Historical Buildings and the Issue of their Accessibility for the Disabled

Abstract

This article addresses the problem of the accessibility of historical buildings, such as The Badeni Palace in Bejsce, Świȩtokrzyskie Voivodeship in Poland, for the disabled. The palace complex in Bejsce is under the statutory form of monument protection, since it has been placed in the Voivodship historical sites registry. The palace is situated in a palace park located in the centre of the village. The building was erected by Marcin Badeni, according to a design by Jakub Kubickia in 1802. It is worth mentioning that Jakub Kubicki was an eminent Polish architect at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, a representative of classicism and the creator such buildings as e.g. the Belweder in Warsaw. The selected example reflects the complexity of the discussed issue. On the one hand, historical buildings representing outstanding cultural values, such as the classicist Badeni Palce in Bejsce, should be under absolute conservation protection so that, in keeping with the idea of sustainable development, it could be preserved intact for future generations. On the other hand, a Social Welfare Home has been functioning in the palace for decades, due to which the building requires modernisation. The Social Welfare Home serves a socially necessary function, which requires ensuring suitable living conditions for its residents. It demands fulfilling the requirements concerning the building's accessibility for the disabled, included in the ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure. It should be added that the municipality does not have financial resources to build a new nursing home to which residents could be moved, so that the palace could serve a more formal function of e.g. a museum or an art gallery. The situation poses a conservation dilemma, whether adding a lift for the disabled for safety reasons should be allowed in the palace building or next to it. What is more important: The value of historical substance or the cultural landscape of the place? In the context of the currently relevant problem of the adaptability of historical buildings for the disabled, those and other questions will be discussed by the author of the article.