SEK 460 million to preserve and protect ecclesiastical cultural heritage

The allocation of the ecclesiastical heritage grant for 2017 is complete. The dioceses and parishes of the Church of Sweden will share SEK 460 million to preserve and protect their ecclesiastical cultural heritage.

“The high number of applications from parishes indicates the considerable need for conservation and maintenance measures in protected church environments,” says Markus Dahlberg, head of the cultural heritage support unit at the Church of Sweden.

There has previously been a surplus linked to the ecclesiastical cultural heritage grant. The Central Board of the Church of Sweden has therefore increased the allocation to dioceses and parishes for a number of years. The surplus is now dealt with as the funds have been allocated to various projects. The size of the framework decision is therefore based on the government’s proposed long-term budget of SEK 460 million a year up until 2019, when the next review will take place.

As in previous years, the priority will be the long-term planning of conservation and maintenance to ensure optimum use of the grant. Just over 11% of the allocated grant framework is approved for overall inventory and planning work.

The majority of the dioceses’ applications, around 82%, are for projects related to conservation measures. Other projects are for damage prevention measures, about 7%, and work on security issues, about 3%. The applications above all concern church buildings, some 84%, followed by cemeteries and church grounds, approximately 10%, and church furniture, fittings and other objects, roughly 4%. The final distribution of the money will take place in the autumn when the dioceses decide which projects in the parishes will receive funding.

CONTACT:
Markus Dahlberg, head of the unit for cultural heritage support, tel: +46 18 16 98 78

About the ecclesiastical heritage grants: