Anping Fort (安平古堡) in Tainan has withstood the test of time. Now the question is whether it can withstand being cleaned.
Two specialists from the German firm Karcher GmbH & Co, Thorsten Moewes and Nick Heyden, on Monday last week test-washed a section of the structure, also known as Fort Zeelandia, as the company and the Tainan City Government prepare for a full-scale cleaning of the historic fortress next year.
Carefully watched by city officials, Moewes and Heyden tested a pressure steam cleaner on a section of wall of the fort, which was built by the Dutch between 1624 and 1634, to determine the best temperature and pressure setting to clean the bricks.
Moewes and Heyden said they carried out the first stage of the project in January, when they surveyed the fortress. Last week was the second stage, using steam to remove a coating of moss and dust from the bricks to reveal their original red color.
Karcher — an industrial cleaning equipment manufacturer — has sponsored the washing of more than 100 historical structures and sites, including Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican City, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and Singapore’s iconic Merlion statue.
The company said that its first priority in cleaning a historic building is to preserve the structure and its environs.
The test-washing is designed to confirm the size of the area to be cleaned, the equipment to be used, the methodology and machine settings, as well as to evaluate manpower, equipment and time requirements, it said.
No chemical cleaning agents are used to clean historical structures, it said.
The company said it would confer with Tainan City Government officials to ensure that the third and final stage of the project proceeds smoothly and that it meets the city’s expectations.
“The eyes of the nation are upon Tainan because this is the first time in 400 years that Anping Fort has been cleaned,” Tainan Deputy Mayor Yen Chun-tso (顏純左) said.
Yen said he was looking forward to the company’s assistance in cleaning other historic sites in Tainan, which served as the capital of the island between 1663 and 1885.
However, some city residents have expressed concern that the cleaning might prove too thorough and remove the “unique ancient vibe” of the fortress.
Tainan Cultural Affairs Bureau officials said “proper cleaning would help extend the site’s life.”
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