The churches of Lesvos, Greece, and those of southern Transylvania in Romania’s Sibiu are the two cultural heritage sites from the Balkans included in this year’s World Monument Watch of places threatened by neglect, demolition or disaster.

The World Monuments Fund, WMF, a non-governmental organisation, which has strived to preserve cultural heritage across the globe for more than 40 years, issues the World Monument Watch every two years.

“Ranging from the famous (Machu Picchu, Peru) and remote (Phajoding, a monastery high in the mountains of Bhutan), to the unexpected (Merritt Parkway, Connecticut, US) and little-known (desert castles of ancient Khorezm, Uzbekistan), the 2010 Watch List tells compelling stories of human aspiration, imagination and adaptation,” according to the press released published by the organisation today.

Both of the Balkan entries in the Watch are two series of churches, located, respectively, on the Greek island of Lesvos and in the region Transylvania in Romania.

The 12 stone churches from Late Antiquity through the early modern era on the island of Lesvos “are in a precarious state of conservation due to structural collapse, compromised foundations, and deterioration of interior elements such as wall paintings and mosaic floors,” according to the official description.



The churches, it says, “bear significance as individual structures, but also as an ensemble of vestiges integrated within the island landscape.” With a number of them still functioning as houses of worship, they “serve an important role in the social fabric of each community and are inextricably linked to the lives of all residents.”

More information about the churches of Lesvos can be seen at the WMF official website.

The second Watch entry from the Balkans region includes the fortified churches of southern Transylvania in Romania’s Sibiu County. “Nestled in the hills and valleys below the jagged, menacing Carpathian Mountains of northern Romania,” as the organization describes them, “as much spiritual centres as they were protective havens, the 160 churches that survive today are testaments to the struggle for survival against constant Tartar and, later, Turkish attacks between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries.” With the arrival of more advanced military technologies in the eighteenth century, however, the churches’ protective functions became obsolete, although their importance as spiritual and social centres remained.



“Emigration of Transylvanian Saxons within the last 20 years has transformed the region and contributed to the degradation of many of these churches,” the description reads. “Insufficient funding, abandonment, and neglect have allowed the roofs, walls, and foundations to fall into disrepair. A trust has been established to advocate for the restoration of these sacred guardians of the past. Watch listing seeks to draw attention to and support the trust's efforts.”

More information about the fortified churches of southern Transylvania can be seen at the WMF official website.

The World Monuments Fund works through partnerships with local communities, funders, and governments in trying to preserve important architectural and cultural heritage sites around the globe. Nearly 85 percent of the organisation’s revenue goes directly toward preservation projects, fieldwork, advocacy, and educational programs.

Since the programme’s inception in 1996, 544 sites have been included on the seven Watches. Nearly half the listed sites, representing 79 countries, have received WMF grants totalling 50 million US dollars (around 34 million euro). These WMF monies have leveraged an additional 150 million US dollars (around 102 million euro) in assistance from other sources.

The detailed nomination guidelines can be seen at the WMF official website.