The role of professional civil society organizations in the protection of historical monuments in Hungary

Abstract

Monument protection is a multi-disciplinary, multi-faceted social activity, to which civilized states have been devoting time, money, and energy since the second half of the 19th century, operated educational institutions, research institutes, and creating legal regulations. Among the actors are investors, the architectural profession, experts, authorities, educational institutions, and civil associations. According to the historical preservation profession, preserving the values of historical buildings strengthens social identity. Thanks to memory as a psychological process, the sight, use, and presence of old things, including old buildings, in our lives evokes positive emotions in most people, which is why we accept the inconveniences and additional costs associated with maintaining old buildings. However, there is a broad social stratum for whom old only means junk and is n ot motivated at all to preserve historical values. Society's interest is shown by the fact that the press occasionally emphasizes a supposedly successful restoration of a monument, or even the story of a perishing asset. The Hungarian professional monument protection system has undergone a radical transformation since 2010. The central bodies have crumbled, and the regional organizational units that performed official tasks have been integrated into the public administration system and are trying to carry out value protection work under the general building authorities. In this situation, professional civil society organizations active in the field of monument protection are playing an increasingly important role.