HERITAGE ALERT February 2016 ICOMOS International Committee on Historic Towns and Villages EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The city of Vyborg is one of the oldest fortified harbor cities of the Baltic Sea region. The city came within the bounds of the medieval Christian states and during its 700-year history has been part of different nation states – Sweden, the Russian empire, Finland, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation – retaining the continuity of cultural development until the mid-20th century. The cultural and historic heritage of Vyborg has been uniquely multicultural. The magnitude and range of its cultural values are greater than what is even officially recognized today. Meanwhile, the current physical condition and heritage perspectives of the city are attracting increasingly more international attention and research. The master plan of Vyborg and active urban planning documentation adopted in the absence of the protection of cultural and historic heritage zones, as well as the level of the administration management, do not provide efficient protection of the built heritage. Notes for the protection zones project developed in 2010 are not eliminated, and consequently the project has not been approved. It was also in 2010 that Vyborg was awarded the status of “historical settlement of federal significance”. However, a number of buildings in the city centre currently stand abandoned and some of them lie in almost total ruin. In April 2013, following a decision by the local government, demolition began of the major part of one of the quarters in the medieval urban nucleus. However, its full demolition was stopped by the governor of the Leningrad Region. The investors and city authorities are not interested in building restoration, but rather in the speculative construction of high-rise commercial buildings on the urban lacunas that emerged either during the Second World War or as a result of post-war demolitions. Sometimes they try to declare their commitment to preserving the heritage by means of a primitive stylized "antique". An example is the so-called “Linna” [Finnish for ‘castle’] – a new “Disneyland” – a building built from Siporex concrete blocks, the top floors and towers of which rise above the skyline of the old town. Another example is the “Torkel town hall” [in Russian: Torkelskaya Ratusha], which has been under construction since 2012, the heavy corner part of which disturbs the scale of the historical center. In 2014 federal money was allocated for the development of two big projects in Vyborg: the boundaries and subjects of the historical settlement protection (developed by “Mosproject-2” JSC), and the concept of the historic city area preservation (developed by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Central Scientific and Restoration Project Workshops” [TSNRPM] in collaboration with the Scientific, Production and Project-oriented Association "Soyuzstroyrestavratsiya”). Neither of these projects, however, corresponds to the needs and solutions regarding the current problems in the protection of the Vyborg built heritage. This is made evident by the construction of a motorway, initiated in 2015, that runs through the historical park of Papula, with a total disregard for its established borders and the principles of the historical city development as a center of cultural tourism, as declared in the concept. 1-0 IDENTITY OF OBJECT 1-1 Current and original name: The city of Vyborg’s historical center and site complexes related to it. 2 1-2 Location: City of Vyborg, Leningrad Region, Russian Federation. 1-3 Classification/ Type of place The city of Vyborg lies on the northeast coast of the Gulf of Finland close to the border between the Russian Federation and Finland. Administratively, the city is part of the Leningrad Region. Vyborg is a vast architectural and landscape complex, the value of which lies not only in its landmarks and the harmony of its historical center, but also in its spatial layout in combination with the natural landscape setting. The city itself is a great example of the continuity of urban planning ideas and the organic blend of works of several national architectural schools from different eras. The historical and cultural value of its landmarks and urban harmony are appreciated in Russia, Finland and Sweden. The Mon Repos park, an outstanding landmark in landscape architecture, also has a great significance. The aspects of the city with the greatest value are: the historical center, including the medieval nucleus with the castle, the remainder of the city wall dating from the 15th century, the bastion fortifications, the regular city layout dating from the 17th century, the Annenkrone fortress (St. Anne’s Crown; in Russian Annenskiye ukrepleniya), and the urban districts from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century with the development of Classicism, Historicism, National Romanticism (in its northern modern variety) and Modernism, and which were designed by distinguished architects of different nationalities. The city library designed by Alvar Aalto – a unique landmark of the Modernist movement – is renowned worldwide. The gardens and parks of Vyborg have a great significance in the urban landscape and its environs. The historical landscape of Vyborg includes valuable natural landscapes, fortifications and suburbs. 