Winners of 2015 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage

Winners of 2015 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards announced

Brussels / The Hague, 14 April 2015 – The European Commission and Europa Nostra have revealed today the winners of the 2015 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, considered Europe’s most prestigious prize in the heritage field. The 28 award winners, selected from 263 applications submitted by organisations and individuals from 29 countries, are honoured for outstanding achievements in four categories: 1) conservation, 2) research and digitization, 3) dedicated service to heritage, and 4) education, training and awareness-raising.

 

The European Heritage Awards Ceremony will take place on 11 June at the Oslo City Hall and will be co-hosted by Fabian Stang, Mayor of Oslo, Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, and Plácido Domingo, the renowned opera singer and President of Europa Nostra. At the ceremony, seven of the selected winners will be named as Grand Prix laureates, receiving €10,000 each, and one will receive the Public Choice Award, chosen in an online poll conducted by Europa Nostra.

 

“Cultural heritage is one of Europe’s biggest assets. It brings countless cultural, economic, social and environmental benefits to all of us. I would like to congratulate the winners of the 2015 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, who are the perfect example of what dedicated and competent Europeans can do for heritage – but also for our European identity, contributing to a sense of belonging. We all need to keep working together to help communities and citizens take ownership of our heritage, make it part of our daily lives and preserve it for the generations to come,” said Commissioner Navracsics.

 

“This year’s winners are powerful examples of creativity and innovation at work for Europe’s cultural heritage. They also demonstrate that heritage matters to Europe and its citizens. We trust that, under the leadership of President Juncker and Commissioner Navracsics, the European Union’s strategy for an integrated approach to cultural heritage will be further developed and implemented,” added Plácido Domingo.

 

2015 Award Winners

(listed alphabetically by country) 

 

 

Category Conservation

▪ Picturesque Garden of the Museum van Buuren in Brussels, BELGIUM

▪ Armenian Church and Monastery in Nicosia, CYPRUS

▪ Boulingrin Central Market Hall in Reims, FRANCE

▪ Antouaniko Mansion in Chios, GREECE

▪ Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, HUNGARY

▪ Nuragic Sculptures of Monte Prama in Sardinia, ITALY

▪ Paleochristian Mosaics of the Basilica Complex in Aquileia, ITALY

▪ The Halls Amsterdam: Centre for Media, Fashion, Culture and Crafts, THE NETHERLANDS

▪ Manor House in Eidsvoll, NORWAY

▪ Cathedral in Tarazona, SPAIN

▪ Salt Valley of Añana, Basque Country, SPAIN

▪ Armenian Church of St. Giragos in Diyarbakir, TURKEY

▪ Middleport Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, UNITED KINGDOM

▪ Stonehenge: Surrounding Landscape and Visitor Centre in Wiltshire, UNITED KINGDOM

 

Category Research and Digitization

Research Projects:

▪ Restoration of Lasithi Plateau’s Windmills with Perforated Sails, Crete, GREECE

▪ Learning from las Cuencas: the Cultural Landscape of the Asturian Coalfields, SPAIN

Digitization Projects:

▪ HERMES: Hermoupolis Digital Heritage Management, Syros, GREECE

▪ Wonders of Venice: Virtual Online Treasures in St. Mark’s Area, ITALY

 

Category Dedicated Service

▪ The Rundling Association, Jameln, GERMANY

▪ Huis Doorn Association of Friends, Doorn, THE NETHERLANDS

▪ Churches Conservation Trust, London, UNITED KINGDOM

 

Category Education, Training and Awareness-Raising

Education Projects:

▪ Heritage Skills Initiative, Newcastle upon Tyne, UNITED KINGDOM

▪ Young Archaeologists’ Club, York, UNITED KINGDOM

Training Projects:

▪ Programme for Owners of Rural Buildings in Estonia, Tallinn, ESTONIA

▪ The Outbuilding Project, Roros, NORWAY

Awareness-Raising Projects:

▪ The Garden City of Stains, FRANCE

▪ Saving Past Testimonies for Building a Future, Chisinau, MOLDOVA

▪ The Fota Walled Garden, Cork, IRELAND

 

Background

The EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards was launched in 2002 by the European Commission in partnership with Europa Nostra. The Prize celebrates and promotes best practices related to heritage conservation, management, research, education and communication. In this way, it brings cultural heritage closer to European citizens and contributes to a stronger public recognition of cultural heritage as a strategic resource for Europe’s society and economy. A total of 415 outstanding heritage accomplishments have been recognised in the past 13 years.

 

Every year, organisations and individuals from all over Europe submit their applications to this awards scheme. Specialist juries made up of independent experts assess the nominations and select up to 30 winners in four categories: 1) conservation, 2) research and digitization, 3) dedicated service to heritage, and 4) education, training and awareness-raising. All the winners receive a plaque or trophy. The seven Grand Prix winners also receive €10,000 each.

 

The Awards are presented to the winners at a major public event, which is hosted each year in a different European city. The 2015 Awards Ceremony is to take place in Oslo and is part of Europa Nostra’s European Heritage Congress held in the Norwegian capital (10-14 June). The Congress is supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme, Riksantikvaren – the Directorate for Cultural Heritage and the Arts Council of Norway, and the City of Oslo, among many other public and private bodies from Norway.

 

The Prize received the support of the EU Culture programme (2007-2013) and is now supported by the new Creative Europe programme (2014-2020).

 

Europa Nostra is the European federation of heritage NGO’s. Covering 40 countries in Europe, the organisation is the voice of civil society committed to safeguarding and promoting Europe’s cultural and natural heritage. Europa Nostra campaigns to save Europe’s endangered monuments, sites and landscapes, in particular through ‘The 7 Most Endangered’ programme, run in partnership with the European Investment Bank Institute. It celebrates excellence through the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards. It also seeks to contribute to European strategies and policies related to heritage. Founded in 1963, Europa Nostra is today recognised as the most representative and influential heritage network in Europe. In 2014, the organisation received an EU grant from the Creative Europe programme to support its network’s activity on ‘Mainstreaming Heritage’ in Europe.