Safeguarding Historical Wooden Architecture in Times of War – Documentation, Preservation, and Outreach
Scientific and practical Workshop, Kolbuszowa (Poland), 17.-24.04.2026
Historic wooden architecture and wooden artefacts constitute a distinctive cultural heritage shared by many European countries. Russia’s war against Ukraine has brought the vulnerability of this heritage into sharp focus. This situation provided the impetus for a workshop dedicated to both scholarly and practical perspectives on the documentation, conservation, and communication of this cultural heritage. The event is the result of an international collaboration between the Department of Art History at the University of Cologne (Germany), the Museum of Folk Culture in Kolbuszowa (Poland), the Klymentiy Sheptytsky Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life in Lviv (Ukraine), the Ukraine Art Aid Center e.V. based in Berlin, and the National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad – Polonika. The workshop will take place from 17 to 24 April 2026 at the Museum of Folk Culture in Kolbuszowa.
Within four thematic workshops—Digital Technologies for the Documentation of Historic Buildings; Carpentry Techniques for the Restoration of Historic Structures; Condition Assessment and Evaluation of Historic Wooden Objects; and Museological and Digital Approaches to the Communication of Historic Wooden Architecture—experts from Ukraine, Poland, and Germany will present current scholarly and practical approaches. These will be discussed collectively and applied in practice-oriented sessions. The event is conceived as direct support in addressing the current challenges faced by museums and heritage conservation institutions in Ukraine under the conditions of war. It aims to foster international academic and professional exchange and to promote sustainable European cooperation in the fields of heritage conservation, museum practice, and public engagement with cultural heritage.
The organisation of the event is made possible through financial support from the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation, the Museum of Folk Culture in Kolbuszowa, the National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad – Polonika, and the Department of Art History at the University of Cologne.
You can download the programme of the workshop here.
Stay updated – Follow us on Instagram!
