Unesco honour for restoration of 210-year-old St Olav's Church

KOLKATA: The restoration of St Olav's Church has bagged the Unesco Heritage Award Distinction, with the project ranking among the first three restoration efforts made in Asia-Pacific.

The accolades for the restoration of the 210-year-old church in Serampore was recently announced in Bangkok, along with 12 other projects from Australia, China, Iran, Japan and Pakistan. The team was led by conservation architect Manish Chakraborti and the restoration was carried out by Asish Mukherjee of Mascon. “This is a professional recognition of a finely executed project that followed international restoration protocol. It's the first such honour for Bengal on cultural heritage conservation. The acknowledgment from the highest forum (Unesco) will go a long way in raising the conser vation standard in the region,“ Chakraborti said.

He is especially thrilled because the international award coincides with another feather in the conservation architect's cap: the special award bestowed on him by Sutanuti Parishad. “It means a lot to me that in a city like Kolkata, which has barely woken up to the need to protect and revive its built heritage, somebody on the other side of the street recognizes my effort. I guess the local award is more important, although the international acclaim is no less rewarding.“

The church roof had col lapsed in 2013. The restoration was completed this April and the church rededicated. The Rs 3-crore project was funded by National Museum of Denmark (NMD), the Danish ministry of culture and Danish philanthropic organization Realdania.

Mukherjee said, “St Olav's Church, built in 1806, remains one of the most significant structures of the time when Serampore, then called Frederiksnagore, was under Danish rule. We have handled quite a few church restorations in Kolkata too. But this has been the oldest and was in ruins when we began.“