Preserving the Rezi and Tátika ruins is expected to cost HUF 60-80 million. Work on the Rezi ruins will take three to four years, and work on the Tátika ruins will last four to five. Both are expected to become historical attractions in the Balaton National Park.
Preservation work must continue if earlier investments are not to be lost, according to MNV spokesman Gábor Száraz. About HUF 40 million was spent to preserve the two landmarks between 1997 and 2006. Excavations were made at the Rezi ruins and the castle walls in Tátika were stabilised during the period.
The National Asset Management Directorate (KVI), the predecessor of MVN, signed agreements with the local councils of Rez and Zalaszántó in 2005 and 2006, respectively, on making a joint application for funding to preserve the ruins. Rez and Zalaszántó were to have rented and operated the ruins, but the contract could not be renewed as the local councils were short funding.
The state wanted to hand over the operating rights for the ruins, but Zalaszántó mayor Lajos Farkas said the city had too little money.
Rez mayor Gábor Cserép said 10,000-12,000 visitors make their way to the ruins every year, often damaging the site. This risk could be lessened if opening and closing times were to be established at the site. Revenue from a token admission fee could be used to cover the costs of keeping the ruins open to the public, he said.
County museum director László Vándor said work on the two ruins has been ongoing since around 2000. Already two-thirds of preservation work at the Rez ruins has been completed, though work at the Tátika ruins is not even half-way completed. Another five or six years of excavation work must still be completed at the Tátika ruins, he said.
The Tátika ruins would make a good place for an environmental awareness site, while the Rez ruins would be ideal to host theatre programmes and historical re-enactments, Vándor said.
Source: Múlt-kor / Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
