Romanian Wooden Church Awarded at The European Heritage Awards

The wooden church in Ursi village, Popesti commune, Valcea County, Romania, is the grand prize winner of the 2021 European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards. The project also received the Audience Award.

The wooden church in Ursi village, which dates from the eighteenth century and was restored using traditional materials and techniques in a collaborative manner, facilitating the exchange of ideas and knowledge between international participants, was chosen by the European Union’s leadership on the recommendation of an independent jury of experts to receive one of the Grand Prizes worth 10,000 euros. The wooden church in Ursi was also voted the most popular historic project in Europe by the general population. Approximately 7,000 individuals from all over Europe voted for the Audience Award on the Europa Nostra website.

The wooden church dedicated to the “Annunciation” and “Archangel Michael” in the village of Ursi was built between 1757 and 1784. Despite surviving a fire in 1838 and being rebuilt and decorated with frescoes, the church was eventually abandoned after a new church was built in the village. The church had practically no foundation and was at risk of collapse when it was rediscovered in 2007, and its shingled roof was in desperate need of repair. Furthermore, the aesthetic worth of frescoes created in the post-Byzantine tradition with Western influences was badly damaged.

The Pro Patrimonio Foundation included the church in Ursi in the “60 wooden churches” program in Romania in 2009, and it was later nominated in the “7 Most Endangered 2014” program.

From 2009 through 2020, restoration work takes conducted every summer, preceded by months of fundraising activities. The jury praised the restoration’s quality, calling it impressive.

The European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards were established by the European Commission in 2002 and have since been organized by Europa Nostra. Best practices in heritage protection, management, research, teaching, and communication are promoted through the Awards. As a result, the Awards system helps to raise public awareness of cultural heritage as a strategic resource for Europe’s culture and economy.