SUCCESS STORIES SERIES
Finding True Colors at a 17th Century Manor House
Oplotnica, Slovenia (August 2006)
Success! is the best way to describe our project in Oplotnica, Slovenia, and this is a testament to the power of partnerships.
Adventures in Preservation (AiP) joined forces with Zavod ETNO-EKO, Slovenia Nostra, the National Institute for Protection of Cultural Heritage and, most importantly, dedicated professionals and students from the local area. The leadership of Franci Pečnik and of Tanya Gobec, founder of ETNO-EKO, brought national attention to the project, inspiring community members to take up the effort and complete the project after AiP’s team returned home.
Project and Results
The goal of this project was to investigate and uncover the original decorative paint scheme in the chapel of Oplotnica’s 17th century manor house. This former home of Carthusian monks was recently given to the city for use as a community center.
The task and the location sparked interest in volunteers from Belgium, England, India, Slovenia and the United States. Over a two-week period, our team carefully removed the top layer of paint believed to be from the mid-1800s. Surprisingly, this brightly colored top layer was the only one covering the original 1631 finish. Hidden was the original detailing of silver and gold gilding with areas of white and cream.
The enthusiasm among volunteers was contagious, bringing community members to see what the excitement was about. When it was time for the AiP team to leave, the community picked up the work and the chapel was completely restored within the next two year.
AiP’s involvement and assistance were vital to the successful completion of this project. Our team donated a total of 770 hours painstakingly removing paint to uncover the original beauty beneath.
Hands-on and Beyond
The bigger picture is equally important. Slovenia gained independence recently in 1991, but has the daunting task of managing its extensive historic resources, dating from the 5th century BC to today. Team members visited the Zice Monastery, founded in 1165, as well as several amazing churches, historic farmhouses and prehistoric ruins, to gain perspective on this issue. Discussions took place at each site regarding the various approaches available to the professionals responsible for these greatly varied resources. Volunteers vowed to return and remain involved in this ongoing process.
Feedback
When asked what he liked best about the experience, Chetan Raikar from India said: The people of Slovenia, their co-operation & technical competence. He added: People of Slovenia are warm & friendly. It was an excellent experience.
Jessamyn Miller, a graduate student in preservation from Chicago, liked: “Being able to experience a new place and environment with people who had similar passions as myself. The hands-on experience was truly priceless along with the friendships established over the course of 2 weeks!”
“Adventures in Preservation is really doing something amazing and I hope to spread the same passion for historical preservation.”
About Adventures in Preservation (AiP)
Adventures in Preservation (AiP) is a non-profit connecting people and preservation through enriching cultural heritage travel and hands-on education. AiP was founded in 2001 by two women with a great love of historic buildings and a strong desire to travel and understand the world. While perusing the travel section of the Boulder Bookstore, the Volunteer Vacation section suddenly brought everything into focus. Judith Broeker and Jamie Donahoe combined their goal of saving historic buildings with the concept of experiential travel, and created AiP’s hands-on preservation vacations.
Work started on several sites in the U.S., and as word spread, requests for help began to pour in from around the world, underscoring the great potential of using volunteers to restore historic buildings. In supporting community-based preservation initiatives, we discovered that our love of old buildings could translate into environmental and economic sustainability for communities.
AiP is picking up the pace! As our hands-on experiential travel becomes more popular, we have new projects, new partners and initiatives to keep you excited and involved.
