Castles and manors as generators of development: economic (non)use of castles and manors of Varazdin County

Varaždinska županija druga je po broju dvoraca na svojem teritoriju u Republici Hrvatskoj, a najveći dio njih nema namjene ili ona nije u skladu s kulturnim vrednotama koje dvorci nose. Ovim radom obuhvaćeno je preko dvadesetak dvoraca i kurija Varaždinske županije vodeći se ponajprije popisom nepokretnih kulturnih dobara Ministarstva kulture. Cilj ovog rada jest identifikacija razloga zbog kojih se spomenuta baštine ne koristi u svrhe gospodarske dobrobiti suvremenom društvu i to ponajprije na temelju do sada izdane literature, novinskih članaka, strateških planova i drugo. Kroz tri veće cjeline rad nastoji ukratko predstaviti dvorce i kurije varaţdinskog područja, iznijeti šest prepoznatih razloga njihove stagnacije i neiskorištavanja te konačno kroz različite pristupe revitalizaciji dvoraca i kurija iz prakse ilustrirati što dovodi do većeg ili manjeg uspjeha takvih pothvata.Varazdin County has the second largest number of castles in its territory in the Republic of Croatia and most of them do not have a purpose or the purpose is not in line with the cultural values of those buildings. This thesis studies more than twenty castles and manors of the Varazdin County, based on the list of immovable cultural heritage of the Ministry of Culture. The aim of this paper is to identify the reasons why this heritage is not in service of economic well-being of modern society and it is primarily based on published literature, newspaper articles, strategic plans and etc. Divided in three larger units, this paper tries to briefly present the castles and manors of the Varazdin area, presents six identified reasons for their stagnation and economic non-use, and finally through different approaches to the revitalization of castles and manors illustrates greater or lesser success of such ventures

Cooperation of a museum institution and students in creating virtual exhibitions using the MOVIO tool

MOVIO is one of the creative tools from AthenaPlus network. Its purpose is to facilitate the creation of virtual exhibitions. MOVIO is very similar to other content management systems (CMS) but it focuses more on creating interactive multimedia page contents, such as digital photo galleries and exhibitions, games, interactive timelines, and digital storytellers. MOVIO tool provides and also shows how its different options can be easily and efficiently used by users who do not have any specific IT knowledge such as advanced programming or web design techniques, to create and show different types of virtual exhibitions. Virtual exhibition “For Better or Worse… / Wedding Fashion from 1865 till Present” is a virtual extension of a physical exhibition held in the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb. Virtual exhibition catalogue was developed using the Timeline tool as a page type which proved to be very effective in presenting the exhibition conceptualized chronologically. The Timeline allows easy browsing through virtual objects within the timeframe we have previously determined. The other virtual exhibition, “Herman Bollé – Builder of the Croatian Capital” is also a virtual extension of the real exhibition held in the Museum of Arts and Crafts. Using the MOVIO tool and information from the catalogue of the real exhibition, the virtual exhibition was made making the most MOVIO options. The FFZG team used the following page types Home Page, Page, Google Map, Storyteller and Timeline. Furthermore, Bolle’s virtual exhibition has a unique content as compared to other exhibitions. It is an interactive game (among few simple puzzle and memory games) made in the Unity game engine which allows players to try to place many of Bollé’s architecture designs and buildings on the appropriate location on the map. Tools like MOVIO show that technology has evolved and has become simplified for end users so that they can easily create virtual exhibitions production of which was complex or costly several years ago

Usable and aestetic value of castles in Nothern Croatia

Dvorci kao važan kulturni aspekt baštine, posebno u sjevernom dijelu Hrvatske koje je njima najbogatije, danas najčešće dolaze s problemom održavanja. Zbog njihove veličine, ali i zaštićenog statusa (pa makar bili ruševni), izazov je krenuti u projekte revitalizacije. Ona ponajprije iziskuje odabir namjene stoljetne građevine u suvremenom svijetu čime se postavlja pitanje jesu li potpuna obnova i uljepšavanje dvorca gradnjom unazad nužni kako bi on postao turistički resurs – ili je moguće iskoristiti građevinu i u derutnom stanju, uz potrebne mjere zaštite? Uporabna vrijednost dvoraca ne veže se isključivo uz njihovu obnovu niti inzistiranjem na estetski privlačnoj vanjštini građevine, već suvremenom turistu koji teži autentičnom no drugačijem iskustvu može biti zanimljiva u lošem stanju ako je kvalitetno predstavljena.Castles are important cultural aspects of heritage, especially in the northern part of Croatia where they are the most numerous, but are also today commonly encountered with maintenance issues. Due to their size as well as protected status (even when they're in ruins) there is a challenge in revitalization projects. It primarily requires to find a purpose to centuries-old buildings in the modern world which follows with a question whether the complete restoration of the building is necessary for it to become a tourist resource – or is it possible to use the building in ruinous state, with the necessary protection measures? The usable value of castles is not linked solely to their restoration or insisting on aesthetically appealing exterior, as contemporary tourist seeks authentic and different experience which may suggest that even in poor condition the castle can be interesting if well presented