EEA AND NORWAY GRANTS FUND FOR BILATERAL RELATIONS INITIATIVE PROPOSAL Title of the initiative : BUILDING UP A NETWORK TO GAIN NORWEGIAN EXPERTISE IN RESTORING AND EXHIBITING SWISS-STYLE BUILDINGS Implementing entity ( beneficiary state entity) : ESTONIA N OPEN AIR MUSEUM Partner(s) ( minimum one donor state entity ) : Bergen Museum Foundation , Norway Bilateral priority area identified by the JCBF beyond the programmes: X promotion of core European values, such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and the respect for human rights for all people, regardless of their racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity; E-governance ( digitalization) eastern partnership equality and equal treatment competitive business environment, sustainable and adaptive governance (based on “Competitiveness Plan for 2020” approved by the Government of Estonia) Allocation (total sum) : 9 ,000 € (cost of Estonian partner) ( A more detailed project budget d escription in the activity plan ) Short d escription of the initiative : ( background, aim, participants, acti vity plan, budget outline, communication and dissemination ) The Estonian Open Air Museum (EAOM), located on the territory of the former Baltic German summer estate, Rocca al Mare, holds a Swiss-type (Swiss chalet style) wooden villa, built in situ in 1870. Now EAOM is preparing to restore this unique log building , create a permanent display, and open it for visitors. However, as buildings in Swiss style are rare in Estonia, we lack expertise to restore it properly and are looking for corresponding knowhow that would help us in this work. Swiss style ( Sveitserstil ) was predominant in northern European wooden architecture from approximately 18 40 to approximately 1935. The style was inspired by the building custom in the Alps and had its origins in Switzerland and Germany . In the romantic era of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, an increasing stream of foreign visitors traveled to Switzerland. The richly decorated style with wooden balconies and many carved ornaments spread across Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, France, the Baltics, Scandinavia and also to a lesser extent to Great Britain and North America . Villas, workers' housing, station buildings, tourist hotels, agricultural buildings and much more were built in this style. The Swiss style was perceived as well suited to Norwegian conditions, it was quickly imported to Norway. Around 1840, the first cottages appeared in Norway and quickly became popular . There is a big number of listed buildings in this style that have been expertly renovated by now. What concerns the renovation of built cultural heritage, Estonian heritage protection has relied on the Norwegian long expertise in this field many times before , especially when it comes to wooden buildings . We have found a competent and experienced partner, Bergen Museums that manages 115 buildings, 100 of which have a high cultural and historical value. T hey have also expertise in restoring Sveitserst il buildings, for example the Edvard Grieg Museum that is one of the earliest Swiss style buildings in Norway. Within the current project EOAM aim s to build a network to gain expertise of restoring Sveitserstil buildings. We are interested in the constructional and architectural knowhow as well as the possibilities to restore a historical building according to new requirements concerning climate risks and energy efficiency . We plan a study trip to Bergen familiarize ourselves with Sveitserstil buildings in that area , and to get corresponding knowledge from Norwegian colleagues. On the same trip we also visit the Norwegian Open Air Museum in Oslo, as they are currently working on a Sveitsersti l building. The budget of the project involves travel costs, accommodation and allowances of 6 EAOM staff members. The participants in this project will disseminate the gained knowledge on a corresponding seminar and meetings with those engaged in restoration of the Swiss-style villa at EOAM . The shared knowledge gained during the project helps EOAM to restore the Swiss-type villa on their territory and turn it to an attractive and educative exposition about our shared European identity and cultural historical past . Hopefully, this project leads to further cooperation between the two partners who are both involved in preserving European built cultural heritage. The Activity plan: Activity Time Location Cost Participants Start- up meeting November, 2024 web -meeting 0 Estonian and Norwegian contact persons Meeting to plan and coordinate further activities February , 2025 Web -meeting 0 Estonian and Norwegian contact persons Study trip to Oslo Museum and Bergen Museum Foundation March, 2025 Oslo, Bergen 9,000 € 6 staff members from EOAM Seminar about the Norwegian expertise in restoring Sveitserstil buildings April , 2025 Tallinn, Estonia 0 Staff members of EOAM (110) Wrap-up meeting and discussions for further collaboration April , 2025 Web -meeting 0 Estonian and Norwegian contact persons Planned results OUTPUT INDICATOR TARGET Study trip to gather information about restoring Sveitserstil buildings has been completed . Number of study trips and trained staff members 1 study trip ; 6 staff members of EAOM have gained knowledge about restoring Sveitserstil buildings and pass it on to colleagues in a corresponding seminar F unctional network with Norwegian colleagues to gain expertise in restoring Sveitserstil buildings has been built. Number of networks . One actively operating network uniting Norwegian and Estonian colleagues to gain Norwegian expertise in restoring Sveitserstil buildings Increased capacity of E OAM staff to restore and exhibit Sveitserstil buildings has been achieved . Number of informed staff members 110 informed staff members of EOAM
TO: Estonian Open Air Museum FNDT
Vabaõhumuuseumi tee 12
13521 Tallinn
Estonia
29 August, 2024
LETTER OF CONFIRMATION
We hereby confirm that the foundation Bymuseet i Bergen is ready to participate as a hosting
partner in the bilateral relations project «BUILDING UP A NETWORK TO GAIN NORWEGIAN
EXPERTISE IN RESTORING AND EXHIBITING SWISS-STYLE BUILDINGS» initiated by the
Estonian Open Air Museum FNDT, Tallinn.
Yours sincerely,
Åse Tveitnes
Head of heritage and collection management
Bymuseet i Bergen
Address: Post box 4052, Sandviken, N- 5835 Bergen, Norway
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: + 47 930 94 919