Overcoming the Ottoman Heritage: Restoration and Preservation of Monuments in Early 20th Century Romania

• In Event: Collecting, Preserving, Restoring, and Displaying the Ottoman Architectural Heritage of the Balkans in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century

Abstract

In spite of the newly promoted principles of non-intervention into the fabric of monuments, radical restoration of monuments continued in Romania in the first decades of the 20th century. Especially churches and monasteries were given new shapes so that to fit recent definitions of Romanian art and “national style”. Many of these monuments were unique structure that reflected the centuries-old Ottoman rule over Wallachia and Moldavia through architectural elements such as rich, intricate decorations, muqarnas-style ornaments, ablution fountains, trilobe arches, etc. Never openly recognised as Ottoman, these architectural and decorative elements were either presented as Byzantine, Orthodox or Romanian or modified and replaced during the restorations. The paper will therefore present a less-known but highly efficient process of identity-building through monuments restoration. It argues that while officially the Ottoman past was overlooked in favour of other historical ties, such as with the Byzantine Empire or Venice, in practice many monuments in Romania kept their unique aspect and Ottoman-style decorations.

Author

• Cosmin Tudor Minea, Masaryk U (Czech Republic)