The complex of Bečov castle was awarded the highest status of legal protection in the Czech Republic, being proclaimed a national heritage monument in 1995. The site presents a vast, authentic and architecturally valuable complex of historic structures representing several building styles. Currently only about a third of the whole complex is open to the general public. This includes the Baroque “Lower castle”, which involves two guided tours; the standard circuit taking in the classic manor house interiors and a circuit presenting the reliquary of St. Maur, the second most precious relic and example of the goldsmiths' art in the Czech Republic. Externally only the first courtyard, the castle gardens modified in minimalist fashion and terraces are accessible to visitors.

The incentive for launching the research project was the need for a quality presentation of the important, but publicly inaccessible areas prior to their reconstruction, and to find an appropriate and original form of presenting the complex as a whole. The product of this thesis is a plan to present to the general public the National Heritage Monument at Bečov through educative and didactic programmes. The currently inaccessible medieval, so called “Upper castle”, became the natural focus and object of these activities.

The main ambition of the project is to provide a guided adventure of architectural history. Within the environment of this authentically well preserved medieval castle the visitor will be instructed by a brief preparatory course on building history, enhanced by visual examples, in order to recognise and understand the architectural details and form which will be encountered. We believe that after the guided tour a new awareness will be open to the visitors equipping them with fresh knowledge which they can immediately apply, not only within the castle, but also within the heritage zone of Bečov historic town or elsewhere where similar evidence of the past had been previously unnoticed by them.

By the realisation of the project we expect to reveal the castle’s own remarkable identity and to create more attractive and competitive heritage monument, to enhance quality of understanding historic themes and related scientific disciplines, to raise the services offered and in consequence to gain recurrent tourism clients.

Relationship to other similar projects

This project supplements "The Architectural general of use of the Bečov castle", conception of heritage reconstruction and other related activities. Also it is compatible with an already realised project of virtual guided tours into areas not open to public.

In the future this project should become an attractive addition to the educational scheme of The Karlovy Vary County Council and its presentation of the cultural heritage of the county to basic and secondary schools.

AD 2) PROJECT TEAM

Mgr. T. Wizovský, Assistant Project Leader, management of the state-owned Bečov castle
archaeologist, graduate of heritage management studies
Bc. O. Cink, management of the state-owned Bečov castle
cultural and social anthropologist, graduate of heritage management studies
Mgr. P. Sokol, National Heritage Institute NPÚ ÚOP Pilsen
historian, archaeologist
Ing. Roman Procházka, director of National Heritage Institute NPÚ ÚOP Loket
graduate of heritage management studies

Contact and coordination centre:

Management of the state-owned Bečov castle
Správa st. hradu a zámku Bečov
364 64 Bečov nad Teplou
Tel./fax. 353 999 394
GSM brána: + 420 606 65 96 37
e-mail: kastelan@zamekbecov.cz

AD 3) COOPERATING BODIES

Czech Republic

Ing. J. Anderle, Atelier of historic architecture
architectural surveyor
Mgr. K. Cichrová, NPÚ ÚOP České Budějovice
art historian
Prof. Ing. arch. V. Girsa, Atelier of historic buildings reconstruction and conservation
Architect, University lecturer
PhDr. M. Kadlec, National Heritage Institute NPÚ ÚOP Liberec
The Main Leader of the scientific - research project
Mgr. Roman Černík, Pedagogical faculty of The West Bohemian University in Pilsen
University lecturer, historian

International cooperation:

Märis Skane, director of the Bauska castle, Latvia
Inese Indrikova, curator and conservator of Rundale castle, Latvia
Jenny Lebard, Ministry of culture and information, France
France Quémarec, Ministry of culture and information, France
Antoine Monpert, REMPART association, France
Krystel Boula, Institute for National Heritage Monuments, France
Bernolf von Gemmingen-Guttenberg, owner and manager of the Guttenberg castle, German
Educational centre at Brie–Comte-Robert castle, France
Educational centre of Meaux town, France
Dr. David Souden, Historic Royal Palaces, The Tower of London - Head of Access & Learning
Kim Biddulph, English Heritage - Education Manager, London
Francesca Lashmar, English Heritage - Acting Education Manager SE, Learning department, Dover castle

AD 4) AIMS OF THE PROJECT

Finding an innovative method of presenting to the public both educational and an interesting exposition regarding the significance and specifics of a heritage monument, i.e. the Bečov Upper castle, which could be introduced prior to, and during, the preparations for building renovations.
Maximum preservation of the authentic and informative potential of the newly opened areas.
Intermediation of deeper knowledge to a visitor by various interactive and unconventional methods.
Accommodating the presentation of the monument to various levels of the school educational system (basic and secondary schools; colleges; universities and departments of post graduate studies) and continuing adult education, along with specialised institutes or authorities; civic associations; civic beneficial societies etc.
A pivotal aim is the building of a positive relationship to cultural heritage. The targeted group will be educated in the field of heritage management, art and culture through specific thematic activities.
To create an ideal model of heritage monument function by developing two areas: a) the educational function of a heritage monument and b) the formation and support for a mutual and adequate relationship between the heritage monument and the civic society.
In the area of developing the educational function of the monument new systematic cooperation with schools and specialised organisations of all levels is a priority. One of the main tasks is searching for the means to integrate a heritage monument into the education system.
The castle is undoubtedly an ideal environment for learning, offering a wide spectrum of educational opportunities. The creation of educative programmes will aim at two fields: a) education through art and b) programmes related to history. Education through art, which will be based on the architectural and artefactual elements found in the monument, will develop visual literacy, knowledge and an understanding of art. The projects of education through art will have the form of supplementary programmes, including exercise papers for the pupils and guidelines for the teachers and a permanent exposition. Programmes with historical themes will be realised in the form of “revived history”, which will use the monument as the witness of that history.

