EEA and Norway Grants are a financial scheme through which Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein as non-EU countries provide financial contributions to the countries of the Union with a gross domestic product per capita less than 90% of the average. On the other hand, these contributor countries are allowed to have free movement of goods, capital, services and people across all EU member states.
The municipality of Beckov responded to the CLT01 call "Cultural entrepreneurship, cultural heritage and cultural cooperation" for the support of restoration and revitalisation of cultural heritage for the reuse or further use of cultural monuments and promotion of their entrepreneurial potential.
The objective of the programme is "the social and economic development enhanced through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and management of cultural heritage".
By its content the programme will support an improvement of the condition of cultural heritage through projects implemented under the call for submitting projects for the restoration and revitalization of cultural heritage for reuse or further use of cultural monuments and promotion of their entrepreneurial potential, while the ambition is to implement at least 30% of the projects in cooperation with partners from contributor countries. As a part of this output one call with a total allocation of € 13.4 million was launched. Sixteen monuments were funded.
| Name of the project | Do reconstruction authentically and go on (acronym DRAGON) |
|---|---|
| Beneficiary | Beckov municipality |
| Web | www.hrad-beckov.sk |
| Total eligible expenditures of the project | €1,080,831 |
| Participation of Beckov municipality | €97,274 |
| Project partners | Association of Historic Towns and Municipalities Secondary Vocational School Nové Mesto nad Váhom Hogskulen for landbruk og bygdeutvikling (Norway college) |
| Planned duration of the project | from the submission of the letter of acceptance (19/8/2020) until 31/12/2023 |
The Western Palace as it is called today, originally a Gothic palace with a knight hall, was built during the period of ownership of the castle by the Hungarian Duke of Polish origin Stibor of Stiboricz at the turn of the 14th to 15th century. On the facade there used to be Stibor´s stone coat of arms. Today it is a part of the exhibition devoted to the castle in the museum in the Ambrovec mansion. Later Renaissance changes added features typical for its time to the building. Stibor of Stiboricz as a co-founder and member of the Order of the Dragon had a dragon sitting on two crescents in the crest of his coat of arms as well as in the shield.
Therefore, the symbol of a dragon was the basis for creating the name of the project that draws from history and gives the impression of grandeur. The letters of the word DRAGON, or DRAK in Slovak, represent the meaning and message of the project:
The Western Palace forms a part of the western perimeter of the core buildings of the castle and from inside it is added to the south of the western perimeter wall. It was originally a four-storey building.
Although in the 1980s a rather big conservation of the palace was carried out, at present the building and technical condition of its structures is greatly disturbed.
When solving the restoration of the Western Palace, the intention is to base it on the recent historical-architectural research “Castle palace - western (ÚZPF 1180/5)” of the year 2018 (ProMonument s.r.o. / Bóna / Matejka).
The objective of the reconstruction is to bring the Western Palace and the whole area into a form that respects and emphasizes preserved historic values of the peak period of Gothic and Renaissance. By complementing it and restoring its function to make it available for the planned exhibitions in the 1st and 2nd floor.
Equally important aim is to achieve that this important monument becomes considerably more attractive to visitors with a versatile and potentially all-year-round use.
The EEA Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.
There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics.
The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA Grants amount to €1.55 billion. The priorities for this period are:
#1 Innovation, Research, Education and Competitiveness
#2 Social Inclusion, Youth Employment and Poverty Reduction
#3 Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy
#4 Culture, Civil Society, Good Governance and Fundamental Rights
#5 Justice and Home Affairs
The EEA Grants are jointly financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, whose contributions are based on their GDP.
Eligibility for the Grants mirror the criteria set for the EU Cohesion Fund aimed at member countries where the Gross National Income (GNI) per inhabitant is less than 90% of the EU average.
All projects are co-financed by the State Budget of the Slovak Republic in the amount of 15%.
The DRAGON project received a grant from the EEA and Norway and the state budget of the Slovak Republic for the restoration of the western palace and interior equipment in the amount of €983,557. The goal of the project is to bring the West Palace and the entire area into a form that will respect and emphasize the preserved historical values from the High Gothic and Renaissance periods.
To learn more about the programs and projects funded by the EEA and Norway Grants in Slovakia visit www.eeagrants.sk or www.norwaygrants.sk. For general information on all international projects, visit www.eeagrants.org.
