The “Local Government for Heritage” competition is aimed at municipalities that have properly prepared a municipal program, have carried out activities and tasks serving the protection and preservation of cultural heritage values and sustainable socio-economic development of the municipality based on the effective use of the potential of cultural heritage resources. The aim of the competition is to promote and disseminate the best practices in preparing and implementing municipal programs for the care of monuments.
City Hall officials:
It is worth recalling that the management of Bolesławiec’s material cultural heritage is the result of active cooperation between departments of the City Hall and municipal self-government institutions. The coordinating role lies with the mayor, who supervises the activities of the individual departments in this area: the Department of Property and Spatial Management (including the Spatial Management and Information Section) and the Department of Public Procurement and Municipal Investments.
In 2006, the New Old Town program was developed. It envisaged comprehensive conservation and renovation activities within Bolesławiec Old Town based on a mechanism of joint governance and shared responsibility between the Municipality of Bolesławiec City and housing communities. At present, Bolesławiec has approximately 700 buildings that may apply for grants toward monument renovations.
And they add:
Each year, further applications are submitted and, following a positive assessment, progressively expand the revitalized area. Among the Municipality of Bolesławiec City’s own investments involving monuments, the outstanding projects include a huge undertaking to revitalize and restore the function of the 19th-century bathhouse complex, as well as renovation work in the Renaissance town hall building (renovation of the tower helmet and the interiors of the lower floor).
For many years, the Municipality of Bolesławiec City has consistently pursued a policy of strengthening the city’s economic, cultural and tourist position based on Bolesławiec ceramics. Activities in this area, coordinated by the mayor, are carried out by three municipal cultural institutions (Bolesławiecki Ośrodek Kultury – Międzynarodowe Centrum Ceramiki, Muzeum Ceramiki and Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna – Centrum Wiedzy) and the Department of City Development and Promotion.
For many years, Bolesławiec has also cooperated with associations of ceramic cities in Italy, France, Spain, Romania, Germany, Portugal and the Czech Republic, and in particular with the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation “Cities of Ceramics”.
In 2015, the Municipality of Bolesławiec City became the initiator and founding member of the Association of Ceramic Municipalities of the Republic of Poland, whose aim is to promote and popularize Polish ceramics internationally.
In 2017–2018, as part of the association’s activities, a series of exhibitions promoting Bolesławiec ceramics was organized in Italy: in Vietri sul Mare, at the Polish Institute in Rome, in Ancona and in Faenza, as well as a series of exhibitions presenting Italian ceramics in Poland: in Bolesławiec and at the Italian Cultural Institute in Kraków. The next step in building an international cooperation network is to seek Bolesławiec’s inclusion in the European Ceramic Route, one of the cultural routes certified by the Council of Europe.
The main partner and implementer of projects and activities in the field of cultural heritage education and promotion is Muzeum Ceramiki in Bolesławiec. The museum’s active cooperation with the Municipality of Bolesławiec City, with the involvement of numerous partners at home and abroad, makes it possible to implement many international projects co-financed by the European Union or other sources. As part of these projects, numerous investments have been carried out (renovation of museum buildings, modernization of permanent exhibitions, purchase of equipment and multimedia), as well as so-called soft activities – exhibitions have been organized in Poland and abroad, multilingual publications have been issued, international conferences have been held, and many series of museum lessons and workshops have been conducted. The Municipality of Bolesławiec City provides financial support for these undertakings by ensuring its own contribution in the budget and pre-financing expenses in projects settled on a reimbursement basis.
Municipality:
A project currently underway is “Poland and Norway on the European Ceramic Route: incorporating Bolesławiec and Porsgrunn into an international cooperation network of cities with ceramic traditions.” As part of the project, one of Bolesławiec’s most valuable monuments – the Neo-Gothic Pückler Palace – is being revitalized for use as the new headquarters of Muzeum Ceramiki. The project received funding from the EEA Financial Mechanism under the Culture Programme and is being implemented jointly with the Norwegian city of Porsgrunn in 2021–2024.