Preserving monuments at all costs

Abstract

The Netherlands has over 60.000 national monuments (Cultural Heritage Agency, 2021), excluding landscapes and city views. With this many monuments comes the substantial task of maintaining and conserving these buildings and thereby preserving Dutch heritage and cultural identity. Over time, non-profit organizations have taken it upon themselves to care for these monuments, becoming a large though not well-researched actor in the field of monument care. This paper therefore aims to answer the question: “How do non-profit organizations in the Netherlands participate in the field of monument care since the enactment of the 1961 Monuments Act?”. A literature study shows that many governmental changes have affected the role of these non-profit organizations, starting with the origin of the 1961 Monuments Act. Some non-profits are older than Dutch monument law, but only in recent decades have non-profit organizations really gained influence due to the decentralisation of monument care. Seven currently active non-profits were investigated and it was found that non-profits can be classified into three categories: advisory, protective and managing non-profits. Further results showed that non-profit organizations have a primarily positive impact on the field of monument care and that the presence of non-profits have resulted in a new, contemporary monument care system, where the government works together with these private instances in a sustainable, mutually beneficial manner.