Adaptation of two Austro-Hungarian battery forts into exhibition centres

The Public Institution Kamenjak has been granted support for the project "Adaptation of two Austro-Hungarian battery forts into exhibition centres" submitted to the public call for proposals regarding the immediate co-funding of project documentation for the renovation of the existing visitor and hiking infrastructure in protected areas and ecological network areas, published by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund. The total costs of the project are HRK 52,000, and the co-financing rate is 80%, i.e. HRK 41,600. The goal of the project is to create project documentation for the adaptation of neglected military infrastructure (two battery forts) into visitor infrastructure. The goal is consistent with the management plan for protected areas and the ecological network in the Municipality of Medulin, which is currently being drafted, because this activity will be included within it. The battery forts would be organised as exhibition centres, educating visitors about the value and history of the Kamenjak protected area. The battery forts are located in a protected, significant landscape between Lower and Upper Kamenjak at cadastral plot 917/7 in the cadastral municipality of Premantura. The construction of the battery forts was started by Austria-Hungary in 1918 and continued by the German army during the Second World War, after which they were maintained by the former Yugoslav army. With the departure of the former army, the battery forts were left in ruins, not maintained, polluted and unsafe to visit. In order to achieve the goal of the project, the following activities will be carried out: A1 – Creation of an architectural project for the two battery forts, A2 – Creation of an electrical installation project for the two battery forts, A3 – Creation of a main project comprising two cottages of up to 15 m² in size. By adapting the battery forts, new educational and interpretive content would be created for visitors to the protected area of Kamenjak. The proposed project would not change the construction and basic functionality of the battery forts. In addition to the aforementioned adaptation of the interior space, the exterior space around the battery forts would be cleaned up, and two smaller cottages of up to 15 m² total area would be installed on it, which would serve as information points and guardhouses, all for the purpose of better management of visitors. Local and renewable materials would be used to decorate the battery forts and the environment. The external and internal organisation of the battery forts as a visitor infrastructure would serve to develop new interpretive and educational content for visitors and contribute to the improvement of the organisation of tourism destinations in the area. It would increase the satisfaction and safety of visitors, improve visitor control, and reduce the ecological footprint of the infrastructure, which would be preserved from pollution, deterioration and devastation. The beneficiary of the project is the Kamenjak Public Institution.