The protection of the built and archaeological heritage is an increasingly debated
topic in recent years. In order to protect these valuable historic structures and preserve them
for the future, holistic approaches are necessary. These generally involves a wide range of
specialists and collaborators, multidisciplinary way of developing conservation strategies,
while maintaining their original features.
However, recent studies highlight the fact that the management of heritage sites and buildings
is far more than the simple aesthetic and structural repair. It means acknowledging the role of
societies and communities in maintaining the importance of these structures and the risk of
environmental factors (climate change challenges or earthquake risk) on their state of
conservation and the effect of unauthorized interventions over time.
Therefore, based on the case study of Orastioara, a commune in Hunedoara County, Romania,
where 3 UNESCO heritage sites (from a total of 6 UNESCO sites in the area) can be found and
numerous monuments of national and local importance, the study is presenting the challenges
encountered during the development of the general urban plan of the commune, in relation with
all the establishments that conserve Dacian fortresses – sites UNESCO; and also a proposal
for the future management plan of the protected sites. Since the heritage structures have been
neglected over the years, the paper comprises a general overview of the complexity of the
developed conservation strategy, in order to be able to manage the heritage structures while
taking the particularities of their context into consideration
