THE MILLIONS SPENT ON CLOSED MONUMENTS Non-Governmental Organization EC Ma Ndryshe February 2016 THE MILLIONS SPENT ON CLOSED MONUMENTS Non-Governmental Organization EC Ma Ndryshe February 2016 2 n EC MA NDRYSHE This report was prepared as part of the “EC for Transparent and Inclusive Cities” Project, made possible through funding provided by the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society. The content and positions expressed herein are those of the authors and EC Ma Ndryshe. Rr. Saraçët 5, 20000/Prizren Bulevardi Nënë Tereza, H 30 B1 Nr. 5, 10000/Prishtinë www.ecmandryshe.org [email protected] 038-224-967 029-222-771 THE MILLIONS SPENT ON CLOSED MONUMENTS n 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction 4 II. Prizren’s Closed Monuments 4 III. Monitoring Findings 6 Gazi Mehmed Pasha Hammam (Turkish Bath) 7 Hydro-Power Plant – Electrical Museum 8 Episcopal Church of St. George (Synod) 9 St. Friday Church 10 Archaeological Museum – Watch Tower (Shemsedin Ahmet Bey Hammam) 11 Museum of Mother Teresa 12 Old Municipal Building – Belediye 13 Shani Efendi Selamlik 14 House of Musa Shehzade 15 House of Shuaip Pasha (Spahiu) 16 Blacksmiths’ Street 17 IV. Conclusions 18 References 19 EC Ma Ndryshe 20 4 n EC MA NDRYSHE I. Introduction preserved monuments more accessible to a larger number of people. This is why there should be cooperation between About 3 million Euros have been spent within a short period heritage management and the tourism industry4. of time for the restoration of ten cultural heritage monuments in Prizren. Today, almost all of these monuments are closed Cultural heritage is of great value to different industries. to the public. In total, since the completion of restoration But the tourism sector is the industry that exploits cultural works, these monuments have remained closed from 300 to heritage to a greater extent in support of its main activities, 350 months. Consequently, they have generated 0 Euro from such as accommodation, transportation and gastronomy5. eventual economic activity. Moreover, only one of these ten monuments has a management plan. Millions spent for res- In this context, EC Ma Ndryshe took the initiative to analyze toration, from the Kosovo budget and international donors, the impacts and benefits of several million worth of inter- have produced closed monuments that are not putting an end ventions into monuments of cultural heritage in Prizren and to the cultural heritage degradation trend in the city. infrastructure in the Historic Centre. According to World Bank, international experiences have The results of this research are discouraging, due to the fact shown that cultural and natural heritage values can be- that the millions invested over the last decade in 10 mon- come a driver for Local Economic Development, when stra- uments of cultural heritage have produced only the reality tegic and coordinated efforts are undertaken by key local of doors closed to the local public and foreign visitors, with stakeholders, the local community and various levels of zero economic impact for the city and almost no tangible government to manage, develop and promote these values benefits for the community. in concert and in a durable fashion1. Another World Bank publication finds that heritage asset management can offer a range of benefits, that are numer- II. Prizren’s Closed Monuments ous, distinct and growing2. Broadly, they can be divided into EC Ma Ndryshe has collected data on restoration and con- major economic and non-economic impacts. The economic servation interventions in the following monuments of cul- impacts are: positive effects in reducing poverty, increased tural heritage: employment, increases in income from the culture and ser- vices industries, etc. Whereas the non-economic effects are: Gazi Mehmed Pasha Hammam (Turkish Bath) effects beneficial to the levels of education and of identi- ty fostering, social cohesion, inclusion and social capital Hydro-Power Plant – Electrical Museum development, then the continued development of cultural heritage at the national level, as well as sustainable conser- Episcopal Church of St. George (Synod) vation and the passing of heritage to future generations. And both sets of benefits or impacts are very important3. St. Friday Church Researchers have pointed out that “conservation” and “man- Archaeological Museum – Watch Tower (Shemsedin agement” of cultural heritage monuments must be comple- Ahmet Bey Hammam) mentary. Therefore, conservation is an essential premise for Museum of Mother Teresa the good management of cultural heritage, but manage- ment creates additional values and goes beyond making the Old Municipal Building – Belediye 1 World Bank, Cultural Heritage and Local Economic Development: Good Shani Efendi Selamlik Practice from the Western Balkans, at: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/ external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2012/06/01/000426104_2 House of Musa Shehzade 0120601141153/Rendered/PDF/690900WP0P10910Final0Synthesis0Note. pdf, accessed on January 16, 2016 2 World Bank, Cultural Heritage and Development - A Framework for Action in 4 Ibid the Middle East and North Africa, at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/ bitstream/handle/10986/13908/225590REPLACEM1ccession0A2003100110. 