Baroque beauties with Norwegian help12 August 2008
The second phase of the restoration of the Hiemer-Font-Caraffa block, Székesfehérvár’s unique baroque monument, has been completed. The 835 million HUF investment is the first successfully completed Norwegian Fund project in Hungary.
Minister of National Development and Economy Gordon Bajnai handed over the building, restored to its former glory, to the citizens of Székesfehérvár on Saturday. The building accommodates a wedding hall, function and exhibition rooms, as well as a youth club.
The Hiemer-Font-Caraffa block is a unique monument located in the centre of Székesfehérvár. Its medieval halls conceal baroque frescoes and rococo ornaments. The building has been owned by the town for the past two hundred years, although by 1990 it was in a dangerous state due to the lack of restoration. The local government of Székesfehérvár was able to start restoring the 3000-sqm building in three phases with the help of EU funding.
Having implemented a successful EU project, the first phase of the restoration work was completed in 2006 with the help of funding of 600 million HUF approved within the framework of the National Development Plan. As well as a Tourinform Office, the part of the building restored back in 2006 accommodates meeting, function and reception rooms.
The town applied for and was granted funding of 710 million HUF in value within the framework of the first Norwegian Financing Mechanism call for proposals to continue the reconstruction of the building. The local government only needed to contribute own resources of 75 million HUF to this amount, since the EU own resources fund controlled by the Ministry of Local Government contributed 50 million HUF towards the implementation of the project. Following approval of the project by both Hungarian bodies and the Norwegian Mechanism Office, restoration work finally got underway last autumn – as the first successfully concluded Norwegian Financing Mechanism project in Hungary - and the citizens of Székesfehérvár could begin using the freshly restored community halls in the monumental part of the building in August 2008.
The recently restored section of the building is unique, since the local government managed to restore and present a medieval building compound that is considered a unique monument, in which the halls located on the ground floor were converted into a reception area and a wedding hall and function room were set up on the first floor. A unique baroque fresco portraying the Roman Goddess of Justice, Justitia, is an exceptional feature of the building; the painting was discovered in a small baroque room during the restoration of the building. Brides are able to prepare for the ceremony in the room named after the Goddess and furnished with antique fittings. The first wedding ceremony to be held in the restored building will take place on 30 August.