The National Heritage Institute (NPU) is a professional, as well as research, organization providing care and protection for the national heritage within the entire area of the Czech Republic. It is a state-sponsored body in the sense of the valid State Heritage Preservation Act (Act No. 20/1987 Coll., as amended), and is answerable to the Ministry of Culture.
The NPU has its Headquarters in Prague (UP) and Regional Branches (UOP) in individual regions. The HQ is in charge of the entire activity of the NPU, and directly handles the needs of state heritage preservation, keeping within the range of circumscribed internal provisions. The regional branches work within their regional sphere of activity.
As a professional and research organisation for the care and protection of the national heritage, the NPU handles and executes fundamental and applied scientific research and further professional, teaching, educational, publishing and promotional work directed towards providing expert care of cultural heritage objects and conservation areas.
The main activities of the NPU can be divided into two basic areas:
- research and development, as well as providing guidelines for the care of historic buildings or objects not owned or administered by the NPU, and for the care of conservation areas
- care and protection of cultural heritage sites and buildings open to the public, in particular state-owned castles and historic historic country houses under the direct administration of the NPU, and, furthermore, the NPU offers methodological assistance to other owners of historic buildings or sites open to the public
The National Heritage Institute
- coordinates and provides, to a large extent via the NPU's own specialists, both fundamental and applied scientific research in order to improve the quality of scientific knowledge on cultural heritage, as well as the development of theoretical, methodological and practical heritage preservation
- issues and continuously updates methodologies and methodological opinions, generally recommended in this country; these are based on the NPU's own scientific research, as well as that of co-operating scientific and professional institutes and universities; this is done with the aim of raising the standards in expertise and keeping them uniform, and with the aim of predicating their expert opinions
- provides and oversees the entire care, including related expert and methodological work, of heritage objects, whether movable or immovable, their collections, preserved historic environment, heritage reservations, zones, protected zones and areas with archeological remains
- administers the Central Register of Cultural Heritage and participates in improving the quality of the data included in it, both by its own research, as well as the coordination of research on historic objects, and the transfer of the results into corresponding records
- while providing care of cultural heritage and conservation areas, also provides a specialist service to owners of protected properties and to municipal councils, and delivers expert opinions on the renovation of these properties, as a basis for a binding standpoint for relevant state authorities
- monitors the complex management and care of the heritage fund in regional territories and makes suggestions for removing detected impediments for owners and organs of state administration
- provides advisory services for owners of historic objects and sites
- exercises expert surveillance over the implementation of repair, alterations, maintenance and conservation of immovable heritage
- surveys, suggests and evaluates technological methods for repairs of cultural heritage, including monitoring and evaluation of the materials used
- for the preparation and implementation of the care of historic objects, the NPU systematically treats, makes use of, administers and supplements the documentation collections and information funds containing written, graphic, map and photographic documentation for registered and unregistered objects, which serve primarily for the internal needs of the NPU for administration of its professional work (these documentation collections are made accessible depending on capacity), and assists cultural heritage owners in locating archive documentation and other expert services, at the same time making use of the archive fund of museums and galleries, including information bases of specialist literature
- provides expert opinions on nominations to designate objects (immovable and movable) as cultural heritage, or on administrative proceedings in cancelling the designation of items as cultural heritage; it also compiles its own nominations for designation of objects as cultural heritage
- conducts conceptual and operative activities dedicated towards salvation of the most endangered cultural heritage, and processes background information for the nationally integrated List of the Most Endangered and Neglected Cultural Heritage
- participates in methodological, coordinative, organisational and evaluative work in the preparation and implementation of regional authority grant programmes in the heritage management sector
- participates in the presentation and popularisation of heritage care in individual regions and smaller districts; provides assistance to municipalities with extended competence in the methodological procedure for the work of conservators and restorers; and in cooperation with local citizens' initiatives, supports their activities to safeguard and uphold the material cultural heritage
- prepares background information in the field of local heritage protection, especially nominations for town and village heritage reservations and zones, nominations for heritage protection zones, and simultaneously performs revision, specification and digitalisation of previously designated heritage reservations and zones and heritage protection zones
- produces expert opinions on the repair, conservation, maintenance, changes and adaptations to architectural monuments, properties and land in heritage reservations, zones and protection zones
- discusses work being done on preliminary and project design documentation for the renovation of immovable cultural heritage, or for structural changes to or maintenance work on properties in heritage reservations, zones and protection zones, and comments on every stage of the project documentation
- gathers and evaluates findings, experiences and information about historic and modern technology and materials for repair and restoration of cultural heritage
- pursues technical methods for the protection of cultural heritage objects, including methods of provisional securement, stabilising statics, the protection of materials from decline and decay, and asserts the principles of preventative protection of cultural heritage
- processes heritage research and analyses of conservation areas with the aim of deepening the recognition of their value
- processes expert assessments of individual phases in negotiating planning documentation
- promotes the viewpoint of enshrining historic urbanistic values in planning procedures, especially zoning and regulatory plans
- processes nominations for designating conservation areas and protection zones, and monitors the observance of their protection regime
- gathers, expertly processes and facilitates practical usage of scientific findings related to treasures of sculpture, painting and decorative arts
- organises and handles publishing of professional publications; organises interdisciplinary conferences, seminars and workshops on various themes to do with recognition for, care and promotion of cultural heritage
- addresses the general public by means of various types of educational and lecture programmes and exhibitions dedicated to the heritage fund
- processes written and photographic documentation of the collections in the care of the branches of the NPU, and makes this documentation accessible to authorised persons for consultation
- processes opinions from the viewpoint of possible sale and export of items of cultural value, or as per Acts No. 71/1994 Coll. and 80/2004 Coll.
- guides operative and standard building-archaeological research, operative documentation, urbanistic research and archive research, whilst prioritising objects and sites in the care of the NPU, especially research and documentation of a rescue nature on monuments threatened by either destruction or a marked depreciation of their architectonic and historic value
- implements rescue archaeological research on buildings in the care of the NPU, and investment rescue research for other selected projects
- performs specialist processing, documentation and registration of archaeological finds
- prepares documentation for the Ministry of Culture to propose cultural heritage items and selected conservation areas for nomination to the World Heritage List, and simultaneously monitors listed World Heritage buildings, sites or objects for mandatory reports
- prepares the groundwork for processing information about cultural heritage with international status
- handles the extensive activities connected with the care, management and presentation of castles, historic country houses and other heritage buildings, including the records and movement of furnishings in these properties,
- researches and gains deeper knowledge of how historic interiors, their artistic and decorative art furnishings, as well as historic collections have developed, and applies the results of this research into improving the quality of the existing, and creation of new interior installations in castles and historic country houses under its care; it also provides professional assistance to other owners in this area
- is responsible for the gradual digitalisation of data about historic buildings, sites, objects and conservation areas
- guarantees and participates in specialist staff training and educational courses in the field of heritage care and management, and works together with schools of all types to spread the results of scientific research, learning and knowledge contributing to the awareness of the value and significance of cultural heritage today, thus guiding the public towards a positive stance to it