On 22 January 2024, the kick-off meeting of the Visegrad Fund project „Promoting V4 industrial heritage for conservation and tourism (22330253)” was held online. The project aims to promote the common history and cultural heritage of the V4 region by showcasing its industrial heritage, an area that is less in focus but has a significant socio-economic impact.
Project objective
The main objective of the project is to promote the industrial heritage of the V4 region. Industry has always played an important role in the history of the region, from the explosive industrial development of the Habsburg Empire through the forced industrialisation of socialism to the present day. Industrial and economic links permeate the region and have contributed to the development of a collective identity in Central Europe.
However, the importance and care of industrial heritage (despite many positive examples) is not sufficiently recognised. Therefore, the main objective of the project is to raise awareness and promote the industrial heritage of the V4 countries, to preserve it and to promote industrial heritage tourism as an important and growing element of cultural tourism.
The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.
Need to change
Industrial heritages are often undervalued or carry negative associations (pollution, poor working conditions, exploitation). Many historic industrial buildings are in a very dilapidated state. Their architectural and historical significance are not known to the general public. The majority of people does not see their disappearance as a problem.
As a result, industrial buildings often fall victim to profit-driven real estate developments erasing an important chapter of the history and reducing the diversity of the built heritage. By demolishing industrial buildings rather than reusing them, the environmental footprint of real estate investments is also significantly increased. (...)
The potential of industrial heritage in tourism is unexploited. Industrial heritage is also part of the attractions of cities, but this is often not realised by the citizens or tourists. E.g., bridges, market halls, water towers, or even the classic London telephone boxes are part of the industrial heritage. In many cases, they add a unique character to a city's image, such as a notable palace or church (consider the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Great Market Hall in Budapest or the shaft tower of Zollverein), thus increasing the tourist appeal of the city and increasing the number of overnight stays.
Additionally, industrial heritages can drive tourists away from the city centre to the outskirts, as factories are often located in the outer districts. This can relieve the pressure of tourism on the inner districts and help businesses (e.g. restaurants, services) in the outer districts.
Our approach
Our project aims to raise awareness among professionals and the general public including the younger generations about the importance of industrial heritage buildings and cityscapes, presenting their history, architectural, industrial and technological values.
It also aims to position the industrial heritage sites and buildings as touristic attractions of cultural tourism. To achieve these goals, our project will create an informative website showcasing 7-7 significant industrial heritages of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, initially focusing mainly on some of the iconic heritages of the 3 countries, and then, as a possible continuation of the project, other sites and heritages of the V4 countries. (...)
For this purpose, we will use our industrial heritage research, contemporary and historical images, videos. The design and logo of the website will be selected through a design competition for college and university students and young professionals. On the website, an interactive map and virtual tour will support the presentation of industrial heritages. We will share knowledge, ideas and best practices on industrial heritage conservation and industrial heritage tourism with a professional audience through an online seminar. During the project, online discussions and an on-site meeting will strengthen the professional network of the V4 institutions involved in the project.
Added value
Though there are industrial heritage websites in all V4 countries, their focus, content, methodology and presentation are different and mostly only available in the national language (maybe in English).
The uniqueness and added value of the project compared to existing practices is ensured by the following:
-research and documentation of the industrial heritage of each country is carried out according to the same methodology developed in the framework of the project (...)
-the description of the industrial heritages of the 3 countries will be presented (for the first time in the V4 region) on the same website, in 4 languages. The website can be extended and scalable to present the heritage of other V4 and V4+ countries in the future
-the descriptions, interactive map and virtual tour on the website will be accompanied by different media content (text, photo, video) and in some cases innovative digital content (360-degree photo, digital twin)
-promotion, knowledge sharing, and tourism promotion of the industrial heritage is supported by a chain of events: online and on-site meetings, online seminar
-operators of industrial heritage sites, representatives of local authorities, institutions, the general public and youth are involved in all stages of the project.
