The document summarizes information about Monumentenwacht, an organization established in 1991 in Flanders, Belgium to monitor and preserve cultural heritage buildings. It discusses Monumentenwacht's mission of preventative conservation, provides statistics on its members and monitored buildings, and describes the services it offers owners like assessments, reports, and training. The organization aims to better educate the public on maintenance and faces challenges like maintaining expertise as employees change and relying on government funding.

1. April 3rd, 2019
Leuven, Belgium
Monumentenwacht meeting
MONUMENTENWACHT in FLANDERS
Tijl Vereenooghe

2. Our mission
Prevention is better than cure
“To empower, stimulate, inform and support its members
in the care and preservation of their immovable heritage”
1 Short term:
to prevent decay through regular and systematic monitoring of the
immovable heritage
2 Long term:
a change in mentality through raising awareness about the
importance of preventive conservation
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3. Basic information
 Monumentenwacht was established in 1991 in Flanders
(inspired by Monumentenwacht Netherlands), as an initiative of
 the King Baudouin Foundation
 the Flemish government
 the Flemish Association of Provinces
 Profile of the organisation:
 Independent support & consultancy for owners/caretakers
 Voluntary membership
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4. Basic information
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Antwerpen
Limburg
Vlaams-Brabant
Oost-Vlaanderen
West-Vlaanderen
• Coordinated and funded by the 5 Flemish provinces
• Structure:
• 5 provincial Monumentenwacht teams
• 1 umbrella organisation

5. Basic information
Integral and interdisciplinary approach:
buildings (architecture & interior),
archaeological sites, maritime heritage,
mills, cemeteries, ‘small’ heritage, …
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6. Key statistics
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7152
objects
3208
members
1063
architectural
assessments
88
Interior
assessments
68
employees
19654
website visitors
30
long-term maintenance
plans
religious
public
private
other
Members pay:
 annual subscription fee per building: 40 € / year
 inspection fee per hour per person : 45 € / hour
Member profile

7. Budget
 Each province decides about the budget of the
Monumentenwacht team. Moreover, the provinces finance the
work of the umbrella organisation Monumentenwacht
Vlaanderen, which also receives an additional subsidy from the
Flemish government for some specific tasks.
 Membership and inspection fees generate ca. 15 % of the
working costs
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8. Regular and systematic monitoring
• Integral visual condition survey
& damage diagnostics
• Detailed status reports
• Urgent works of repair and
small interventions
• Recommendations for (regular)
maintenance and repair
• On-site advice and clarification
of the report
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9. Regular and systematic monitoring
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10. Report and recommendations
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Recent switch from Word reports and Access databases to web-based applications
iMAKS

11. Report and recommendations
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Recent switch from Word reports and Access databases to web-based applications
MAKSbo

12. Report and recommendations
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13. Report and recommendations
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14. Additional services
• Monitoring (cracks, indoor climate, wood resistance, pests…)
• Long-term maintenance plans & cost analysis
• Support of caretakers (e.g. heritage collections in churches)
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15. Training
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preventive conservation practices industrial rope access techniques / safety

16. Dissemination and awareness raising
• Publications
• thematic brochures (available online)
• maintenance leaflets (for members)
• Lectures, workshops, on site advice
• Public demonstrations & presentations
• Website: www.monumentenwacht.be
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17. Results of monitoring over organization’s life-span
 Continuing challenge
to cope with the
growing number of
heritage objects (vs.
the stable number of
employees).
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18. Results of monitoring over organization’s life-span
 The state of
gutters
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0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Goed Redelijk Matig Slecht Niet geïnspecteerd

19. Member feedback
 In general, members are very positive about the service
 The skills and expertise of the employees is highly valued
 The cost of the Monumentenwacht service is considered OK
 Extra services members ask for: providing lists of contractors for
maintenance work , a platform for the exchange of experience, …
 Could be improved: shorter time between two assessments
 A recent survey also shows that our members are very positive about
the new MAKSbo reporting system
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20. Challenges
Need for a mind switch : not all owners are convinced that maintenance
of their heritage is important. Need to make Monumentenwacht better
known and to convince owners to become a member. Also the
government could have a sharper vision about the importance of
maintenance and conservation of immovable heritage.
Employees of Monumentenwacht build up a lot of expertise and skills.
It’s not easy to keep this expertise, when people eventually leave the
organisation. Not all employees are always willing to adapt new working
processes and (digital) technologies.
Finally, Monumentenwacht mainly relies on government funding, which
is always a risk.
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21. Future activities
The long-term vision of Monumentenwacht is still the same after 25 years.
Activities also depend on politically-driven decisions and budgets, decided by the 5
provincial governments, so it’s not easy to make (common) plans on a longer term.
In the next years, we have the intention to tackle more needs of (private) owners, as
identified in the PhD study of Nathalie Van Roy (KU Leuven).
We investigate new digital technologies, and will use them when the technology and
our organisation is ready for it (e.g. use of drones?)
But: time, people and money needed!
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22. Wish list
 improve and expand the all tools that are currently used
(database, reporting system, website …)
 collaboration with more stakeholders, also in other areas (e.g.
nature, schools, …)
 establish contacts and exchange of information with colleagues in
other countries
 collaboration with universities and other research institutes
 money 
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23. Contacts
Monumentenwacht Vlaanderen
Erfgoedhuis Den Wolsack
Oude Beurs 27
B-2000 Antwerpen
Belgium
++32 3 212 29 50
info@monumentenwacht.be
www.monumentenwacht.be
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monumentenwacht
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoWaVL
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monumentenwacht/
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See website for contact details of all
Monumentenwacht teams