KEY WORDS: Documentation, Historic Value, Preservation, Future Use, Sweden 
1. INTRODUCTION 
The National Property Board is a governmental body established as late as 1993. The Board is responsible for buildings, forests and 
land, which are common property and which is meant to stay as common property forever. The majority of the buildings, parks and 
cultivated land are National Heritage. That means property with great importance in Swedish history. As background to my speech I 
will show you some examples to give an idea of what type of property we own and take care about. 
Examples: The Royal Palaces, 
Castles from the Vasa dynasty, 
Royal farmsteads and farmland, 
Special Memories from National history (farmsteads, townhouses, rivers and mountains with ist 
samimemories, modern fortresses, old fortresses 
Documented knowledge of high quality about the property is fundamental to secure appropriate development and management of 
historic property. Everybody in charge of the property has to know what constitutes its value, what is authentic etc. There has to be 
documented long term programs for the maintenance and development of the property, documentation of the historic changes and 
continuos documented supervision of its conditions. Before carrying a change through all knowledge available about the object has to 
be collected and analysed. As part of that documentation of the property today is necessary. 
2. MANAGEMENT ’’CARE- PROGRAMME” 
In National Property Board we have decided to set up a special document with the necessary information for every listed building, 
park and historic landscape before 2004. We call it care-programme. The programme is meant as a base document to be used by all 
people dealing with the property the propertymanager, the architect, different specialists, contractors, technicians, carpenters etc. It is 
meant to give them the necessary information and to tell about how to preserve and improve the historic value and how to develop 
the property for future use. The programme will tell about the defined needs and requirements of the property. It must be used both in 
general running of routine maintenance work and before major decisions on alterations or acute measures. 
The total care-programme includes: 
Short version of the care-program 
Facts about location, ownership, legal protection, use, tenants, planning conditions etc. 
Definitions of the special values of the property, it’s particular character, threats and possibilities. 
Strategy for preserving the historic value and objectives and goals for improving and using the property (Short-term and 
long-term) 
Necessary steps to reach the goals (Short-term and long-term) 
Special care or supervision requirements / possibilities/threats. 
Detailed history about the intentions, design, construction works, later changes, owners and use. 
Detailed description of the property today: construction, materials, colours, installations, vegetation etc, etc. 
Detailed description of special rooms 
Directory of sources from books, research, archives, personalities etc. 
To be able to establish "the care-programme” there is a need for basic information as detailed description of the property today, 
architecture, structure, construction, materials, colours, installations, and vegetation etc, etc. 
But the most important thing is to make everybody involved in the management and use of the property aware of what constitutes its 
value, its vulnerability, the threats to it and its possibilities, what is for example appropriate use and of course strategy and goals. 
As important is the detailed documented history about the development of the property and other changes during the years, about the 
owners and the architects intentions, the designprocess the economic situation, the principles of the structure, the construction works 
and information about authenticity of surfaces especially painted surfaces live a dangerous life. If we have established a care- 
program we can find out i.e. which surfaces are authentic. To be able not to by hazard paint a authentic surface that looks a little to 
worn in the eyes of a too efficient technician or contractor. 
Proceedings 18