Romania’s Monument ‘Ambulance’ Races To Save Country’s Past

On a scorching summer day in the remote Transylvanian village of Micasasa, 39-year-old Romanian architect Eugen Vaida is busy coordinating a team of volunteers helping to breathe new life into a centuries-old castle on the brink of ruin.

“It’s in an advanced state of degradation and it’s a monument of national importance,” Vaida, who in 2016 launched the Ambulance for Monuments project, said.

The Ambulance for Monuments has a simple task: to race around the Balkan country, giving critical care to as many historical buildings as possible that are in an advanced state of decay before it’s too late.

Since it launched, Ambulance for Monuments has rescued 55 historical structures, including medieval churches, historic fortification walls, old watermills and ancient UNESCO World Heritage Sites, from descending into complete ruin.

Situated in a broad valley at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountain basin, the dilapidated 16th-century Brukenthal Castle, which was once home to influential aristocrats and used as a primary school until just after the turn of the century, is one such endangered building being revived by the project.

More than two decades of neglect have left the old castle in serious need of attention.

“It probably would have gotten to a stage where it could barely be saved, it would have gotten to a ruin, and a ruin you cannot build again,” Vaida said. “Heritage is not renewable.”

The castle’s interior boasts around 600 square meters (6,460 square feet), but its roof is leaking, its timbers rotting and part of a key structural wall that supports it is compromised by decades of neglect. A month-long revamp, like all of Vaida’s projects, is supported by dozens of volunteers who are playing an important role in preserving Romania’s past.