Varaždin, September 19, 2000 (IKA) — Within the framework of the First European Congress on “The Organ as European Cultural Heritage,” held from September 10 through 16 in Varaždin, “The Varaždin Resolutions 2000” were issued. The signers of the resolution asserted that much of the heritage of many thousands of historically valuable European organs is endangered and can only be saved with great investment. This primarily refers to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. There is no complete overview of the organ heritage and there are no common criteria based upon research and long-years of experience. Directives are needed for saving the endangered organ heritage. Moreover, there is a shortage of funds in order to save and maintain endangered instruments in the optimal manner. The organ heritage in some countries, due to a lack of interest by the government and church authorities, and because the necessary steps are often not taken, is endangered. Therefore, valuable instruments cannot receive the attention, care and protection they deserve in terms of their historical significance. The Resolution is intended to promote the attitude that organs in every country and every instance should be considered as a part of the legally protected European cultural heritage and should be taken as a whole, i.e. as a group regarding their exterior appearance, functional parts and acoustical properties. The Resolution proposes requirements and goals such as active undertakings by politicians and churches for the European organ heritage and the legal mandatory inclusion of organs among safeguarded European protected landmarks, as well as the expansion of legal protection for historical organs throughout Europe. The Resolution calls for the compilation of a list of historical organs via the appropriate institutions. Furthermore, it calls for the formation of binding common standards and directives on the basis of which pilot projects, extensive reconstruction work and the formulation of other necessary measures for the protection of organs could be implemented. The Resolution calls for the publication of a manual for organ builders and other responsible persons. It also considers the publication, translation and continued work on catalogues of criteria for the restoration of organs and seeks the introduction of such standards and directives within the schools for organ builders, organ experts, organists, preservationists of monuments and theologians, as well as the general recognition and appreciation of organs.
The signers are aware that the above goals exceed the possibilities of individual countries and therefore seek their adoption on the European level and the initiation of projects on the level of the European Union. In financing, besides government and church authorities in the European Union, various institutions and sponsors should be included, such as UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the European banks.
According to a five-year plan, it was agreed that the next congresses will be held in Goetebourg in June 2001, Lisbon in 2002, Bratislav in 2003, Bologna in 2004 and Vilnius in 2005. The first European Congress on Organs was held under the sponsorship of the Pontifical Council for Culture of the Holy See, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, the diocese of Varaždin and the city of Varaždin. It brought together approximately a hundred participants from fifteen European countries — Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Rumania, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland.