“I warmly welcome the nine new sites we have added to the list today. Each of them has been chosen for its symbolic value, representing a different aspect of European ideals, values, history and integration. They will help us understand our past as we build our future – which is an aspect of our patrimony that we are celebrating throughout the European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018.” Said Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport,Tibor Navracsics.

The European Commission has today awarded the European Heritage Label to nine sites which celebrate or symbolise European ideals, values, history and integration. They are Leipzig’s Musical Heritage Sites (Germany); the Dohány Street Synagogue Complex (Hungary); Fort Cadine (Italy); Javorca Church (Slovenia); the former Natzweiler concentration camp and its satellite camps (France and Germany); the Sighet Memorial (Romania); the Bois du Cazier (Belgium); the Village of Schengen (Luxembourg) and the Maastricht Treaty site (The Netherlands).  An independent panel set up by the Commission chose the new sites from 25 candidates preselected by participating Member States. An award ceremony will take place in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) on 26 March during a conference on “Cultural heritage: for a more sustainable Europe” organised by the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU and the European Commission. Today’s decision brings to 38 the number of sites holding the European Heritage Label.