Onroerend erfgoed, van verliezen tot ‘bevriezen’. De bescherming van historische stads- en dorpskernen in Vlaanderen (19de-21ste eeuw)

Abstract

“A monument is not alone”. This catchphrase was coined in the Low Countries during the European Architectural Year in 1975, which aimed to develop a common European policy for the protection of architectural heritage. One of its key concerns was to criticize the piecemeal protection of isolated monuments. In the sixties and seventies, a wave of legislative initiatives hit Northwestern European countries, introducing heritage laws that were tailored to the safeguarding of urban areas, often entire villages or city centers, including groups of buildings, infrastructure and open spaces. Early examples are Beschermde stads-en dorpsgezichten in the Dutch Monumentenwet (1961), Secteurs sauvegardés in the French Loi Malraux (1962) and conservation areas in the British Civic Amenities Act (1967). In Flanders too, this principle was echoed in a new legal instrument to protect urban landscapes (1976) : “stads-en dorpsgezicht”. Contrary to popular opinion in the seventies, however, the concern for the architectural context in Flanders was not a recent phenomenon. In this essay, we explore the evolution of the care for architectural ensembles in historic cities, towns and villages in Belgium and Flanders from the nineteenth century onwards, considered both from a legal and application-oriented perspective. In other words, we examine the gradual juridical embedment of the attention to architectural ensembles and its relation to regional, national and international societal trends. Finally, we elaborate upon the consequences of these developments for the conservation of architectural ensembles today. It turns out that these ensembles are currently not protected in the most appropriate manner possible. This way, we contribute to the history of cultural heritage and urban planning, while also indicating particular present-day problems in the management of architectural ensembles in historic cities, towns and villages that need urgent fixing.