Helmi Üprus

Helmi Üprus (15 October 1911 – 27 August 1978) was an Estonian architectural and art historian. She trained in romance languages, studied English and ethnography, and earned a master's degree in art history from the University of Tartu in 1936. She worked her way up to head the cultural history department of the Estonian National Museum, where she researched folk art. In 1947, she began working at the of the Academy of Sciences of the Estonian SSR. Persecuted by Stalinism she lost her job in 1950 and worked in a factory until Stalin's death. From 1953, she was the chief specialist in architecture and history for the government monument restoration service.

Üprus analyzed architecture employing an interdisciplinary method, which looked at both functional use and natural features in regard to construction and cultural significance. Although under Khrushchev's regime preservation and restoration were not a priority, her comprehensive work to uncover the architectural history of the medieval town center of Tallinn and develop a conservation plan, was eventually adopted in 1966. Her plan called for preservation and conservation of historic buildings, zoning to meet the needs of the local community, and limiting traffic and tourism. It was the first legislatively protected preservation area in the USSR and became a model for later conservation projects throughout the Soviet republics. She was honored twice – 1967 and 1980 – with the for publications on the history of Estonian art and architecture and was awarded the 1974 prize of the Estonian Association of Art Scientists and Curators (). In 1975 and 1977, along with other authors, she received the State Prize of the Artists' Union of the USSR, for two volumes covering the history of Estonian art through 1940. Üprus died in 1978, and her work to compile the inventory of Estonia's manor houses was completed by members of the team she had supervised. Provided by Wikipedia