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In 2022, Bratislava regained one of its most iconic examples of architecture. After a thorough revitalization of the socialist-realist building, commonly known as “The Bridge, of the Slovak National Gallery was reopened in this location. Dr. Alexandra Kusá, the Director General of of the Slovak National Gallery and an art historian specializing in 20th-century art, discusses the construction work that restored the space’s splendor after over twenty years of closure.

The 9th of May is a day of “peace and unity in Europe”. We encourage you to celebrate it by joining the Ode to Joy Challenge  which was initiated by Europa Nostra six years ago and reinterpreting the European anthem.

In the inaugural episode, “Harnessing the Power of Ukrainian Heritage”, we are in Lviv, where we meet with leading cultural figures to learn about efforts to preserve and safeguard Ukrainian cultural heritage in the face of the ongoing conflict with Russia. Our interviewees include: Lilia Onyshchenko-Shvets, advisor to the mayor of Lviv on heritage protection; Vasyl Rozhko from НеМо: the Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab; Dr. Iryna Sklokina, a researcher at the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe in Lviv; Taras Voznyak, director of the Lviv National Art Gallery; and Professor Yaroslav Hrytsak, a leading Ukrainian historian.

All of this year’s Polish laureates are connected with Silesia: Historic Ignacy Mine, Rybnik (Category: Conservation and Adaptation), Serfenta Craft Revitalization Model, Cieszyn (Category: Education, Training, and Skills), Piotr Gerber PhD, Wrocław (Heritage Champions category).

The number of cultural heritage sites in Ukraine is huge, yet with local municipalities struggling to finance the upkeep of buildings, monuments and other treasures, new ways of financing have had to be found. That is where Spadshchyna.UA – which means ‘heritage’ in Ukrainian – comes into play. Listen to Hanna Havryliv who runs the NGO Spadshchyna.UA.

On April 17, 2024, Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Institute announced the list of the 7 Most Endangered monuments and heritage sites in Europe for 2024. This programme is one of Europe’s leading civil society campaigns to safeguard endangered heritage.

The 7 Most Endangered programme is Europa Nostra’s flagship programme. It mobilises public and private partners on a local, national and European level to find a viable future for threatened monuments and sites in Europe. It offers more visibility, generates additional attention and media coverage.

The European Heritage Hub has launched the Heritage Library: a digital repository of materials on heritage across Europe. The database will be gradually expanded over time.

The European Heritage Hub has selected 10 initiatives aimed at identifying exemplary local good practices in the field of cultural heritage that contribute to the green, digital, and social transformation of our society. Among the selected initiatives is the project of the Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze, Poland.

Europa Nostra and a group of relevant partners, including the Europeana Foundation, Eurocities, ICLEI, KU Leuven and Europa Nostra Heritage Hub in Krakow, have been selected for EU funding for the implementation of a pilot project establishing a European Heritage Hub.

Charter for Mega-events in Heritage-rich Cities is a set of recommendations for cities planning to organize large events in historic cities. It was created as part of the international research project HOMEE – Heritage Opportunities/threats within Mega-Events in Europe 2018-2021 and it is the result of extensive desk research, Living Lab workshops and a number of case studies. Its provisions were verified during validation workshops by experts and practitioners.

The ongoing war in Ukraine has not only caused physical damage. Russia’s continuing “special military operation” also has a cultural dimension, one which Ukraine is now having to fight against, and not just with heavy weaponry. In this episode of Ukraine Heritage Spotlight, we are in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv to meet renowned historian and public intellectual Professor Yaroslav Hrytsak.