Pomniki historii jako kategoria prawna
Historical Monuments as a Legal Category

Summary/Abstract: In 1994 a decree issued by the President of the Republic of Poland recognised fifteen complexes as historical monuments, which consequently may be included in the World Heritage List. The author questions the purposefulness of this solution, and recalls that the evaluative classification, applied more than thirty years ago and listing monuments representative on a global scale, incurred enormous damage by acting as a directive enumerating what could be destroyed, and not protected, in the first place. The article draws attention to the fact that although certain historical buildings were conserved and rebuilt in the People’s Republic of Poland, there was no legal protection of monuments. Sheer habit and a lack of legal training suggested to conservators solutions that are worthless or outright harmful from the viewpoint of protection. The author also recollects that it is not “global” significance, but ties with local history which are decisive for merits which he describes as patriotic, and which constitute an index of the cultural identity of a given nation.

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