Auszüge aus der Mail von Katerina Tlachová, Chair of the Czech Committee of ICOM, veröffentlicht in H-Net: http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-museum&month=0208&week=e&msg=qZ1N8c0I1y45Y%2blz/trTYw&user=&pw= ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Subject: Flood Report - Czech Republic Date sent: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 17:27:57 +0200 From: “Tlachova Katerina” To: Brno, 29 August, 2002 Dear Colleagues, As you may know from the media, a major part of the Czech Republic has recently been affected by heavy floods. There are serious problems, especially in Prague, north, south and west Bohemia; towns, villages, roads have suffered a lot. Although people’s lives and homes are now the prime concern of everybody here, the time is coming to evaluate also the damage on cultural heritage - historical towns, chateaux, monuments, museums and collections - the losses are estimated in billions of Czech crowns. … At the Museum of Central Bohemia in Roztoky near Prague, where water was reaching the second-floor level, interesting and modern exhibitions were completely destroyed together with the archaeological collection. Unfortunately, the same fate met the unique conservation workplaces, which were used by cultural heritage institutions all over the country: the radiation room (used for rehabilitation of objects infested by insects, cobalt radioisotope 60Co) and the plasma-chemical conservation laboratory (developed in the 1990s in cooperation with the National Museum of Switzerland in Zurich, and using the method of plasma reduction in treatment of historical and archaeological metal objects). … However, we can proudly announce that with only a few exceptions, collection items were evacuated in time from exhibitions and storerooms located in the buildings’ lower floors. This was made possible by the extreme zeal of all museum staff members, who did not spare any effort to save the collections, often to the detriment of their own homes. We gratefully acknowledge their work and express our gratitude. The most serious damage then occurred on the museum buildings - almost all of them are listed historical monuments, and quite a few of them will now have to face general renovation. Besides the enormous material losses on technology (computers, air-conditioning systems, etc.), equipment and furniture, the thoroughly soaked walls and floors will seriously influence on the microclimate and subsequently, on the condition of stored collections. If the buildings are not dried up in relatively short time, we will be facing a “second flood” for the collections, due to the extreme humidity in the buildings. A major problem that appeared immediately after the water left, was how to save archive material and books kept in museums. Knowing that the most efficient immediate remedy for paper flooded by water is deep-freezing, works were directed in that way. A “central depository” for soaked paper was found in the cooling chambers of Mochov food plant, and wet archive, museum and library collections, as well as the agenda of several other offices, have been deposited there. However, we are aware that simple deep-freezing does not mean safeguarding of the collections. Now, hundreds of conservators would be needed to dry up and clean the items, so that to restore them in their original condition of human memory media. In this fight, museums stand close to the other cultural heritage preservation institutions - archives and libraries. Although a lot has been done in the past years thanks to the international Blue Shield scheme in order to develop a common methodology for solving emergency situations, there is still a lot to improve. We are very touched by the tremendous solidarity within the museum field. Since the culmination moment of the flood-wave in Prague, there is a constant flow of offers of professional advice, manpower and financial contributions for the affected institutions. The Museums and Galleries Association of the Czech Republic has launched a public fund-raising campaign to help Czech museums damaged by the flood. The gathered finances will be distributed by the Association’s Senate (upon recommendation of an expert working group) directly to the museums in need. The bank account number is 27-7705500277/0100, at Komercni banka in Prague (designation of payment: constant symbol 0558, variable symbol 9999). On behalf of the Czech museums, we would like to express our most sincere thanks to all of you who have manifested your interest, provided support and offered help. It came very quickly and in large amount, and we really appreciate it a lot. At the moment, physical help does not seem to be needed any more. What is urgent, though, is equipment and money - as already mentioned, hundreds of drier units will be needed to restore the soaked buildings and to provide for sustainable climate for collection storage. Later, when the buildings will have been cleaned and working conditions will be approaching the standards again, we will definitely need all kind of conservation equipment and material, professional consultancy, as well as physical help of skilled conservators. Most of the museums in the flooded areas strive to re-open their doors to the public as soon as possible: So do come and support us with your visit! Yours sincerely, Katka Tlachov Chair of the Czech Committee of ICOM