Ambulance for Monuments

TRANSCRIPT
Ambulance for Monuments

NARRATOR:
Romania is famous for its beautiful landscapes. It also has many valued historic buildings. Some of these are old and in need of care to stop them from being lost. One such building is a 16th-century castle in the small village of Micăsasa, in Transylvania. It’s called Brukenthal Castle. Here, a group of volunteers is working to save the building before it’s too late. The team is led by Romanian architect Eugen Vaida, who launched a project called Ambulance for Monuments in 2016. The name is a good fit. Just like a real ambulance rushes to help people in danger, this team travels across Romania to rescue old buildings in serious disrepair.

SOUNDBITE – Eugen Vaida:
"Probably in a few years it would go to ruin, and ruin you cannot build again, you cannot rebuild it actually because heritage is not renewable."

NARRATOR:
Eugen means that once an old building is destroyed, we can’t truly rebuild it the same way. These buildings are part of our history – and once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. At Brukenthal Castle, volunteers are repairing the roof and an important wall that supports it. It’s hard work – they will be here for a whole month. But they’re not alone. 
The local government provided building materials, and the people of Micăsasa are offering food and places to sleep. Many of the volunteers are students learning architecture, engineering, archaeology, or history. They believe that these old buildings are worth protecting. 

SOUNDBITE – Erika Nagy:
"This is my first experience with the Ambulance for Monuments but the community is amazing and the way they all just mobilized around the building and they just all jumped in to come and help even for a few hours. I think that's very important and also old buildings, old architecture is part of us and I think we should keep them around."

NARRATOR:
Saving the past isn’t easy. But thanks to projects like this, some of Romania’s historic treasures can live on for future generations.