Unique building in north of Nicosia wins cultural prize

THE EU-FUNDED project “Study, Assessment and Design for the Structural and Architectural Restoration of the Bedestan, formerly St. Nicholas Church is one of the 28 selected winners of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards.

The Bedestan, formerly St. Nicholas Church, located in the northern part of Nicosia, is a uniquely important building, born as a religious complex and later used as a covered market place.

Through the centuries, successive collapses and ruins were partially offset by consolidation works.

The study carried out consisted of different phases aimed at the monument’s consolidation, its conservative restoration, re-insertion and proposed re-use for cultural activities to support the revitalisation of the historic centre of Nicosia.

The study for the restoration is financed by the EU within the wider framework of the “Rehabilitation of Old Nicosia” and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme “Partnership for the Future” (UNDP-PFF).  

The Awards scheme is dedicated service to heritage conservation. Organised jointly by the European Commission and Europa Nostra, the pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, it celebrates outstanding initiatives within the European cultural heritage sector and highlights exceptional restoration and conservation, research and education achievements.

Seven Grand Prize winners, chosen as the most outstanding heritage achievements from among the 28 selected winners, will be announced at the awards ceremony.

These winners have been selected amongst a group of nearly 140 projects from 24 countries. 

Presenting the awards will be Mr Ján Figel’, the European Commissioner responsible for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, and Her Royal Highness The Infanta Doña Pilar de Borbón, President of Europa Nostra.

Each of the winners will receive a commemorative plaque  to be placed outside the building to serve as a reminder of the impressive and noteworthy efforts to preserve Europe’s built heritage.

The 7th Annual European Heritage Awards Ceremony will take place in the Teatro Antico of Taormina, Sicily on June 5 2009.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.