The projects of the international scientific and educational summer school of restoration “Preservation and regeneration of the cultural heritage of the historical zones of St Petersburg and the Leningrad region” were defended.

The summer school was attended by 12 students from Greece, Kazakhstan, Kazan and St Petersburg. Gathered in teams, they worked on a historical heritage site and on a concept for preserving and developing the historical territory of the unique wooden Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The current church is located in the village of Listvenka, Boksitogorsk District, Leningrad Region, and is a cultural heritage site of federal significance. This is one of the oldest church buildings in the Leningrad Region – it was built in 1599 and rebuilt in 1720.

"For students, the summer school was an excellent opportunity to test their restoration skills, gain unique experience and work in a team. All the projects presented were completed at a high level. As part of the summer school, students conducted comprehensive studies of the cultural heritage site, including analysis of archival documents and photo recording, developed and discussed the concept of its preservation," said Nadezhda Akulova, Associate Professor at the SPbGASU Department of Architectural and Urban-Planning Heritage.

Anatoly Shlykov, a student at the Kazan State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, admits that participation in the summer school was unplanned, but in the end it gave him a wonderful opportunity to work with an ancient object, meet wonderful people, and most importantly, work in a team that love what they do.

A student from Greece, Emilia Chaidemenaki, agrees with him, believing that the summer school helped the participants unite and make friends with future restorers from different parts of the world.

"I got a truly unique experience of working in Russia in general and with one of the oldest church buildings in the Leningrad region in particular. In addition, I became a member of an international team. It's great that the summer school at SPbGASU opens up such a wonderful opportunity for us, students from different countries," shared Emilia Khaidemenaki.