How do we preserve?

Greenland National Museum & Archives (Grønlands Nationalmuseum & Arkiv), or NKA, continuously receives inquiries with ideas for preservation, and NKA initiates new preservations for buildings deemed to be of special cultural-historical significance. Anyone can take the initiative to contact NKA with an idea for a preservation. This requires attaching documentation of the building, its surroundings, and other information relevant to the assessment of whether something should be preserved.

Preservation of buildings is understood to mean either the entire building, the building's exterior, individual building components, and the immediate surroundings of a building, to the extent that these are part of the preservation- or protection-worthy whole.

A preservation case begins with an inquiry to the Greenland National Museum & Archives about a specific building desired for preservation. The case is initiated when the Greenland National Museum & Archives decides to do so, after which a preservation proposal is presented to the Cultural Heritage Council (Kulturarvsrådet). Several types of buildings may be considered, but common to all of them is that they must possess typical historical features of the time and be of national interest for posterity.

How a Preservation Case Proceeds

A preservation is generally binding for all time. Therefore, decisions in a preservation case must be based on a solid professional foundation, and the process must involve citizens and particularly interested parties regarding the building in question. Due to a series of legally mandated phases, the process is always long.

Here is a description of a normal preservation process:

1. Greenland National Museum & Archives receives an inquiry to preserve a building or decides on its own initiative to raise a preservation case. The inquiry includes photos and other current information about the building, but NKA also collects information itself, for example, about other structures by the same architect, the building's cultural-historical context, typical features of the time, etc. NKA inspects the building.
2. Based on this, Greenland National Museum & Archives decides whether or not a preservation case should be commenced. If the assessment is positive, a preservation proposal is submitted to Det særlige bygningssyn ved Kulturministeriet. If the assessment is negative, this is communicated to the party who submitted the inquiry. Such a decision can be appealed.
3. The Cultural Heritage Council (Kulturarvsrådet) assesses the preservation case. The preservation case can only be carried out if the council recommends it. If the Cultural Heritage Council believes that the proposed building is not suitable for preservation, the preservation proposal lapses, and the decision cannot be appealed.
4. If the Cultural Heritage Council believes a building is suitable for preservation, notice is given to the owner, users, the municipality, the local museum, and other associations with local ties who have stated in writing that they wish to be informed.
5. Concurrently, an advertisement about the preservation proposal is placed in the local newspaper, initiating a public hearing phase. The hearing lasts for 3 months. During this period, anyone can submit comments on the preservation proposal to the Greenland National Museum & Archives. From the time the letter announcing the start of the hearing is sent out, no construction work or alterations to the building may be carried out without permission from the Greenland National Museum & Archives. Naturally, the building may also not be demolished.
6. After the hearing period expires, the Greenland National Museum & Archives must decide whether NKA will proceed with the preservation, taking into account the comments received. Once NKA has made a decision, the owner receives a letter about it, and the other involved parties receive a copy of this letter. Greenland National Museum & Archives can therefore choose to make a negative decision on a preservation case at this point, even if they originally initiated it themselves, and even if the Cultural Heritage Council disagrees.
7. Regardless of whether the Greenland National Museum & Archives' decision is positive or negative, it can be appealed to Naalakkersuisut (the Government of Greenland). If the decision is not appealed, the Greenland National Museum & Archives advertises the final decision in the local newspapers. If the decision is a preservation, the Greenland National Museum & Archives registers the preservation on the building's title (tinglyser).
8. If the Greenland National Museum & Archives' decision is appealed to Naalakkersuisut, the position of the Member of Naalakkersuisut is naturally awaited. There is no time limit set for when the Member must process the appeal. Once the Member's position is available, the Greenland National Museum & Archives announces it in the local newspapers.