European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2019: Winners announced

The Hague, 21 May 2019 – The winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2019, Europe’s most prestigious honour in the field, funded by the Creative Europe programme, were announced today by the European Commission and Europa Nostra, the leading European heritage network. The 25 laureates from 16 countries have been recognised for their impressive accomplishments in conservation, research, dedicated service, and education, training and awareness-raising. The winners will be honoured at the high-profile European Heritage Awards Ceremony on 29 October in Paris, during the European Heritage Congress.

Europa Nostra Awards will also be given to two remarkable heritage achievements from European countries not taking part in the EU Creative Europe programme, namely Switzerland and Turkey.

Citizens from around Europe and the rest of the world can now vote online for the Public Choice Award and mobilise support for the winning achievement(s) from their own or another European country.

Among those dedicated individuals and exemplary European heritage initiatives that were awarded in 2019 are: the sensitive restoration of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud in Turin, an iconic site of religious heritage which was destroyed by fire in 1997 and which has now been reopened to the public; the development of a digital archive of the Roma, an internationally accessible space that would make Romani cultures and histories visible as well as respond to stereotypes with a counter-history told by Roma themselves; the dedication of one of the oldest heritage NGOs in Europe which has committed itself to heritage protection in Norway for over 175 years; and a training programme for displaced, skilled heritage specialists from Syria, run by a German institute in Istanbul, which serves as a powerful example for countries in Europe and beyond.

The European Commission and Europa Nostra have also announced a European Heritage Award to honour the Paris Fire Brigade. Together with the police forces and conservation experts, the city’s firefighters bravely and skilfully battled the flames which ravaged the Notre Dame cathedral on the night of 15 April and successfully protected the main structure of the monument from complete destruction, as well as the priceless artefacts within. Read the separate press release on this Special Prize here.

“I am immensely proud to congratulate all winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2019. These heritage heroes – professionals and volunteers from across Europe – have accomplished something truly amazing. Their work to restore, preserve, support or promote Europe’s heritage monuments and sites, as well as the intangible heritage of Europe, is of the highest quality imaginable. The Awards are proof of the tremendous impact that heritage projects have on our economy, our environment, our culture and our quality of life. Europe’s heritage is a key asset for Europe’s future and our prosperity. This is an important message for all EU citizens and all future leaders of EU Institutions ahead of the forthcoming European elections”, stated Plácido Domingo, the renowned opera singer and President of Europa Nostra.

“Our cultural heritage is our joint resource, a legacy from the past on which to build our future. It has its place in people’s hearts and in their daily lives – and is crucial in fostering a sense of belonging. The European Year of Cultural Heritage that we celebrated in 2018 highlighted this important role. Now it is our task to keep promoting it in the years to come. This year’s winners of the European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards are playing their part in these efforts with their engagement and the quality of their work, and I warmly congratulate them,” said Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.

Independent Juries of heritage experts from across Europe examined a total of 149 applications, submitted by organisations and individuals from 34 European countries, and selected the winners.

The laureates will be celebrated at the European Heritage Awards Ceremony, co-hosted by European Commissioner Tibor Navracsics and Maestro Plácido Domingo, and organised under the high patronage of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, on the evening of 29 October in Paris.
Seven Grand Prix laureates (each of whom will receive €10,000) and the Public Choice Award winner, chosen from among this year’s winning projects, will be announced during the Ceremony.

The Ceremony will be attended by an audience of high-level officials from EU Institutions and Member States, leading representatives of heritage organisations and dedicated professionals and supporters from all over Europe.

The winners will present their heritage accomplishments at the Excellence Fair on 28 October. They will also contribute to various other events of the European Heritage Congress, to take place from 27-30 October 2019.

The Call for Entries for the 2020 edition of the Awards will be published in June 2019 on the dedicated website.

2019 Award Winners

(listed alphabetically by country)


Category Conservation

Castle of Montreuil Bonnin, France
Fortified Settlement of Mutso, Georgia
Chapel of the Holy Shroud, Turin, Italy
Cathedral of Saint Bavo, Haarlem, the Netherlands
The Queen Louise Adit Complex, Zabrze, Poland
Pavilion for the Presentation of Archaeological Remains, Celje, Slovenia
Lithica Quarry of s’Hostal, Menorca, Spain
Oratory of the Partal Palace in the Alhambra, Granada, Spain
The Portal of Glory, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Medieval Tithe Barn, Ingatorp, Sweden
Yr Ysgwrn, Trawsfynydd, Wales, United Kingdom

Category Research

Solak1: a Model of Predictive Archaeology, Armenia/Italy
VERONA: Van Eyck Research in OpeN Access, Belgium
RomArchive-Digital Archive of the Roma, Germany

Category Dedicated Service

VVIA – Flemish Association for Industrial Archaeology, Belgium
Fortidsminneforeningen – National Trust of Norway, Norway

Category Education, Training and Awareness-Raising

TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, Yerevan, Armenia
History Radar 1938, Vienna, Austria
Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding, Croatia
Monument Europe, Germany
Stewards of Cultural Heritage, Germany
Greek Paths of Culture, Athens, Greece
Commonlands: Cultural Community Mapping in Alpine Areas, Parco Nazionale Val Grande, Italy
Le Dimore del Quartetto, Milan, Italy
A Place at the Royal Table, Warsaw, Poland


A Europa Nostra Award will also be presented to two remarkable heritage achievements from European countries not taking part in the EU Creative Europe programme.

Category Conservation
Tarsus-Gözlükule Excavations Research Center, Boğaziçi University, Mersin, Turkey

Category Dedicated Service
Mr. Léonard Gianadda, Martigny, SWITZERLAND


TO FIND OUT MORE

About each winning project:
Information and jury’s comments,
Photos and Videos (in high resolution)

Creative Europe website
Commissioner Navracsics website

 

Audrey Hogan
Europa Nostra
ah@europanostra.org
+31 70 302 40 52

Nathalie Vandystadt
European Commission
nathalie.vandystadt@ec.europa.eu
+32 2 2967083

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