Prawne aspekty rekonstrukcji dziedzictwa kulturowego
Legal Aspects of Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage

Summary/Abstract: After examining several different examples of reconstruction in the context of destroyed buildings and their ensembles, the author argues that the only acceptable form of analyzed activity is reconstruction sensu stricto, meaning in the narrow sense of this word, when it is based on proper documentation and aimed at restoring the building’s original authenticity. All other examples, like 19th century romantic castles or recent restorations of entire city centers, can only be classified as reconstructions sensu largo – in a very wide sense of the term. Then the change in legal approach to the concept of reconstruction is discussed. According to the Venice Charter, it was not accepted per se but slowly “legalized” with the passage of time, initially by placing the Warsaw Old Town on the World Heritage List in 1980 and then in documents like 2017 ICOMOS Guidance on post trauma recovery and reconstruction for world heritage cultural properties, where terms such as “modified reconstruction”, “partial reconstruction” and others have been defined. The more recent and generally drafted 2018 Warsaw Recommendation on recovery and reconstruction of cultural heritage fully accepts the term “reconstruction.” The paper ends with some remarks on the financial aspects of reconstruction.

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