Mediators and spaces of encounter: converging national, socialist and international interests of the Third ICOMOS General Assembly and Symposium

ICOMOS was founded as an international non-governmental organisation for the preservation of historic monuments. Its conferences, focusing on both technical and theoretical aspects through practical examples, were platforms for international knowledge exchange between professionals. Focusing on the Third ICOMOS General Assembly and Symposium held in Budapest in 1972, this paper shows that, beyond collaboration, these conferences were also spaces of competition and confrontation during the Cold War. Combining the conceptual frameworks of heritage diplomacy and architectural contact zones, it reconstructs the congress preparation processes to demonstrate the coexistence of multi-layered, often competing interests within ICOMOS and at its events. The study argues that some Hungarian actors operated in different functions across borders and devised the conference setting to ensure their convergence. They sought to further Hungary's international prominence through national solutions in architectural monument restoration, strengthen the social base of the field nationally, showcase the support of the Hungarian socialist government, intensify socialist collaboration within ICOMOS, and facilitate international scientific exchange. Scrutinising the microhistory of this specific monument conservation conference in Hungary simultaneously through the lens of international expert networks and in its national context, this study aims to conceptually expand the histories of socialism, international organisations, and architectural conservation in the twentieth century.