Some had regained them in a context where maintenance costs exceed their financial capacity. During the endeavor they saw their intrinsic bond to these buildings eroded. In addition, due to limited financial means in most of the cases, many of the historical monuments remain neglected. In conclusion, there is an urgent need to reestablish a positive relationship between current owners and the historical monuments they possess. This should include heritage education for the owners, anthropological research, financial aid and international collaboration. The effort has the potential to restore trust in the state among monument owners, heritage experts and society and can lead to a situation where the owners take better care of our common architectural heritage.