The network of sites that have obtained the European Heritage Label, which is awarded since 2013 by the European Union, consists of 67 sites all over the Union.
Sites are selected every two years, alternating with national preselections and evaluations in the other year.
This year, it’s Brussels’ and Urban’s turn to organise the pre-selection jury in Belgium.
This label is awarded to cultural sites that represent European heritage, chosen for their symbolic value and the role they have played in the construction and transmission of the European identity, but also sites offering educational and artistic activities that bring the citizens who visit them closer to the European Union’s shared history and values, in particular those linked to democratic values and human rights.
Sites include monuments, natural, archaeological, urban and industrial sites, cultural landscapes, cultural goods and objects, as well as intangible heritage.
This call concerns:
- individual sites
- themed sites
- transnational sites
Participation
Is your cultural site part of a European dynamic and does it offer an activity programme designed to strengthen European citizens’ sense of belonging to the Union and sharing its values - particularly young people - and to develop intercultural dialogue?
→ We invite you to submit your application by September 2nd 2024 at ileroy@urban.brussels.
The Belgian jury will meet in December, and the selected file(s) will be submitted to the European panel, after translation into English, in March 2025.
Each country may submit a maximum of two entries per selection, only one of which can be awarded the “European Heritage Label" by the EU.
Rules and practical information
→ For more information, contact Urban at ileroy@urban.brussels.The Toone Royal Theatre has been awarded the European Heritage Label 2024
On 17 April 2024, the European Commission awarded the European Heritage Label to the Toone Royal Theatre in Brussels, during a protocollary session held in Antwerp.
The rod puppet theatre is a real institution of Brussels popular cultural heritage. Historically, puppet theatres, where “poechenelles” replaced actors, were both places that offered popular entertainment and a way of keeping up with the news. Through the freedom of tone and the satirical mode of expression that was used, these theatres were also spaces for freedom of expression. Throughout history, the Toone theatre has shown extraordinary resilience, and it also fits into the sustainable development dynamic.
This year’s other winners are: the San Jerónimo de Yuste Monastery in Spain, the Our Lord in the Attic Museum in the Netherlands, the epic tale of Kalevala in Finland, the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, the Sant’Anna di Stazzema site in Italy and the Cistercian landscapes network project, a transnational project linking 17 monastic landscapes in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia.
→ Discover these remarkable sites by watching this video.
Belgium now boasts five labelled sites:
- The Toon Royal Theatre in Brussels
- The Migration Museum in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
- The Mundameum in Mons
- The Bois du Cazier in Marcinelle
- The Koloniën van Weldadigheid (Belgium and the Netherlands)
