Bolta Cum Laude

AUTHOR: Transilvania Trust Foundation

LOCATION: Romania, jud. Cluj, Bonțida

The Bolta made in 2019 is the result of a restoration camp (an educational program with a 20-year history), from August 4-17, with the participation of 25 young people in total,

led by 2 master masons.

The aim of the project is the preservation, promotion and integrated and interdisciplinary education of traditional masonry, i.e. the promotion of excellence in restoration, being the only site-school where you can learn the reconstruction of the a vela vault.

Young volunteers and master craftsmen

The restoration of the Bohemian calotte vault in the former stables of Bánffy Castle in Bonțida is an integral part of the project to rescue, restore and revitalize this historic monument, considered at the beginning of the 20th century as the Versailles of Transylvania. The former stable of the castle, the location of the project, was built in the 18th century in Baroque style as part of the Court of Honor. After nationalization and inappropriate use of the space, it reached an advanced state of decay and ruin. After the structural consolidation in the years 2006-2007, the restoration, the interior reconstruction began, and in this process the restoration of the Bohemian calotte vaults or the sail is a very important step in several aspects: it returns to the original structure of the interior space, it is realized with the help of young volunteers (students of Architecture, Engineering, Art History, Archaeology, etc. or employees of construction firms wishing to specialize in the protection of historical monuments), who learn from craftsmen how to rebuild such a vault, working side by side.

Nobiliary castle = school building site

Our most important objectives include: addressing the principles of minimal intervention, the compatibility of techniques and materials, and the use of local resources when working on historic buildings; transfer of knowledge of manual skills and practical application in the craft; and the partial restoration of a category A historic monument, a noble castle functioning as a school site, and the experience of participants in actually getting involved and directly contributing to the restoration. During the 2 weeks in this masonry workshop the participants of the project worked under the guidance of master masons-restorers. The craftsmen prepared a wooden structure, the so-called Romanesque, on which they rebuilt together with the young people involved the vault structure in brick and lime mortar. They worked under the roof, above the Romanesque, starting from the birth of the vault, combining the new bricks of the vault with the historic masonry structures, preserving as much as possible of the ruined parts. They used lime mortar and traditional masonry tools. Gradually the four corners of the vault came together, so that at the end of the 2 weeks the vault was completed with a single brick, the keystone, which also represents the culmination of the efforts and success of the physical labor. The rebuilt vault preserves the energy of this team, the pride that they have contributed their hand to the restoration and they can show visitors to the castle this result, which remains for a long time between the arches and in the memory of this unique experience.