Regional relevance
Industry has played an important role in the historical development of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The establishment of the capitalist economy in the 19th century was essentially determined by the fact that it took place within the framework of the Habsburg monarchy.
The Habsburgs' economic policy served three objectives:
-to achieve self-sufficiency in the empire,
-to catch up with more industrially advanced countries, and
-to promote the division of labour between the parts of the Habsburg Empire. (...)
The division of labour and the huge internal market led to the rapid development of the food industry in Hungary, the machine and manufacturing industries in the Czech and Austrian territories, and mining and metallurgy in the Slovak territories. The region is thus permeated by common economic roots, but at the same time the citizens of these countries have little information in their own language about the industrial heritage of the other V4 countries.
And, in general, there is limited information available on the history and significance of industrial heritage in a coherent way and with a variety of media content, so the project represents a substantial added value for the inhabitants of the V4 region and for tourism in terms of knowledge and preservation of industrial heritage.
Activities and timeline
The project includes a number of activities: research, photographing, filming and documenting 21 industrial heritages in the 3 countries, developing multimedia website, organising student design competition, conducting on-line and on-site workshops and seminars.
The main activities and their timeline is demonstrated on the Gantt Chart.
Consortium
The project will be implemented by a Hungarian-Slovak-Czech consortium. Consortium members have worked together on Visegrad Fund donored Rail4V4+V projects and I.CON.A Industrial Conversion Award.
Aviscon Kft
The Lead Partner of the project is Aviscon Kft. Aviscon Kft. is a consultant and service company specialised in industry, institutional development and tourism. The experts of the company managed feasibility studies, brownfield revitalisation projects and several industry specific assignments. Experts of the company regularly give lectures on universities in industry technology improvements.
Aviscon Kft. is also organising industrial heritage tours. The company is operating www.industrialheritagehungary.com an informative website which provides news about industrial and technical heritages in Hungary.
Design Factory
Design factory (DF) has long been involved in the promotion of historical and industrial architecture in Slovakia in the form of informal education and creative workshops for children and young people. An integral part of our activities is the support of visual arts and discussion through contact between the top representatives of the contemporary architectural scene, the academic community and the general public; and serve as a mediator of communication with the business sector. Design factory’s main project in regard to the industrial awareness is called Industrial Days. (...) First Industrial Day project, in 2009 was devoted to a presentation of photographs of revitalized industrial monuments in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the world. For its great success, the exhibition and accompanying activities (excursion around the industrial zone) were repeated in the years 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022. In regard to the events dedicated to children, design factory has organized 20 series of Musical events and workshops colleges for more than 500 children. In 2022, it organized the I.CON.A - Industrial Conversion Award for the first time in Slovakia.
Research Centre for Industrial Heritage (VCPD)
The Research Centre for Industrial Heritage (VCPD) systematically documents the industrial heritage and technical and industrial monuments located on the territory of the Czech Republic and it studies them in reference to the history and theory of architecture, urban studies, and heritage conservation. The VCPD takes an interdisciplinary approach to its work and promotes cooperation across a broad range of institutions and enthusiastic volunteers. It also initiated the national platform for the conservation and adaptive re-use of industrial heritage – Vestiges of Industry and the online (...)industrial heritage map Industrial Topography of the Czech Republic. Project Industrial Architecture: Understanding Monuments of Industrial Heritage as Technical-Architectural Works and as a Source of Identity of a Place will be of special importance for the proposed topic.
Visegrad Fund
The International Visegrad Fund is an international donor organization established by the governments of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). Its aim is to support closer understanding and cooperation among people in the V4 region, as well as between the V4 region and other countries and regions, particularly in the non-EU neighborhood of the Eastern Partnership countries and in the Western Balkans. The fund does fosters the development of civil society by financing joint grant projects and by awarding university scholarships and artist residencies. The fund’s annual budget of €8 million consists of equal contributions by the V4 governments.
For more information visit the Visegrad Fund page.
Aviscon Kft 
Design Factory
Research Centre for Industrial Heritage (VCPD)
