REKLAMA NA ZABYTKACH

Advertisements accompany us in everyday life, and interfere in many spheres of our activities. They appear in means of mass communication, the Internet and on all kinds of buildings, including historic ones. The advertisements that are placed on historic buildings may be divided into two groups: permanent and temporary. Permanent advertisements (signs, neon signs, semaphores and so forth), which depict company logos, are currently an inseparable part of most historic Old Towns in Poland. Temporary advertisements, put up on historic sites during renovation periods, appear on tarpaulins that cover scaffolding. In Poland, the affixing of advertisements on registered historic sites is subject to particularly restrictive laws. This issue is regulated by a number of legal statutes, of which the most important is the statute protecting historic sites and regulating the maintenance of historic sites. The remaining statutes regarding this matter are the law from the 21st of March, 1985, regarding public roads and the law from the 7th of July, 1994, regarding building law. In the event an advertisement is hung on a registered historic site without permission, or if it is at odds with the conditions stated by law, the voivodeship’s conservator may issue a decision requiring that the historic site be returned to its previous state or that the site be reorganized within an established period of time. Independent of issuing orders, the voivodeship conservator is obliged to file a lawsuit in order to fine the party which affixed an advertisement to a historic site without permission. In practice, however, many advertisements are put up which are not in conformity with the law. Given this state of events, conservators do not manage to fulfill their duties when the binding regulations prevent quick and effective enforcement of the obligations required of the owners and users of historic sites. There are a few possibilities for fighting against advertising lawlessness. Above all, quick and unavoidable legal action is needed: in order to main consistency in the protection of historic sites, strict discipline should be upheld in ordering the immediate removal of advertisements from historic sites. Legal protection should also be extended to those historic sites which are not registered, and require that those who intend to place advertisements near historic sites receive suitable permission from conservator services. Nowadays, the sight of a historic building hung with advertisements is no surprise, though the legitimacy of this type of marketing arouses controversy, particularly in the context of large-format advertisements. Supporters of advertisements raise the point that money received from sponsors often means salvation for historic sites that are falling into ruin. Opponents are of the opinion that advertisements “disfigure” historic sites and prevent them from being viewed in their entirety. In seeking a solution to this problem, the arguments of both sides should be taken into account.