Always a matter of style? The question of proper architectural vocabulary in castle renovations from the 1890s to the 2020s in Bohemia and Moravia

Abstract

This study addresses castle renovations from the turn of the twentieth century up until the present, focusing on their stylistic aspect. Although castles (both ruined and inhabited) have been considered prominent subjects of heritage conservation since the beginning of the conservation movement, they require architectural additions to further their integration into contemporary life, even if a strictly conservationist approach is applied. In contrast to nineteenth-century European attitude to conservation, the twentieth- and twenty-first-century conservation professionals mostly recommend that the new elements comply with the preserved composition or scale, leaving the question of their style (i.e. a coherent architectural vocabulary) open. The study examines selected Czech examples that feature a substantial newly-added layer (Gothic in Bouzov, the 1890s–1900s; Art Nouveau and Art Deco in Nové Město nad Metují, the 1910s–1920s; Classical in Prague Castle, the 1920s–1950s; Technocratic in Lipnice, the 1970s–1980s; Romantic in Častolovice, the 1990s; Minimalist in Helfštýn, the 2010s). Drawing on these examples, the analysis raises the following questions: how should new additions relate to the authenticity and integrity of the renovated monuments and what variables influence this relationship? Should conservation authorities regulate the vocabulary of modern interventions?

Keywords

• architectural conservation
• castles
• Bohemia
• Moravia
• architectural vocabulary
• style