“Blue Shield”: what the new plaques on the mosaics of Lviv protect against
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In Lviv, valuable mosaic panels on the city’s buildings began to be marked with the “Blue Shield” international landmark protection sign. Over the course of several days, 20 mosaics will be marked, the Lviv City Council wrote.
The list includes mosaics, which are objects of the cultural heritage of the city of Lviv. Several mosaic works have already been marked with the “Blue Shield”, in particular at 71 Medova Pechera Street, 39 Promyslova Street and 8 Kerchenska Street.
The protective sign “Blue Shield” is the emblem of the Hague Convention of 1954. It denotes cultural values that are subject to protection in the event of an armed conflict, and the persons responsible for their protection, determined by international law.
A total of 81 security signs are planned to be installed in Lviv. However, they are unlikely to protect against Russian missiles and drones. As she told UP. Culture head of the historical environment protection department of the Lviv City Council Natalia Alekseeva something else – these plates are supposed to protect modernist monumental works from the owners of buildings.
| Installation of the “Blue Shield” near one of the mosaics. Photo: Lviv City Council |
The official says that earlier in Lviv there were several cases of damage or even destruction of mosaics, in particular, panels “Sea and fish” on Volodymyr Veliky Street in 2019. In the end, the panel was restored. and a register was created for modernist mosaics.
However, in October of this year, the situation on this street was repeated. Then they destroyed the monument “Information space”, which was located in the lobby of the “Free Ukraine” publishing house. Alekseeva called insufficient awareness the reason for these actions.
“The owners are changing, time is running out. And even the first comment we heard when we arrived two months ago this year and recorded the fact that the mosaic was destroyed was a comment that “I didn’t know” – Natalia Alekseeva said.
With the help of these signs, they also decided to protect those mosaics placed on buildings that are not architectural monuments.
Most of these works were made by Ukrainian Soviet artists who continued to create even under conditions of censorship and pressure. So that the information about them is stored not only in written form, but also visually attracts attention and “Blue shields” arrange.
“This should already make a person think and perhaps wonder why and how it happens, why it is an object of cultural heritage“, Natalya says.
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| Protective sign “Blue Shield”. Photo: Lviv City Council |
In the register, which was created in the Lviv City Council, the regulations were noted, according to which the owners should keep the mosaics and not do any work, except for their maintenance and repair.
Nataliya Alekseeva also said that some art objects are planned to be digitized and additional information about them will be provided online.
Article 298 of the Criminal Code stipulates that a mosaic destroyer is subject to a fine of up to one hundred tax-free minimum incomes of citizens (as of 2023, one minimum is 1,342 hryvnias) or a prison term of three years. However, Natalia says, fines and punishments are not an end in themselves.
“There are examples when we still negotiated with the owners. And even in the case of the mosaic that was destroyed this year, the owner agreed to restore it and place it in the place where it was. I think this is the most correct way. We are in favor of first of all, monuments were restored and preserved. Therefore, if we, as a city, as a community, restored the mosaic and now we can restore another one, I think that this will also be a successful practice.” Nataliya Alekseeva added.
Read also: Undeclared war on mosaics: how Ukrainians are losing their heritage deep in the rear
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