The European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards were awarded, on June 10 in Istanbul, to 29 winning projects from 15 countries. The awards recognise excellence in ‘conservation’, ‘research’, ‘dedicated service’ and ‘education, training and awareness raising’ in the field of heritage. Among the winning projects, six were awarded with a Grand Prix, which carries with it a €10,000 monetary reward. The European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, and Europa Nostra’s Executive President, Denis de Kergorlay, announced the Grand Prix winners.

They are: Le Collège des Bernardins in Paris (restored 13th century Cistercian college), Neues Museum in Berlin (incorporation of contemporary architecture in reconstruction of original site), Roman Theatre in Cartagena (restoration and conservation of treasures unearthed during excavations), Van Gogh Letters Project in Amsterdam (digitisation of the artist’s correspondence and exhibition), Nils Vest in Copenhagen (documentary film maker focusing on architectural heritage) and Baerwaldbad in Berlin (renovation of Kreuzberg public bath house by young people in vocational training). Independent experts selected the winners from nearly 140 projects across 26 countries.

The European Commission and Europa Nostra jointly launched the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards in 2002 to celebrate outstanding initiatives in the field of European cultural heritage. The awards are supported 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 dialoguen

The list of award winners is available at www.europolitics.info > Search = 274201