An Art Historian Dedicated to Cultural Heritage and Vernacular Architecture. An Interview with Christoph Machat

Abstract

Esteemed Professor Dr. H.C. Mult. Christoph Machat, you are an internationally recognized figure who has been active in the field of material cultural heritage protection and conservation for over five decades. A brief biography should mention that you were born in Sighișoara in 1946 to a family of Saxon descent and attended school in the historic building at the end of the Covered Stairway, near the remarkable Gothic edifice known as the “Church on the Hill.” After obtaining your baccalaure­ate in 1964, you initially pursued studies in industrial electronics at the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest. However, you abandoned these studies in 1967, finding them unsuitable. Instead, you enrolled in the university program for art history at the National University of Arts in Bucharest (then the Institute of Fine Arts), completing your studies between 1967 and 1972. You subsequently worked as a referent for Transylvania at the Directorate of Historical Monuments (1972–73) while also serving as a guide for foreign tourists visiting socialist Romania during your student years.