1-4 Current Heritage Protection Status In 2010, the city was inscribed on the list of historical settlements of the Russian Federation. Protection areas are absent; the master plan developed and approved in 2009 does not include heritage preservation as a top target. There are 282 cultural heritage sites within the perimeter of the urban agglomeration, 16 of which are of federal significance and 72 of regional significance. 191 of them have the status of identified cultural heritage (temporarily under protection).1 The categorization “cultural heritage site” can refer to either a building or construction, or an ensemble of several of them. Vyborg castle, founded in 1293, viewed in 2015. 3 A square with a monument to the founder of Vyborg, Torkel Knutsson, at the city entrance on the castle side, in 2013. Krepostnaya street in 2013. 4 2-0 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE AND HISTORY 2-1 Statement of Significance Vyborg possesses a rich and representative worldwide value. It has a shared European architectural and archaeological heritage. The city’s cultural heritage should be treated as a cohesive whole, which includes its buildings, ensembles, the historical environment and plot subdivision, the urban landscape, the silhouettes and panoramic views, the archaeological and temporal layers, and the natural and immaterial values. Due to its multicultural character, Vyborg demonstrates clearly the cultural exchange that took place over the centuries in the border area of Sweden, Russia and Finland. The exchange is evident in the development of architecture, public art, urban planning and landscape design. Vyborg has been a historical fortified harbor city with a rich trading tradition and military functions. Vyborg is a great example of a settlement type, architectural complex and cultural landscape illustrating important aspects in the above-mentioned historical stages, each of which has left outstanding planning concepts and landmarks. The key stages are the castle and the remains of the “Horned” fortress from the Swedish era. Russian architects and engineers erected military defenses, the Annenkrone fortress (St. Anne’s Crown) and the barrack complexes at the Batareynaya Hill. The two churches, Orthodox and Lutheran, are from the Swedish era. The Finnish era left its mark in the city center master plan, and a number of buildings in the National Romantic and Modernist styles, including the architectural masterpiece, the Alvar Aalto Library. The Dominican and Franciscan convents, together with the old town church (later cathedral) and its bell tower, also constitute a great immaterial whole that is rare, even unique, in the North European context, having been owned and used for religious purposes by the three major churches in Europe – Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Greek Catholic. Still, the old cathedral possesses further layers of interest, having served as a storehouse, but is now a ruined monument that has recently been examined by both Russian and Finnish researchers. On October 14, 2010, on an occasion also marking the 75th anniversary of the Vyborg Library by Alvar Aalto, an international seminar on the topic of “The Future of Historical Vyborg” took place in the building. The seminar resolution, in particular, noted the need for a serious discussion of Vyborg’s nomination as a candidate for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Vyborg Library in 2014. 5 In February 2014 an international seminar “The Multicultural Heritage of Vyborg and its Preservation” was held in the newly restored Central City Alvar Aalto Library. At the end of the seminar a “Road Map” was accepted and signed by the representatives from Russia and Finland, which again stated the scope and worldwide significance of the architectural and archaeological heritage of Vyborg. Immediate and long-term actions to save the heritage were proposed. 2-2 History of place The history of Vyborg spans seven centuries. The Vyborg castle was founded by Swedish crusaders in 1293. Vyborg became a town in 1403, it was a part of the Russian empire in 1710– 1917, from 1917 to 1944 it was part of Finland, after which it was included in the Soviet Union, and from 1991 the Russian Federation – as a capital of the region. Vyborg has always been an important trade center between east and west. Swedish, Russian, Finnish and German languages created a multicultural atmosphere in the city. Vyborg, together with Stockholm, Visby, Tallinn, Stralsund and other Hanseatic cities, belongs to the type of medieval fortified Baltic sea port cities. In the 1470s, the city was surrounded by stone walls, which were subsequently rebuilt and complemented. One such a late construction is the arsenal, the Round Tower, constructed in 1547–1550, and which still stands in the Market square. In the 17th century, the medieval system of irregular streets was altered to conform to a rectangular grid plan.