Romanian monastery Golia and conservationist Paraschiva Kovacs awarded Europa Nostra cultural heritage award by the EU

The Romanian monastery Golia, located in Iasi and Romanian conservation worker Paraschiva Kovacs, from Satu Mare, were among this year’s laureates of the Europa Noastra awards granted by the European Union for cultural heritage merits.

Golia Monastery, awarded in the category Conservation, is “one of the most complex monastic ensembles preserved to these days, due to the fact that the Church, the Tower, the precinct walls and the four corner towers are preserved. The Church was built by Vasile Lupu and his wife, Ecaterina Cercheza, between 1650 and 1652. The project focused on two main objectives: the restoration of the Golia Monastery Ensemble and the development of an infrastructure that provided access to the historical monument area, increasing its touristic and cultural appeal,” according to the evaluation of the Europa Nostra.

See footage on Golia Monastery below.

Paraschiva Kovacs was awarded in the Dedicated Service category, being “an extraordinary example for those modest, dedicated people all over Europe who without many resources succeed in raising awareness on the importance of the preservation of the past for the benefit of the future,” says the evaluation on the Europa Nostra website.

Kovacs was “a schoolteacher in a small community she has dedicated over 40 years of her life to the inventory and preservation of the artifacts of the past, as symbols of living heritage for a community.”

See footage on Paraschiva Kovacs below.

The awards will be presented on June 1 during a ceremony at the Jerónimos monastery in Lisbon in the presence of tenor Plácido Domingo, president of Europa Nostra, and Androulla Vassiliou, European commissioner for education, culture, multilingualism and youth.

Of the 28 winning projects from 15 different European countries, six will be named as “grand prix” laureates as 2012’s most outstanding heritage achievements.

Otilia Haraga

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