Architectural Conservation in the Czech and Slovak Republics

In the spring of 1992, World Monuments Fund sponsored a conference entitled “Public-Private Partnership for Historic Preservation in the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic,” just before the establishment of the independent Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia. The intent of the conference was to expose professionals in the Czech and Slovak Republics to successful methods employed in Western Europe and the United States to preserve and utilize historic buildings. While touring cities such as Prague, Brno, Olomouc, Bratislava, and Telc, conference participants discussed the addition of new buildings to historic fabric, finance and tax incentives for historic preservation, methods for preservation planning and engaging the public, and the preservation of historic landscapes. At the conclusion of the conference, the foreign visitors were optimistic that the expertise and ethic to support preservation initiatives appeared to be uncommonly strong in the Czech and Slovak Republics.