Europa Nostra Award 2020 and Public Award 2020 - Ambulance for Monuments, excellence in safeguarding Romanian heritage

Recently awarded with the Europa Nostra Prize in the category Education, Training and Awareness Raising, Ambulance for Monuments brings together, through a collective effort, a whole network of volunteers, students and specialists, with the sole aim of restoring the cultural and emotional value of Romanian built heritage.

Implemented as a pilot project in 2016, the Ambulance for Monuments started to develop thanks to the Monumentum Association, led by architects Eugen and Veronica Vaida. Driven by passion and the desire to valorize the national heritage, the best choice was to create a project through which they could bring Romanian cultural values back to light.

Initially, the project was conceived for the county of Sibiu, benefiting from a van, metaphorically called "Ambulance", equipped with construction tools and equipment. In the following years, the growing demand to rescue historical monuments led to the project being extended to several counties in the country, including Alba, Brasov, Hunedoara, Sălaj and Mures. The territorial expansion has meant buying more "ambulances", more construction tools and creating a network of volunteers, craftsmen and specialists.