Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage Objects and Sites in Europe and Lithuania: Theory and Practice (second half of the 20th c. - 21st c.)

Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage Objects and Sites in Europe and Lithuania: Theory and Practice (second half of the 20th c. - 21st c.) Summary Reconstruction as a specific undertaking of heritage „preservation“, to be precise – the recovery of its original state, is strictly limited by contemporary conservation law and is legitimized only at exceptional cases. The reconstruction of historical monuments and sites turned to be notably significant in 20th c. after the damages caused by the World Wars. The object of the thesis is the phenomenon of reconstruction of cultural heritage objects and sites. The most salient examples in Europe and Lithuania (second half of the 20th c. - 21st c.) are chosen here for the revelation of the reconstruction phenomenon. Exclusive regard is paid to the reconstruction of historical objects and sites ruined during the Second World War. Therefore the reconstruction examples are chosen here of two the most of all injured countries during the War – Poland and Germany. These are – the old town of Warsaw, Goethehaus in Frankfurt, Dresden‘s Frauenkirche, Stadtschlos in Berlin. The reconstruction examples analysed in the case of Lithuania are – castle of Trakai, the monuments of the first Independence, Grand Duke Palace and the typical fragments of Vilnius historical ghetto. Frequently the reconstructions of historical monuments and sites disagree/ed to the mainstream conception in the conservation charters and theory works. Consequently the question comes – why and how are the cultural heritage objects and sites reconstructed? Why do they turn significant during the particular periods? Why and how did the viewpoint to the reconstruction mutate in the conservation charters and theory? One of the most obscurities looking for the answer to these questions is a clearing up the concepts by explaining their senses. Forasmuch the juridical concept of the reconstruction (and the one used in the theory of restoration) on occasion do not have the same meaning (and word) for the practical action (namely in Lithuania) of the same phenomenon. The search for the answers to these questions would help to understand the phenomenon of the reconstruction of cultural heritage objects – why does it take place? How does it take place? The objectives of the work include the analysis and evaluation of the reconstruction conception in the international and Lithuanian conservation law as well as in the modern theory of restoration. Here are analysed the reasons of the reconstruction of particular historical monuments and sites. How was it influenced by the conservation law and restoration theory? Which was the influence of heritage as a former of the identity of community and its consolidation? The concepts essential for the understanding of the phenomenon are explicated in the work. They come clear mostly through the analysis of the particular cases of reconstructions and also analysing the texts on conservation law and theory. The heritage function in constructing the identity of communities is analysed by invoking the modern theorists’ works on memory, history, heritage and nationalism. The work consists of two closely coherent parts: theoretical and practical. The theoretical models of the first part are applied in the analysis of particular examples of the reconstruction