AD 5) PRESENT SITUATION

Virtual tours of the interiors and exteriors of the Upper and Lower Castles have been opened for the widest audience at: www.zamekbecov.cz.
Professional and special interest groups have the opportunity of inspecting the Upper Castle interiors during the project so that they can be introduced, not only to its outstanding value, but also to the problem of the historical development of a monument, its presentation and heritage guardianship. For safety reasons the castle is at this time presented in the form of guided tours limited to small groups, which also preserves the authentic atmosphere. The building development of the monument in the context of its living history is being emphasized through the well preserved structural elements, their related technologies and the daily life in the castle. The presentation, guided by a project member, is followed by a discussion concerning heritage management problems and a questionnaire to gather reactions, opinions and suggestions (see further).
Pivotal co-operation was established with professional, cultural and pedagogical institutions: Pedagogical faculty of The West Bohemian University in Pilsen, National Heritage Institute NPÚ ÚOP in České Budějovice and Pilsen, Atelier of historic buildings reconstruction and conservation Girsa AT s.r.o., Atelier of historic architecture, West Bohemian Institute for Heritage Monuments Protection – civic beneficial society ZIP o.p.s.
Fact finding excursions and consultations with colleagues involved in similar projects. Within Bohemia the sites at Vrchotovy Janovice or Jánský Vrch were visited, journeys abroad were undertaken to the castle Rundale, Bauska and the archaeological site of Araiši in Latvia, Trakai castle and an open air museum of folk architecture in Lithuania. In the year 2007 two sites of The Castle Trail in Germany were visited: Guttenberg and Schwetzingen; in France an educational centre within the castle ruin at Brie-Comte-Robert and in the town of Meaux and Guédelon, a newly built medieval castle. In 2008 a journey was made to Great Britain, where a fully developed interactive educational system within heritage management was presented to the project members at Eltham Palace and Battle Abbey and The Tower and Apsley house in London. The aim was to acquire experience by evaluating similar projects, gaining advice and suggestions and importantly, learning from the mistakes of already realised heritage presentations.
A questionnaire was created in order to gain feedback from the visitor to be used for further research concerning the presentation of the Bečov castle. The results were analysed separately for the general public, with a closer relationship to history, and for the heritage professional, represented mainly by students and professionals of the historic branches.
A basic manual of presentation was created for the use of the project team. This will be continuously amended in the light of returns from various targeted groups.
A second part of the manual was created – a script of the castle tour, including methodology of presentation.
The main logistical principals of the future visitor traffic in the castle were established with regard to one of the main aims of the project: the preservation of the maximum authenticity and of the informative value of the monument.
Designing presentation models based on the present results, evaluation of technical possibilities and preparations for the introduction of the selected model.
Realisation of the first preparatory phase of the 3-dimensional digital model of the castle as an alternative presentation tool. Five phases are planned from the oldest known castle appearance up to the present day. This relatively high but necessary number of models means high financial cost; therefore its realisation will proceed gradually.
The project team co-operated on the Conception of the rescue stabilisation of the building, its restoration and heritage presentation of the castle, designed by s.r.o. Girsa Atelier, which took into account present results and aims of the project.
The team members took part in the educational programme "Cultural heritage and education" organised by the central office of the National Heritage Institute in Třeboň, where the project was reviewed.
Creation of an independent domain www.castlebecov.eu and presentation of the project on the internet and in a printed leaflet form.
In 2006 – 2008 a survey was carried out of extremely rich epigraphic and graffiti record found in the castle. This survey illustrates our commitment to the intensive investigation of every aspect of the castle and its environment.

AD 6) INTENDED COMMITMENTS

To continue the castle presentation to suitable visitor groups and the feedback evaluation.
To continue searching for similar heritage monument projects and gaining further experience and stimulation from them.
Including currently undertaken activities (restoration, rescue archaeological excavation, epigraphic survey etc.) into the experimental presentation.
To complete the final phase of the epigraphic and graffiti survey prior to restoration work.
To evaluate the graffiti record and compare it with archive sources, transferring the results into electronic form.
To publish the results of the epigraphic and graffiti survey in professional and popular periodicals and a proposing a presentation of this research as an integral part of the monuments history.
To complete a valid basis for the gradual realisation of the 3-dimensional castle models on the basis of the current state of knowledge concerning its architectural development.
The application of the experience and a presentation of the knowledge gained from the study tours.
To experiment with supplementing the current guided presentation by modern technical means (virtual projection, panels, posters and similar).
To create an exhibition of an illustrating field workplace and processing space, where specialist activities are being undertaken (archaeology, restoration workplace, process of epigraphic or dendrochronology survey etc.).
To complete a basis for graphic depiction of the interior period furnishing or a visualisation of some interior furnishing items. With sufficient financial support period furniture could be installed in one of the rooms to illustrate the function of that particular part of the medieval castle. This could enable the visitor to envisage unfurnished parts of the castle and evoke a more satisfying image of the daily life of its occupants. They will also be able to experience the interactive objects of the castle daily life.
To produce a guide booklet for a more qualitative experience of the tour. This will contain guidelines for the tour, descriptive data, images and historic iconography. Each visitor will receive this booklet free before the tour. The booklet will also have space for individual notes, incidental questions for further discussion etc. We expect mainly the educational institutions to work with this material further.
To create a saleable CD containing a complete presentation of the area, including the topography of the region, the history of the monument, building history, architecture, architectural history values and their aspects (texts + visual documentation).