The NPÚ project in Telč will enhance education in heritage conservation

Telč (Jihlava Region) - Heritage experts in Telč today launched a pilot project for training further professionals in heritage care. More than ninety craftsmen as well as owners and managers of heritage sites are participating. The theoretical part of the specialized courses will take place at the headquarters of the Telč branch of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ), while practical seminars will be held at heritage sites in the Vysočina Region.
    "Participants in the specialized courses will significantly enhance their qualifications towards specializing in heritage restoration," said project manager Marcela Severová to ČTK. According to her, the educational program "Craft Restoration of Historical Buildings" offers the opportunity to familiarize oneself with the latest procedures in the restoration of cultural heritage in relation to current trends and requirements of heritage care. The costs amount to approximately 3.5 million crowns, with 85 percent financed from the European Social Fund; the rest will be covered by a grant from the state budget.
    The educational program is scheduled until the end of March 2015. It will then be evaluated and possibly slightly adjusted. "The courses will then continue for another three years after certain modifications, but with the financing coming from the participants themselves," Severová added.
    The project includes nine educational programs. The first one focuses on the preparation and implementation of heritage restoration. It is primarily intended for owners and managers of heritage sites. In the other eight programs, craftsmen - masons, plasterers, stonemasons, painters, carpenters, joiners, blacksmiths, and roofers - will enhance their qualifications.
    The theoretical part of the courses will be mainly concentrated at the headquarters of the NPÚ in the Lanner House in Telč. Participants will attend practical seminars at castles in Brtnice, Červená Řečice, and Polici. Partially, workshop spaces of the Secondary School of Construction in Jihlava and the Stone Sculpture Center in Lipnice nad Sázavou will also be used for practical teaching. Each of the nine courses is scheduled for 100 hours.