Rostov - Dutch fortress in an Russian city
The city of Rostov Veliki is famous for its kremlin, lesser known to the greater public is the earthen fortress that surrounds it. The Dutch origin of these 17th century fortification can be traced both by archival sources, as well as by its design characteristics. Studies have been conducted into the history of this structure by Russian scholars, but in the Netherlands the Dutch connection to these works had been forgotten.
On request of the State Museum-Reserve 'Rostov Kremlin', the Embassy of the Netherlands in Moscow set up a collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, which resulted in an exchange of knowledge on both the history of this monument and on views what it’s future might look like. In this presentation Daan Lavies will share the insight gained from collaboration in this project.
Daan Lavies works as an architect historian for the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. In this role he advises on restoration and transformation projects for listed monumental buildings.
Lavies subsequently studied Human Geography and History of Architecture at the Utrecht University. His research focussed on Portuguese and Dutch early modern military architecture overseas. Since graduation he remained involved in various projects concerning history of landscape and architecture, with emphases on projects concerning water systems an military architecture in a shared cultural heritage context.