Mostar’s “Partisan Cemetery” found itself on the list of the seven most endangered sites of European cultural heritage, the European Commission announced on Thursday.
Today, the 2023 European Commission’s list of the seven most endangered heritage sites in Europe has been published.
This initiative is part of a civil society campaign to highlight and protect Europe’s collective cultural heritage.
The 2023 edition, which also marks the 10th anniversary of the program, has identified the following sites as the seven most endangered cultural heritage sites: Kortrijk Railway Station, Kortrijk, Belgium; the Partisan Memorial Cemetery, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Chakvinji Fortress, Zugdidi, Georgia; the Sisters’ House, a former Moravian settlement in Kleinwelka, Germany; Memento Park, Budapest, Hungary; the Cultural Landscape of Sveti Stefan, Paštrovići, Montenegro; and the watermills of Bistrica, Petrovac na Mlavi, Serbia.
The Seven Most Endangered Sites program provides a grant of €10,000 per listed site to help implement an activity that will help save the endangered site. In most cases, the listing of an endangered site serves as an incentive to action and to mobilize the necessary public or private support, including financial support.
“Since 2014, the Commission has supported the 7 Most Endangered Sites initiative, highlighting heritage sites that are in danger and need our help. We must continue to raise awareness of the importance of cultural heritage for our European identities and for achieving sustainable development. The selected sites have the potential to act as a tool for promoting peace and dialogue within their localities and wider regions,” said Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.
Site selection is based not only on the level of threat or value of the cultural heritage site, but also on the engagement of the local community, and therefore on the potential for safeguarding.
The program is managed by Europa Nostra in partnership with the European Investment Bank Institute and supported by the Creative Europe program, as part of the Europa Nostra European Cultural Heritage Agora network project.
