About us
Our foundation, PDKEKA, created the Heritagebuilder.eu website as its first major project, with the mission to digitally preserve the architectural heritage of Central and Eastern Europe. We believe that our region’s beautiful, diverse, and often overlooked built environment deserves to be safeguarded in digital form — so that its beauty and its stories remain accessible for future generations.
Our goal is to ensure that we, the people of Eastern Europe, can tell our own stories through the buildings, towns, and landscapes that shaped us. Over the next five years, we aim to map every significant monument and heritage-worthy building in the Central and Eastern European region, and to share the stories behind them — from the perspective of local communities.
At the heart of our foundation’s work lies the rich culture of our region: its many languages, its varied economies, its history of shifting borders, and its complex ethnic landscape. We believe that these layers of identity can be felt and understood most vividly through architecture. Buildings — whether homes, churches, castles, or public institutions — carry the memory of the past and the spirit of the people who built and used them.
This is why we consider the heritage-mapping project essential: it serves as the foundational encyclopedia of our region’s built heritage, a structured base for all future initiatives. It is fundamental work that brings clarity, connection, and visibility — and it enables us to preserve the beauty and diversity of Eastern Europe together.
Recommended buildings
Huedin Railway Station - Huedin
Huedin Railway Station - Huedin is the town’s central railway station and an important stop on the Cluj-Napoca–Oradea line. The station also played a significant role in Huedin’s historical development by linking the town with larger urban centers in Transylvania. The station building and rail yard remain an important part of the transport infrastructure today. Its local and regional significance also has a tourism dimension, as it helps provide access to the Kalotaszeg area. Address: Gara Huedin, Huedin, Cluj, Romania. Coordinates: 46.8735, 23.0402.
Huedin Reformed Church
The Reformed Church of Huedin is one of the town’s most important historic ecclesiastical buildings and a significant monument of the Reformed heritage of Călata/Kalotaszeg. As the center of the local Hungarian Reformed community, it has shaped the image of Huedin for centuries. The building is of medieval origin and reached its present form through later rebuilding and enlargement. Its most distinctive feature is its tall tower, which dominates the townscape from afar. Its history is closely connected with the local congregation, noble patrons, and the work of regional builders. The church is of outstanding importance both as a monument and as a living community site.
Huedin Orthodox Church
The Orthodox church of Huedin is an important ecclesiastical building of the town’s Romanian Orthodox community. In the multi-confessional character of Huedin, the Orthodox Church became increasingly visible from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The building serves as a center for local religious life, major feast days, and community ceremonies. Readily verifiable sources on its exact construction phases and full architectural history are limited, so it can only be described in general terms here. In the townscape, the church stands as a marker of the historical presence of the Romanian community.
Moskovits Palace - Oradea
Moskovits Palace is one of Oradea’s known Secession-era apartment buildings. It is a monument of the city’s turn-of-the-century development and an important part of its architectural heritage. The building takes its name from the Moskovits family, associated with the city’s bourgeois milieu of the period. The palace is best understood as an urban residential and commercial building. Its façade and detailing fit well within Oradea’s rich Secession heritage. Today it remains one of the notable buildings of the historic center.
Apollo Palace
Apollo Palace is an important Secession-era residential and commercial building in the historic center of Oradea. It is a characteristic monument of the city’s turn-of-the-century development and reflects the growing representational ambitions of bourgeois apartment palaces. The building is an important component of the central streetscape. Its massing and façade design belong to the period’s modern urban architecture. Its original function was primarily residential with commercial activity on the lower levels. Today it is regarded as a notable part of Oradea’s built heritage.
Black Eagle Palace
The Black Eagle Palace in Oradea is one of the best-known Secession-era building complexes in the city. It stands in the historic center near the main square and also functions as an important urban passage building. The complex takes its name from the famous glass-roofed arcade and the black eagle motif associated with it. It was built in the early 20th century, during a period of rapid economic and cultural development in Oradea. The palace was conceived as a mixed-use complex with shops, hospitality spaces, and representative interiors. Today it remains one of the city’s most important architectural landmarks and a major tourist attraction.