ABSTRACT
Church monuments constitute a major foundation of the European cultural heritage. Monument protection of sacral buildings in the Eastern Bloc became underdeveloped due to the secularization following the political takeover after World War II. The different State–Church relations and the varied social position of the Churches in the Western and East-Central regions of Europe resulted in completely different challenges in sacral monument preservation. The Church—as an owner, maintainer and user of the affected buildings—has its own special requirements regarding preservation. It is essential to understand the monument protection methodologies used during former periods, and the special aspects and expectations resulting from the liturgical use in order to develop more efficient practice in the future. After assessing the former sacral monument preservation practices (including the ways the sacral function was affected by the interventions), the present study describes the current situation, and learns a lesson from the past.
