Gdynia on the expert committee for the protection of historic monuments

Gdynia on the expert committee for the protection of historic monuments

27.08.2025

One of the most remarkable modernist landmarks in Gdynia City Centre – the Helena and Juliusz Hundsdorffs’ apartment house at 7 Starowiejska Street (photo: Tomasz Lelito / modernizmgdyni.pl)

The city intends to join the Polish National Committee of ICOMOS. This is the local branch of an international organisation which, for 60 years, has been working to promote, conserve and protect the most valuable historic monuments, amongst other things, and to cooperate closely with institutions around the world. For Gdynia, this is an opportunity to gain valuable experience, particularly in relation to preparations for the inscription of its modernist City Centre on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List.

The councillors have decided. Gdynia will become involved in the work of the Polish committee

Following a decision by Gdynia’s councillors during the August session of the Gdynia City Council, the city will join the work of the organisation which deals with the broad protection of monuments and cultural heritage worldwide. More specifically: its Polish committee, which brings together over 220 local specialists in this field.

The Polish National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has the status of an association. Its members already include, amongst others, representatives of Malbork Castle and cities such as Toruń, Kraków and Zamość, which are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Gdynia has also been invited to join this group in recognition of its commitment to the promotion and conservation of modernist architecture. The city is to hold the status of a ‘supporting member’ within the organisation.

Through our membership of the Polish committee, we are joining an organisation whose activities have an international reach. This opens up many avenues for promoting Gdynia’s historic monuments and its unique modernist architecture, including, amongst other things, academic and educational events, publications, exhibitions, public awareness campaigns and conservation projects. Above all, we can also count on strong, expert support from specialists in the field of cultural heritage conservation. We will certainly need this as we strive to have the city’s modernist centre inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, explains Oktawia Gorzeńska, Deputy Mayor of Gdynia.

Further details can be found in the text of the resolution adopted by Gdynia City Council – available in the Public Information Bulletin.

What does ICOMOS do?

Members of the Polish ICOMOS Committee during the so-called Conservation Academy in Zielona Góra this summer (photo: PKN ICOMOS / facebook.com/pknicomos)

The history of ICOMOS, an international organisation, dates back to 1965. Interestingly, although it was founded in Poland (at the Royal Castle in Warsaw), this expert organisation has been based in Paris from the very beginning. It currently has over 10,000 members worldwide – conservators, heritage protection specialists, historians and art historians, architects, town planners, archaeologists and anthropologists.

One of its main tasks is not only to disseminate knowledge on the protection and conservation of historic monuments, but also to collaborate with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) in Rome and to provide direct advice to UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) on matters relating to inscriptions on the aforementioned prestigious World Heritage List.

The ICOMOS International Session in Paris in July 2025 (photo: PKN ICOMOS / facebook.com/pknicomos)

Put simply, it is a group of experts involved, amongst other things, in the protection and promotion of historic monuments, as well as the conservation of historic sites of exceptional cultural significance. The opinions of these experts are taken into account when assessing the specific qualities of particular areas or buildings from around the world. This work is carried out by national and local committees, such as the aforementioned PKN ICOMOS, which the city of Gdynia is joining.

It is worth noting that the Polish committee has been collaborating with the city for many years, including by providing academic patronage for the well-known ‘Modernism in Europe – Modernism in Gdynia’ conferences.

The academic conference ‘Modernism in Europe – Modernism in Gdynia’ in 2021. The event is regularly held under the patronage of PKN ICOMOS (photo: Przemysław Kozłowski / Gdynia.pl / archive)

Participation in meetings, opinions, voting. Gdynia in the conservation community

What exactly will Gdynia’s status as a supporting member of the Polish ICOMOS Committee entail? Thanks to this, a representative of the city will be able, amongst other things, to:

• take part in meetings, lectures and conferences organised by the association;

• submit opinions, proposals or requests addressed directly to the Polish Committee’s governing bodies;

• have the right to vote and stand for election to the committee’s governing bodies;

• participate (in an advisory capacity) in the committee’s statutory governing bodies.

In addition to supporting members (such as Gdynia), ordinary and honorary members are also involved in the committee’s work.

The statutory tasks of the Polish association, which is a member of ICOMOS, include, for example, raising awareness of the principles and techniques of conserving monuments and historic sites, cooperating at national level with representatives of other international organisations, providing expert opinions on activities relating to the conservation of historic monuments, nominating and assessing sites in Poland for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, taking steps to ensure their proper protection, and fostering collaboration within the sector by establishing committees and working groups concerned with the conservation of historic buildings, architectural ensembles and sites. The committee members work on a voluntary basis.

It is worth noting that the coming months will be crucial for the Gdynia’s application. The city, as the sole Polish representative currently applying for this status, has previously received recommendations regarding the nomination (formulated by ICOMOS), the fulfilment of which should pave the way for a positive outcome for Gdynia’s candidacy in 2026. Among other things, the outstanding universal value (OVU) of the historic area in the centre of Gdynia was confirmed at that time. The city has until 1 February next year to submit the required supplementary information for the nomination.