europa nostra steps up its presence
in the czech republic

Prague/The Hague, 17 March 2005: A branch of Europa Nostra – the pan-European federation for heritage – was today launched in the Czech Republic at the Riding Hall, Nostic Palace, Prague.

Mr Václav Havel – former President of the Czech Republic – has accepted Europa Nostra’s invitation to become the patron of this branch. “Given his continuous dedication to the development of civil society movements not only the Czech Republic but also in the rest of Europe, and having always been a strong advocate of the ‘Europe of Culture’ Europa Nostra is honoured that Mr Havel has accepted this position,” said Otto von der Gablentz, Executive President of Europa Nostra.

At this crucial moment of European developments, marked by a historic enlargement of the European Union and by the signature of the Constitution for Europe , Europa Nostra now seeks to increase its public profile and instruments for action in as many European countries as possible. It will do so by further developing the network of national branches which would act as true “amplifiers and multipliers” of Europa Nostra’s actions in their respective countries. The mission and specific actions of Europa Nostra’s Czech national branch were discussed earlier in the day at a working session of Heritage NGOs in the Czech Republic.

On the same occasion, the Europa Nostra Restoration Fund Grant was presented to the 18th century Trnka House in the historic centre of Prague. The grant of €20,000 contributed to the repair of the extensive damage caused to this historic house by the flooded Vltava River during the summer of 2002.

Europa Nostra is the representative platform of over 200 heritage NGOs active throughout Europe which have several million members. The main task of Europa Nostra is to be, at a European level, THE voice of the European civil society committed to and actively involved in the protection and enhancement of Europe’s unique cultural – both built and natural – heritage. As such, Europa Nostra also seeks to highlight the importance of the cultural and educational dimension of the ongoing European integration process. In 2000 Europa Nostra held its Millennium Congress in Prague.

This event has been organised with the kind support of the Czech Ministry of Culture, the European Commission, Christie’s International and Gema Art Group.

Europa Nostra and the Czech Republic: Facts and Figures

For more information:

Charlotte O’Connor, Communications Officer, Europa Nostra co@europanostra.org, +31 70 302 40 55
Mary-Brennan Bachrack, Gema Art Group a.s. bachrack@gemaart.cz, +420 732 221 271

About Europa Nostra: Europa Nostra is the voice of organised civil society active in the field of heritage towards EU Institutions, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. Its objectives are, among others, to promote high standards of quality in the fields of heritage conservation, architecture, urban and rural planning and to advocate a balanced and sustainable development of urban and rural, built and natural environment. Moreover, Europa Nostra supports national and international campaigns for European heritage at risk. Last but not least, Europa Nostra is responsible for the running of the leading European cultural heritage awards scheme, the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards.