National Award Ceremony for the rehabilitation of the Bač Fortress, Serbia

The National Award Ceremony for the rehabilitation of the Bač Fortress, a Grand Prix winner of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2018, will take place in Bač on 1 October. The Bač Fortress, restored as part of the Centuries of Bač project, is an excellent example of interdisciplinary collaboration in heritage preservation. The project had a strong educational component and benefited from European resources.

Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, will participate in the ceremony in Bač where he will unveil the bronze Awards plaque on the Donjon Tower. Europa Nostra will be represented by its Secretary-General Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović.

The full day’s programme will present a unique opportunity to reflect and discuss new approaches to preserving cultural heritage. At a round table discussion entitled “Berlin Call to Action – Initiatives Deriving from the Award Winning Centuries of Bač Project”, international cooperation and the potential for development within professional and local communities will be explored. The Berlin Call to Action: “Cultural Heritage for the Future of Europe”, which was presented at the first European Cultural Heritage Summit held in Berlin last June, has already been signed by over 1,250 organisations and individuals. Guests will also have the opportunity to visit the Franciscan Monastery of Bač and the Bodjani Monastery.

The restoration of the Bač Fortress received a Grand Prix at the European Heritage Awards Ceremony, held in Berlin on 22 June, during the European Cultural Heritage Summit. In addition, two other projects from the Republic of Serbia were honoured. In category Conservation, the Pavilion of Prince Miloš at the Bukovička Spa in Arandjelovac received an Award, and in category Research, the Research and Cataloguing of the State Art Collection in Belgrade was recognised.