Abstract:
The catastrophic fire which struck the 12thC foundation and continuously inhabited Hilandar Monastery [Mount Athos, Greece] came towards the close of an intense three decade long period of conservation. Acting as fire-breaks the two towers to either side of the famed katholikon saved it and the older south courtyard but the conflagration completely destroyed the great majority of the monastery,s accommodation. The reconstruction and conservation project begun immediately and is scheduled to be completed by 2020. This will be the first wholesale reconstruction of an Athonite complex in the last century and an unprecedented opportunity to document, study, reinforce and rebuild the remaining standing and/or recoverable masonry structures and substructures of an Athonite monastery. I would introduce this paper by outlining the pre-fire conservation plan for the main enclosure including: the consolidation of the St Sava tower, treasury and refectory, aqueduct and the immediate outbuildings, as well as the abandoned Saint Basil monastery, monastic ports and hermitages. The core of this paper focuses on an assessment of the conceptual and technical issues which have arisen in the first phase of the post-fire conservation plan as it has evolved over the past five years. Currently the front gate structures have been largely completed and the adjacent ranges to the south-west begun under the supervision of the monastery,s conservation architects Kovacevic and Sekularac. I shall outline the approach and technical execution of the conservation work as negotiated by the Hilandar Foundation with the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchiate, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia [ZZSK] and Directorate for the Protection of Mount Athos' Heritage [KEDOK] and highlight the conceptual issues raised as to whether reinstatement should be made to the immediate pre-fire condition or to take the building back prior to its 18thC and 19thC retrofitting and renovation.