The panel looks at this model through three lenses.
First, the gap: owners of vernacular buildings, such as Umgebindehäuser, Fachwerk houses or old farmsteads, often find it difficult to obtain practical and reliable advice on how to repair and adapt them properly. They need knowledge of building physics, moisture, traditional materials and crafts, and increasingly of how to improve energy performance without damaging historic fabric. Ruinersi works to bridge this gap and to revive the traditional building skills essential to keeping this heritage alive. Participation in the FuturHist Retrofit Academy connects this practical work with European research on responsible energy retrofit, considering not only energy reduction, but also heritage significance, material compatibility, moisture safety and long-term use. From the new base in Leśna, the foundation plans to offer pro publico bono first-contact consultations for residents and owners, and to connect them, where necessary, with expertise across the wider network.
Second, the place: Polish Lower Silesia was deeply shaped by the border shifts and population changes after 1945. New residents moved into homes and villages built by people who were no longer there, and for decades much of this heritage was ignored or remained emotionally distant. A new generation of owners is now rediscovering these buildings, not to erase the past, but to add another chapter. Within the Cluster, organisations contribute different competences. The Siedlęcin Ducal Tower Association, one of its founding organisations, brings extensive experience in heritage volunteering and hands-on work around a historic site. The strength of the network comes not from making everyone alike, but from allowing organisations to specialise while sharing knowledge and capacity around a common purpose.
Third, the border: the historic architecture of Lower Silesia does not stop at modern national borders. Building traditions, materials and crafts are shared with neighbouring parts of Germany and Czechia, as are many of today’s challenges: the loss of traditional skills, maintenance, energy transition and finding sustainable uses for historic buildings. International cooperation is therefore a natural next step. Ruinersi is particularly interested in learning from established European networks such as REMPART, not by copying a model, but by understanding how a network of independent organisations can grow, maintain quality, develop volunteering and exchange skills across borders, while Polish organisations contribute their own experience, traditions and knowledge.
Ultimately, the story is not just about saving old houses. It is about turning difficult heritage into living heritage: helping people make these buildings their homes, take responsibility for their future and reconnect them with the broader cultural landscape of Central Europe, and about a system in which independent civic organisations can remain independent, specialise, and still become stronger by acting together.
Key subjects: civic heritage care; cross-border cooperation; traditional crafts; vernacular architecture; new owners of old houses; difficult heritage and living heritage
