European Heritage Awards
Europa Nostra 2003 for the Collection of Gothic architectural drawings on paper and parchement
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna houses in its prints and drawings department the unique collection of 428 Gothic architectural drawings out of worldwide not more than 500 drawings of this genre.
© The Graphic Collection
A major restoration of the drawings according to modern standards developed exclusively for the present task was undertaken by Mag. Verena Flamm, who had previously written her master's thesis on the restoration of Gothic parchment drawings and who is already through the mere quantity of drawings of this kind she has handled the acknowledged expert in the field. Parallel to the restoration of the entire drawings of the collection, a new scholarly catalogue is being prepared by Prof. H. J. Böker from McGill University in Montreal which was published as a bilingual edition by the Anton-Pustet-Verlag in Salzburg.
In order to improve access to the drawings, a project was undertaken under the guidance of the collection's director, Dr Monika Knofler, in which all of them were to be scanned digitally in archive quality so that they could be enlarged to the highest degree possible and every detail thus made visible. This means that even exhibitions of facsimiles of the drawings can be held in smaller museums or institutions that cannot afford the security and climatic conditions mandatory for exhibiting the originals.
Memory of the World Register 2005
On May 21, 2005 the Collection of Gothic architectural drawings on paper and parchement was accepted in the Memory of World Register. UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme, and Register, were established to preserve and raise awareness of documentary heritage, the memory of the world, which reflects the diversity of languages, peoples and cultures. The programme was born of the realization that this memory is fragile and that important documentary material is lost every day. The International Advisory Committee is made up of international experts appointed by the Director-General in their personal capacity, and meets every two years to study nominations by UNESCO Member States.