Mentényi Klára szerk.: Műemlékvédelmi Szemle 2002/1. szám Az Országos Műemléki Felügyelőség tájékoztatója (Budapest, 2002)

MŰHELY - Tolnai Gergely: Táguló lehetőségek – egy kiállítás margójára

Gergely TOLNAI BROADENING POSSIBILITIES - ON AN EXHIBITION The exhibition organized in the vestibule of the National Monument Protection Office between the 17

th April-16

th July, 2000. with the title "The Broadening Circles of Monument Protection" and its catalogue tried to show the situation of monument protection of 20

th century buildings. Several industrial, economic, religious and everyday buildings were listed with the mention of the possible circle of those to be protected but the concept of the protection of 20

th century military buildings was somehow missed. The idea of the protection of military buildings is not a new concept in Hungary: all the earthworks and fortifications are under nature and archaeological protection; fortresses deserve the latter, and fortifications with standing walls are also under monument protection. The period ranges from prehistoric times to the 19

th century, so the Citadel of Budapest and the elements of the fortification of Komárom got also protected. Continuing this tradition it would be important to protect some 20

th century military objects as well. Not because of their outstanding values from the point of the settlement or the landscape - as their size and situation is rarely deserving it - but because of their characteristic historical role reflecting historical and political changes. Only a few of the military objects have remained in Hungary - battle positions near Győrszentiván and Esztergom, and commander's entrenchments in Budapest, on the top of the Hármashatár hill an anti aircraft battery position. Most of them are endangered as they are partly rebuilt, partly pulled down when their surroundings is built up; those under the ground are slowly covered or filled with rubbish. Another group of 20

th century military objects contains constructions of civil and military defence. Considering the points of monument protection only air-raid shelters built on the ground should be collected. The objects for 200-1200 members were built partly underground (mainly in cities), but in vast open places above the ground - because of economic considerations. They were still too expensive for mass defence, so could be used only for defending the workers of industrial regions and traffic centres of outstanding importance, so they could be found mainly on the territory of factories and railway junctions. Other types of air-raid objects across the city were civil defence outposts. They had two main groups: one were the cone-like posts at the territory of the Budapest Civil Defence Headquarters, the other were posts of the local and industrial defence. While the outposts of central use were built on hilltops with an excellent view, the latter were placed on the roof of higher industrial buildings, storages and offices, on church-towers, school and public building roofs or in the interior of cupolas. As the local civil defence headquarters were in charge of their building and they got only the leading principles of construction these were objects of a wide range of appearance. Air-raid outposts are much more threatened today than large anti air raid shelters. Although the outposts on hilltops are in nature protection territory, they might be threatened by building in.