The European Heritage Days are carried out in the framework of a joint Council of Europe and European Union Programme.

Each year, during the month of September, the member States parties to the European Cultural Convention open monuments and sites not normally open to the public for visits. Considerable numbers of visitors take advantage of this possibility. In 2005, all the countries in South East Europe took part in this event. The themes of their “Days” ranged from “The Cultural Heritage as communication” in Bosnia and Herzegovina, “South East Europe: a shared heritage” in Bulgaria to “Water and the architectural heritage” in Romania.

The Launch of the Annual European Heritage Days takes place each year in a different country. In 2006, the Launch took place on 21 September 2006 at the Hermitage in St. Petersbourg, within the framework of the Russian Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. The Launch was followed by a Seminar on “the value of the European cultural heritage” at Tsarskoe Selo, on Friday 22 September 2006. The Seminar is an important event because the Programme takes as its starting point the Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society which was opened for signature in Faro in October 2005.

At the meeting of the Steering Committee for Cultural Heritage, Serbia and Montenegro proposed for the 2007 Launch of the European Heritage Days Belgrade within the framework of their presidency of the Committee of Ministers.

Mrs. Alison Cardwell
Department of Culture and Cultural Heritage, Council of Europe