Culture / heritage
The restoration of the City of Sisak
The Program for the Complete Restoration of the Cultural and Historical Entity of the City of Sisak has been published
According to the legal Act regarding Reconstruction of Buildings Damaged by Earthquakes in the City of Zagreb, Krapina-Zagorje County, Zagreb County, Sisak-Moslavina County and Karlovac County, the Ministry of Culture and Media has prepared a Program for the complete restoration of the cultural and historical ensemble of the City of Sisak after the 2020 earthquake.
The goal is to start the restoration of the city centre and the most valuable historical buildings as soon as possible, which includes 22 individually protected immovable cultural assets in the city of Sisak and highly valued buildings within the historic urban ensemble that represent the identity value of the city.
Given the scale of devastation and the need to react quickly after the disaster to determine the main guidelines for restoration and recovery of architectural heritage, it was necessary to establish a systematic conservation approach to sustainable preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings and historic urban and rural areas.
The importance of the reconstruction and recovery of Sisak and Banovina is seen in the context of the geographical, historical and cultural significance of the area as part of central Croatia at the junction of the Pannonian and Mountain and Coastal regions.
This program defines the conservation approach to preserving and restoring the historical urban structure of Sisak and its identity values at the level of individual buildings, individual cultural assets and buildings within the protected cultural and historical ensemble of Sisak, as well as the spatial planning level in the form of general conservation guidelines for spatial planning documents.
The priorities are based on the evaluation of the architectural heritage regardless of the ownership and purpose of the buildings, having in mind the current economic and demographic structure of the city.
The implementation of quality restoration of the historic urban structure as the basis of urban identity, which includes cultural, technical and functional aspects, will ensure optimal conditions and standards for safe living and performing business, social and other activities in the city centre.
The conservation and restoration program primarily deals with the area of the historical urban ensemble of the city of Sisak, which became protected as a cultural monument in 1969 due to its urban, architectural, aesthetic, archaeological and historical values, i.e. significant identity and environmental values and features.
The specificity of Sisak is its layering, the continuity of life from prehistory, the ancient period and until today. The archaeological layer represents an added value to the cultural and historical ensemble, which largely overlaps with the Archaeological Zone Segestica – Siscia, which is entered into the Register of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia.
In the context of post-earthquake reconstruction, this stratification is extremely important. Soil condition research includes insights into the layers and structures of the ancient city that lie beneath today’s city.
Restoration of the protected historical urban ensemble of the city of Sisak and the city as a whole, despite the severe consequences of the earthquake, can provide a participatory approach to not only preserve but also revitalise, given the urban functions and potential of Sisak as a county centre.
In addition to preserving, restoring and rehabilitating certain historical urban values, it is important to consider the possibility of urban transformation of parts of the urban structure within the narrower area of the city that through historical development has not reached the appropriate quality or is neglected and degraded.
