Castles and other objects of cultural heritage during the war: challenges and threats

Abstract

The role of castles and other objects of architectural and cultural heritage of Ukraine in the formation of national identity of citizens are reveals in the article. Castles and other cultural heritage sites are considered as places of national memory, as evidence of historical events and stages of state formation of our country, as architectural and cultural sites that can reproduce and analyze artistic and stylistic trends in different eras of state and cultural formation of our people as well. Trends of castle buildings use in different periods of formation of our state, including during the war, are studied. The existence of castles and palaces during the war was found to be subject to various risks. First, buildings as an architectural heritage can be destroyed by bombing or other hostilities. Secondly, the use of castle and palace buildings for other purposes, to hold various non-cultural events in their premises, has a very detrimental effect on the future of their existence. Third, museum exhibits and other objects of movable cultural heritage are under the threat of looting, theft and deportation to the territory of the occupier. The article also considers other problems faced by castles and other cultural heritage sites of Ukraine. These are, first of all, insufficient attention to the preservation of ancient architectural monuments from destruction, lack of sufficient funding for conservation and restoration work, insufficient number of restorers of the appropriate qualification level. The article examines the amount of damage caused by the russian occupiers to the cultural heritage sites of Ukraine since the full-scale invasion of our lands by russian troops. The article reviews the main documents governing the protection of cultural property in the event of an armed conflict in Ukraine. The main actions under Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (May 14, 1954) are considered to be taken to protect cultural property from the effects of armed conflict on military attack on our lands. The article substantiates the need to protect castles and other cultural heritage sites of Ukraine not only from war threats and crimes, but also in peacetime.