Selected problems of protecting and managing historical ruins in Poland

Historical ruins have long been the object of interest for the research –workers of various disciplines as well as the conservators of historical monuments. The main problem is the form of protection. The standard of protecting ruins in the so-called permanent ruin form was elaborated two centuries ago, however, it is still the subject of numerous discussions, conferences, scientific-research works. The main source of doubts as to the permanent ruin is its incompleteness,(deficiency) illegibility and the highly restricted possibilities of making any use of it, whereas the contemporary protection of monuments assumes their accessibility and the widest possible use for contemporary functions. That is why the main issue in contemporary maintenance of historical ruins is to ensure them a proper management system. The problem of protecting historical ruins has universal character. In Poland it concerns the resources of about 200 historical ruins, first and foremost of the mediaeval castles. That is why the Polish conservator circles have intensified the works aiming at the solution of the problem through the organization of programs, projects and conferences. A highly estimated result of those efforts is a programmatic document entitled “The Protection Charter of Historical Ruins”. It comprises a set of rules that determine the form of maintenance of historical ruins. However, the issues of management, development and use of the historical ruins still await a solution.