During the Days of the Polish Cities in Vilnius the seminar “Revitalisation of Polish Historic Cities” took place in Vilnius Old Town Renewal Agency on 27th of April, 2006. Conservation specialists from the Warsaw Heritage Department Artur Zbiegieni and Ursula Zielinska presented the large scale revitalisation project ”Royal Road in Warsaw” and the project "Modernisation of Kubicki Arcades“. Head of the Krakow Department of Culture and National Heritage Jerzy Zbiegien presented restoration projects in Krakow, including a very interesting case of the reconstruction in the main Krakow Square (Rynek). Deputy Director of the Lodz Strategies and Analyses Department Urszula Krolikowska presented problems of the revitalisation process in Lodz. Vilnius conservation specialists presented Vilnius Old Town Revitalisation Programme and the Strategy for Wooden Buildings Preservation. This exchange seminar was very useful for both Polish and Lithuanian specialists.

It is a continuation of a fruitful co-operation between Lithuanian and Polish conservation specialists. In May of 2004, in the framework of Vilnius Days in Warsaw, the seminar on the Lithuanian conservation policy and its implementation took place in the Royal Palace of Warsaw. At the same time craftsmen from Vilnius demonstrated Lithuanian traditional crafts and arts in Warsaw and Gdansk. In 2005 Dalia Bardauskiene, the advisor of Vilnius City Mayor, took part in the international conference in Warsaw “Reconstruction Preserving Memory”. The same year Director of Vilnius Old Town Renewal Agency Gediminas Rutkauskas and the head of the Heritage Division of Vilnius City Municipality Giedre Filipaviciene took part in the annual Seminar of Restoration Companies in Krakow. They presented Vilnius Old Town revitalisation and also have met with representatives of Krakow Rehabilitation Committee.

Photo (from left to right): Gediminas Rutkauskas (Vilnius), Ursula Zielinska (Warsaw),
Jurate Raugaliene (Vilnius), Giedre Filipaviciene (Vilnius), Urszula Krolikowska (Lodz),
Jerzy Zbiegien (Krakow), Artur Zbiegieni (Warsaw) in Belmonto Estate near Vilnius.

More information:

• The Vilnius and Warsaw City2City exchange
• City2City Program