Historical Gardens – Are They for Everyone?

Among the many categories of historical monuments, accessibility of historical gardens is still a poorly recognized issue. Legal requirements focus upon accessibility of buildings, and yet they do not impose any obligations to care for the neighboring space. Thus, they omit the area which surrounds the building. The area that is a necessary complement of the building, and it is often subject to legal protection. The grounds and landscape of a particular building that is documented in the Register of Historical Monuments also fall under such protective clauses. Ensuring accessibility of historical monuments, including historical gardens, is an issue common for the building and its historical surroundings. This extensive and complex issue should be analyzed in a comprehensive manner, in the context of the entire historical site.

However, the problem should not simply be solved by adapting the historical monument to accessibility requirements understood as re-construction of the entire object or its parts, but by selecting the appropriate manner of making it accessible, i.e. by ensuring such solutions which do not result in an excessive load or infringement of the values of the historical garden. Otherwise, it would go against the principles of conservator's protection of such sites. Making a site accessible by solving the problem of architectural accessibility may be effectively supported by communication and information activities which seem much safer in the context of negative impact on historical values of the site than liquidation of architectural barriers. The crucial condition that must be met here is to provide various involved groups honest and exhaustive information about the offer and about accessibility limitations (if any). Due to the nature of such areas, we should also understand the administrator of such gardens can seldom make it fully accessible.