Sacred vs. profane – ruined temples

The work concerns activities in sacral buildings in a state of ruin that require more intervention than conventional conservation. It focuses on searching for modern methods of saving the architecture of temples from ruination and desecration, while ensuring its dignified transformation. The work presents selected examples of full or partial reconstructions of the ruins of temples. It also shows the process of transformation of spatial and functional structures as well as iconography of the temples. It covers problems in architectural conservation as well as essential ideological aspects of symbolic and liturgical nature. Examples of such rescue and conservation activities are the contemporary projects to reconstruction, restoration and revitalization of ruins of churches in Supraśl, Wałbrzych, Ząbkowice and Mielnik. They exemplify a design method of a “non-invasive” approach to historical monuments, including respect for their historical values and adding new qualities at the same time. These examples of the protection of temples from degradation, destruction and desecration – through reconstruction, integration, adaptation and incorporation – have a common intentional basis. All of them seem to come from the same ideological premises. They also share a common main criterion – the protection of existing material values, but also the further development of spiritual values. In this process of protection and conservation, priority is given to spiritual values over material values. For spiritual values are where they see the search for the truth and the sense of their existence, the authentic protection of their past and present mission in the time and space of this world. The projects prove that the methodology of hierarchical merging of their forms into the structure of their material and spiritual values is of key importance in this revitalization process. This is done through the hermeneutic discovery of the Tradition of this architecture and its exposition.