Every fourth monument in Slovakia is in unsatisfactory condition

Bratislava - At least every fourth monument in Slovakia is in a disturbed or even deplorable condition, and restoring them would require 5.4 billion euros (over 143 billion crowns). This primarily concerns properties in private ownership; the lowest debt to the heritage fund is held by the state, according to an analysis by the Slovak ministries of finance and culture. The state should invest more in the restoration of monuments from European funds, although it allocates more money to culture in relation to economic performance than the EU average.

"The mentioned results are likely too positive. The Heritage Office does not have a database that regularly updates all changes. The structural-technical condition in the database reflects the state of the monument at the time of its declaration as a cultural monument or after the reported restoration, and does not necessarily reflect the current condition," stated state analysts.

The state's debt to the heritage fund was estimated by analysts at 769 million euros (20.4 billion crowns). "The state should set an example in protecting the monuments in its ownership. Given the lack of financial resources and the size of the heritage fund, it is desirable that the restoration of state-owned monuments be financed through the EU fund," the analysis indicates.

Slovakia also financially supports the restoration of monuments owned by private owners, churches, or local governments; however, grants constitute only a fraction of the investment debt, and co-financing from applicants is low.

Last year, the Heritage Office in Slovakia recorded nearly 10,000 immovable and over 15,000 movable national cultural monuments. Unlike the Czech Republic, Slovakia does not differentiate between cultural monuments of local significance and national cultural monuments, according to analysts.

In recent years, Slovakia has spent slightly more money on culture in relation to the size of its economy and the public expenditure package than the average for the entire EU, but it has lagged behind other Visegrad Group countries, which include the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, along with Slovakia. The share of private resources in culture in Slovakia lags behind foreign averages.