Today (25 April) marks the first anniversary of the deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Nepal, killing more than 9,000 people and toppling some of the Himalayan country’s most beloved cultural heritage sites. As the Nepalese government continues to face criticism for the slow pace of the country’s reconstruction, Nepal’s prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli announced today that the reconstruction of key heritage sites in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur is to finally begin, the Associated Press reports.
Meanwhile, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) also announced today that it, in collaboration with American Express, was financing the rebuilding of the 16th-century Char Narayan Temple, which was reduced to rubble by the quake. The project is to receive a share of $1m in grants earmarked for five major preservation projects across the globe.
The money will be used to rebuild the Hindu temple—the oldest on the popular Patan Durbar Square—using materials salvaged by locals, the police and the army following the earthquake. For the past year, local carvers and restorers have worked on these pieces, preparing for a time when they could be used in the reconstruction of the temple. Copies of some of the more fragile pieces destined for the local museum will be made and incorporated into the fabric of the temple. A WMF spokeswoman estimates that 90% of the original materials will be used in the restored building, which will be seismically retrofitted. Once the necessary permits have been granted, the project should take around two years.
Erich Theophile from the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, a group that works to safeguard the architectural heritage of the Kathmandu Valley and has worked with the WMF for almost two decades, says the Char Narayan Temple has been a "focal point of the urban townscape of Patan’s main square” since 1565. “At this time of need, we are fortunate that once again—in alliance with American Express—[the] WMF has taken the lead role in helping [us] to recover, rebuild and strengthen a monument of major local, cultural and historic significance.”
The four other sites on the WMF’s 2016 watch list that will benefit from the $1m grant are: Rome’s ancient Arch of Janus, a 19th-century gatehouse at Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park, a series of cloistered convents in Seville and the Edwardian Moseley Road Baths in Birmingham.