IP/09/784
Brussels, 14 May 2009
The best European cultural heritage projects 2009
The European Union and Europa Nostra have selected 28 candidates for the
annual "European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards".
The seven Grand Prizes and 21 Awards will be presented by Mr Ján Figel’,
the European Commissioner responsible for Education, Training, Culture and
Youth and Her Royal Highness The Infanta Doña Pilar de Borbón, President
of Europa Nostra, during the official European Heritage Awards Ceremony in
the Teatro Antico of Taormina, Sicily (Italy) on 5 June. The Awards highlight
exceptional conservation, research and education achievements, as well as
dedicated service to heritage conservation. Each Grand Prize winner will
receive an amount of € 10,000.
The European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards were jointly
launched in 2002 by the European Commission and Europa Nostra to celebrate
outstanding initiatives within the European cultural heritage sector in categories
ranging from the restoration of buildings and their adaptation to new uses, to urban
and rural landscape rehabilitation, archaeological site interpretations, and care for art
collections. Also awarded are prizes for research, for education and awarenessraising projects related to cultural heritage, and for dedicated service to heritage
conservation by individuals or organisations.
The Awards are financed through the EU Culture Programme, which aims at
promoting cross-border mobility of those working in the cultural sector; encouraging
the transnational circulation of cultural and artistic output and expertise, and fostering
intercultural dialogue. The Programme also funds the European Union
Contemporary Architecture Prize, the European Union Prize for Literature and the
European Border Breakers Awards (EBBAs) for contemporary music.
The aim of the Awards is to promote high standards and high-quality skills in
conservation practice, and to stimulate the trans-border exchanges in the area of
heritage. By spreading the 'power of example', the Awards also aim to encourage
further efforts and projects related to heritage throughout Europe.
This year, a total of 138 applications and nominations from 24 countries were
received in the various categories and assessed in situ by independent experts. The
most outstanding of these were selected by one of the four Heritage Awards Juries
in a series of meetings which took place over the past months.
The call for entries for the 2010 "European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa
Nostra Awards" can be found on Europa Nostra’s website as from 15 April 2009.
(For more information: www.europanostra.org)
The following are the selected Awards Laureates who will be competing for one of
the 7 Grand Prizes, to be disclosed at the European Heritage Awards Ceremony and
presented jointly by the European Commission and Europa Nostra, the panEuropean Federation of Cultural Heritage in Europe:
Category 1 — Conservation:
-
Gozzoburg Medieval building in Krems, AUSTRIA
Grotenfelt Family Burial Chapel's wall paintings in Joroinen, FINLAND
Kesälahti Church Bell Tower, FINLAND
Dokumentationsstätte Regierungsbunker, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, GERMANY
Archaeological Site of Nicopolis in Epirus, GREECE
Mátra Museum in Gyöngyös, HUNGARY
The Church of Saints Faustino and Giovita in Fasano, ITALY
“Macro Future” and “Alternative Economy City” in Rome, ITALY
Via Latina at the University of Coimbra, PORTUGAL
La Casería de Tomillos at Alcalá del Valle SPAIN
The Church of Santa María La Mayor in Colmenar de Oreja, SPAIN
Stanley Mills in Stanley Perthshire, UNITED KINGDOM
Logie Schoolhouse in Craigo, UNITED KINGDOM
The Pier Arts Centre in Stromness on Orkney, UNITED KINGDOM
High Level Bridge at NewcastleGateshead, UNITED KINGDOM
Category 2 — Research:
- Study, Assessment and Design for the Structural and Architectural Restoration
of the Bedestan in Nicosia, CYPRUS
- Series of five restoration catalogues from 2004 to 2008 of the Olomouc Museum
of Art, CZECH REPUBLIC
- An Inventory of Historic Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Ireland,
IRELAND
- The Noah’s Ark Project - Global Climate Change Impact on Built Heritage and
Cultural Landscapes, ITALY
Category 3 — Dedicated service:
- Dr Glenn Murray from Segovia, SPAIN
- Fundación de la Comunidad Valenciana La Luz de la Imágenes, SPAIN
- Professor David Walker, OBE, from Edinburgh, UNITED KINGDOM
Category 4 — Education, training and awareness-raising:
-
Maison du patrimoine médiéval mosan in Bouvignes-sur-Meuse, BELGIUM
Sustainable Aegean Programme, GREECE
Pontemanco - A proposed teaching method for reading the landscape, ITALY
Academia Istropolitana Nova in Sväty Jur, SLOVAKIA
“Culture Ants” project of the Cultural Awareness Foundation, Istanbul, TURKEY
Upper Colne Valley dry stone walling project from Huddersfield, UNITED
KINGDOM
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For more information on the Award Laureates and the Awards
Scheme, please contact:
Elena Bianchi, Heritage Awards, Europa Nostra,
T +31 70 302 40 58, E eb@europanostra.org
For press accreditation for the European Heritage Awards Ceremony in the Teatro
Antico on 5 June 2009 or other publicity matters, please contact
Laurie Neale, Communications, Europa Nostra,
T +31 70 302 40 55, E ln@europanostra.org
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