A műemlékek sokszínűsége (A 28. Egri Nyári Egyetem előadásai 1998 Eger, 1998)

Előadások / Presentations - NÉMETH Györgyi: Monument protection in large industrial establishments

others. Le Creusot is situated in Burgundy, in the middle of France. A prospering glass factory operated here owned by the king at the end of the 18th century. The favourable geographical location - coal, waterways made the area suitable for an iron-foundry and thus Le Creusot became the industrial centre of the area. The iron-foundry was owned by the Schneider family between 1836 and 1962. The factory that had contacts with the one in Diósgyőr developed into a huge plant, where railway engines and heavy missiles were also manufactured apart from the production of crude iron and steel. However, world economic changes did not spare this factory either. A significant part of the plant was knocked down in the 1970s, and it was closed down in 1984 except one unit. But the community in Le Creusot insisted on its traditions and attempted to rescue the remaining parts of the plant that was located in the middle of the town. While the remaining part of the factory surrounded by a fence continues production, new industrial enterprises were set up in buildings constructed by modern architectural methods replacing the destroyed workshops. The central building of the university established in the town occupies one of the oldest remaining buildings of the factory and the library will be located in another old building following its restoration. The blast-furnace, now in ruins, from the first part of the 19th century is awaiting revitalisation but even today it is suitable for holding open air cultural events. The glass factory converted into the mansion of the Schneider family is a traditional museum demonstrating the history of the family and iron production and it is partly in the use of the local authority. One of the closed down mines in a small nearby town of Blanzy that used to supply coal to the Schneider plant has been turned into a local museum by the former employees and a small museum can also be found next to one of the locks on the Canal de Centre. What is new in the above described solution? The museum, that today has a traditional exhibition, displays all the industry related objects of the area and thus it cooperates in their maintenance and they together demonstrate the industrial activity of past times. Thus the area exists as an ecomuseum, which means an open air museum where buildings and objects remaining in their original locations as far as possible serve to keep the original identity of the environment. The local authority also participated in preserving the original town view in such a way that it had purchased one of the terraces built for the workers, restored them in their original form and housed elderly people in the flats under the condition that they may not alter the houses. The roof tile factory representing the industry of the area and closed a long time ago, is being restored. Plans are being made for the museum complex to include the coal leaching plant from the 1930s, which was regarded as one of the nicest edifices of the kind in Europe. Although the Ecomusée Le Creusot Montceau-lès-Mines proves that industrial buildings loosing their function are quickly destroyed still we can also see that appreciative attention coupled with suitable and rational concept is able to create new values from the still remaining edifices significantly influencing the life of a community and obtain the financial means to implement it.