5 Directorate for Cultural Heritage, Norway, Cultural Heritage Monuments pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y, accessed on January 14, 2016 and Historic buildings as value generators in a post-industrial economy”, at: http://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/175613/nypan_ 3 Ibid cultural_heritage.pdf?sequence=1, accessed on January 15, 2016 THE MILLIONS SPENT ON CLOSED MONUMENTS n 5 House of Shuaip Pasha (Spahiu) toration project was developed by the Regional Center for Cultural Heritage in Prizren and Cultural Heritage without Apart from these, there was also data collected for the revi- Borders. The restoration works began in 2012 and were con- talization project of the Blacksmiths’ Street. cluded in 2013. Planning had provided that upon completion of restoration works, the building would resume the function In the last decade, the international community, Govern- of the Electrical Museum. In the interim a study workshop ment of Kosovo and Municipality of Prizren, have spent was also arranged within the facility. However, to date, the close to 3 million Euros in restoration/conservation proj- Electrical Museum has rarely opened its doors for activities, ects on these monuments. let alone daily operations. Monitoring activities in these monuments have concluded that the majority of them are closed to the public, or are not being used for the purpose intended by the funds al- Churches, for Clergy and Believers Only located for interventions. Speaking in numbers, the doors of these monuments have been closed for a total of 300 Church of St. George and St. Friday Church were restored to 350 months. from 2005/06 to 2010 and 2014, respectively, intermittently. Both serve the needs of the Orthodox clergy, believers and The amount of funds generated by eventual economic ac- pilgrims. The general public or tourists wanting to visit must tivity in these monuments to date is 0 Euros, whereas only obtain permission from the religious leaders of the Orthodox one of them has a management plan, namely the Gazi Church. In most cases, the requests are denied. Mehmed Pasha Hammam. Two Monuments, One Guard Only Restoration with Insufficient Funding The Archaeological Museum of Prizren – Watch Tower was In the case of the Hammam of Prizren, restoration works had recently restored with funding by the US Embassy in Pristina, begun with scarce resources. An estimate by the Regional while years ago funds had also been allocated by MCYS. Center for Cultural Heritage in Prizren had established that Although this dual monument has been restored and has the amount needed for intervention is over 670 thousand Eu- almost everything for regular operation, it is nevertheless ros. For the first phase of these works UNESCO had allocat- closed to the public. Concurrently, there was no institutional ed 214 thousand USD. It was therefore decided that the first leadership for several months, and no staff to care for daily phase interventions would focus on the domes to eliminate activities. The only person employed at this monument is the risk of humidity damage and further degradation of the the security officer. Hammam. However, UNESCO funds were insufficient for the completion of the first phase. Due to the lack of 50 thousand Euros, the works were interrupted in September 2014. Mean- time, in February 2015, the lead sheeting from the roof of the An Example of the “Sacrifice” of Funds Hammam was stolen twice, thus risking repeated damage to the monument due to wet conditions and further degrada- The Museum of Mother Teresa is a project contracted five tion. The Hammam is the only monument with a manage- years ago by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. This ment plan, yet it does not operate year-round. Exceptional- museum is not yet operational, although according to of- ly, for cultural events, the doors of the Hammam open for ficial reports works were completed in 2012. Mid last year short periods of time. the facility passed technical inspection, but to this day the Museum doors remain closed. Museum of Inactivity “Regional Center” of the Department of Tourism Hydro-Power Plant – Electrical Museum has been restored thanks to funding by the US Embassy in Pristina. The res- Old Municipal Building – Belediye was restored in 2010- 2011, thanks to donations by the European Union Office in 6 n EC MA NDRYSHE Kosovo, with the purpose of being the first Regional Center being maintained and that there is degradation. for Cultural Heritage in the Balkans. However, this facili- ty houses the Department of Tourism of the Municipality of Prizren for several years now. Deviation in Forging Blacksmiths’ Street is a project implemented by the Munici- Double Fraud pality of Prizren and UN Habitat. The works were completed in 2011. The street was revitalized in an effort to link the The Shani Efendi Selamlik was restored thanks to support Historic Center with some important monuments of cultural provided by the US Embassy Conservation Fund.