Nearly 30 outstanding cultural heritage projects will be honoured tonight at the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards at the Aya Irini (Topkapi Palace) in Istanbul, Turkey.
Nearly 30 outstanding cultural heritage projects will be honoured tonight at the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards at the Aya Irini (Topkapi Palace) in Istanbul, Turkey. The awards will be presented by Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner responsible for culture, and Denis de Kergolay, President of Europa Nostra, a network dedicated to safeguarding Europe's cultural heritage and landscapes. Six of the projects (see annex for full list) will receive a grand prize and € 10,000 each. The winners were selected by independent experts from nearly 140 projects covering 26 countries. The awards recognise excellence in conservation, research, dedicated service, and education, training and awareness-raising.
''Great work is taking place across Europe to protect our heritage, to conserve our industrial legacy, to regenerate the cities and areas we live in, to research how digital developments can provide greater access to our heritage and to educate and train people about our heritage," said Commissioner Vassiliou. "All this work not only helps to make Europe a beautiful place to live, it also generates jobs, attracts tourists and contributes to sustainable development."
The six Grand Prize winners are:
Le Collège des Bernardins (restored 13th century Cistercian college), Paris
Neues Museum (incorporation of contemporary architecture in reconstruction of original site), Berlin
Roman Theatre (for restoration and conservation of treasures unearthed during excavations), Cartagena
Van Gogh Letters Project (digitisation of the artist's correspondence and exhibition), Amsterdam
Nils Vest (documentary film-maker focusing on architectural heritage), Copenhagen
Baerwaldbad (renovation of Kreuzberg public bath house by young people in vocational training), Berlin
The 29 projects to be honoured this evening include major building restorations to landscape rehabilitation works, and art collections. For full descriptions of the winning projects and photographs, click here: http://www.europanostra.org/laureates-2010/
The European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards are funded by the EU Culture Programme, which aims to encourage the transnational circulation of cultural and artistic works, cross-border mobility of workers in the sector, and intercultural dialogue. The Culture Programme has a total budget of €400 million in 2007-2013, also supports the exchange of best practices in heritage preservation and protection.
Europa Nostra represents 400 non-governmental organisations, with 1500 individual members from more than 50 countries.
For more information
About the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards:
http://ec.europa.eu/culture/our-programmes-and-actions/doc623_en.htm
About the European Commission's Culture programme:
http://ec.europa.eu/culture/index_en.htm
Commissioner Vassiliou's website:
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/vassiliou/index_en.htm
ANNEX – Complete list of award winners (listed alphabetically by country)
Conservation
The Nodkette Cableway-Stations, Innsbruck, AUSTRIA
L'Ancienne Fonderie de la Société Alsacienne de Construction Mécanique (SACM), Mulhouse, FRANCE
Le Collège des Bernardins, Paris, FRANCE
The Sarcophagi of the Dukes of Pomerania, Wolgast, GERMANY
The Neues Museum, Berlin, GERMANY
The ancient tower of Horio-Aghia Triada and the adjacent buildings of later times, Amorgos, GREECE
The Natural, Archaeological and Historic Heritage of the National Observatory, Athens, GREECE
Ancient City Walls and Fortification of 'sHertogenbosch, THE NETHERLANDS
The Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
The Monastery of Santa Clara-A-Velha, Coimbra, PORTUGAL
The Roman Theatre Museum, Cartagena, SPAIN
The Descalzos Church, Ecija, SPAIN
The Royal town of San Ildefonso, SPAIN
The Sultan's Pavilion of the Yeni Mosque, Istanbul, TURKEY
St Davids Bishop's Palace, St Davids, UNITED KINGDOM
St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, UNITED KINGDOM
Research
Restoration Study for the Horni Hrad of the Bečov State Castle, Bečov, CZECH REPUBLIC
Sacred Timber Architecture in Carpathian: Building Archaeology of Selected Objects in West Ukraine, Münich, GERMANY
Restoration Study for the Tempesta's Fortress, Noale, ITALY
The Letters Project of Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Dedicated service
Nils Vest, Copenhagen, DENMARK
Commission to Preserve National Monuments, Sarajevo, BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA
Ludmilla V. Shaposhnikova, Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Education, training and awareness-raising
REMPART: Bénévoles et volontaires pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine, Paris FRANCE
The East Eifel Volcano Park, Plaidt GERMANY
The Baerwaldbad - Conservation through Vocational Training of an old Public Bath House, Berlin GERMANY
Empathic Archaeology - On storytelling and identity, Borger THE NETHERLANDS
Discovering the Museum - Youth Educational Project, Sibiu ROMANIA
Faith in Maintenance, London UNITED KINGDOM