1971 – Fontainebleu, France

The First Symposium on Historic Gardens

The 1st International Symposium on the Conservation and Restoration of Gardens of Historical Interest, was held on Monday through Friday, September 13th through 18, 1971. Held on the grounds at Fontainebleu, with trips to Versailles, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Chantilly, Parc de Vaìlière à Mortefontaine, and Parc de Ferrières.

This symposium also marked the beginning of the activities of the newly formed ICOMOS Scientific Committee of Historic Gardens, the pre-cursor to the ISCCL. Organized as a joint committee with members from IFLA, the International Federation of Landscape Architects, the committee relied on the expertise of both landscape architects who specialized in historic gardens and their particular conservation issues and the various disciplines of heritage conservation professionals who focused on the issues of historic gardens in ICOMOS.

The event was organized by ICOMOS and IFLA (International Federation of Landscape Architects), and held under the direction of ICOMOS with the President and Secretary General of ICOMOS and the French National Committee leading the event. Attendees included René Pechere as the representative of IFLA, Invited Experts from Italy, Czechoslovakia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, the USSR, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, and Japan. Representatives from international organizations including UNESCO, Europa Nostra, the International Union of Architects, and observers from the ICOMOS National Committees of France, Netherlands, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Luxembourg, and other members of the French National Committee were in attendance. A total of 42 participants, seven observers, 3 spouses and 3 interpreters attended.

1971 International Symposium on conservation and restoration of historic gardens

1971 list of attendees

Schedule

Papers

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About the Author: Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec is Director of the Center for Heritage and Society, and Professor of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research and professional work have focused on culture, land and heritage and the interactions of the three in a sustainable society. A core area of that research is concerned with migration and the role of heritage in mitigating the trauma of human movement and displacement caused by human created and natural disasters due to climate change. Elizabeth Brabec founded and was President of the award-winning land and resource planning firm Land Ethics, Inc., until 2002. As an academic, she spent nine years serving as Department Head, first at Utah State University's Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, and then at the University of Massachusetts' Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. She was also an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and the Environment. Until 2021, she served as the editor of the Taylor & Francis journal, Heritage & Society which focuses on the publication of research on the role of heritage in contemporary life. Elizabeth holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland, and a Master in Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph, Canada.