European Heritage Days in Belarus to mark renaissance of local manor and park complexes

MINSK, 10 August (BelTA) – The European Heritage Days “Renaissance of Manor and Park Complexes” will be held in Belarus on 3-5 September, BelTA learnt from Natalya Khvir, national coordinator of the project, chief of the historical and cultural heritage protection sector at the department of the protection and restoration of historical and cultural heritage of the Culture Ministry of Belarus.

Every year the European Heritage Days are held under a certain motto. This year the Days in Belarus will focus on the conservation, restoration and operation of manor and park complexes. On September 3 Grodno will host a forum which will be attended by Belarusian and Lithuanian specialists, scholars and regional ethnographers.

Over 40 events will be held across all regions of the country as part of the European Heritage Days. The program includes local ethnography classes, trips around local landmarks, village celebrations, and photo exhibitions. A string of events will open with the exhibition “Landscapes of the Khoiniki Region” in the town of Khoniki, the venue of this year’s Days of the Belarusian Written Language. Smorgon, last year’s host, will hold a roundtable discussion “Ancient manors of Smorgon Region: History and Modern Age”.

An opportunity will be provided to go on a tour around ancient parks in the Stolin, Baranovichi and Bereza districts and also around historical landmarks of the Dribin, Bykhov and Kirovsk districts. The Gomel Palace and Park Complex will host a conference “Manors of the Gomel Region: History and Modern Age. Classes in ethnography will be conducted in the Korelichi, Ivije, Oshmiany, Ostrovets and Dyatlovo districts.

Belarus reinstated the European Heritage Days last year after quite a long hiatus. The motto of the campaign during the Year of the Native Land was Belarus Original. Traditions. Language. Crafts. Under the European Cultural Convention, which Belarus joined in 1993, the European Heritage Days can be held at any weekend in September.

This year the European Heritage Days in Belarus are conducted jointly with the Lithuanian colleagues. Such meetings are envisaged in a protocol of the session of the Belarusian-Lithuanian group of experts on cultural heritage. The group has been set up in line with the agreement between the ministries of the two countries on safeguarding the historical and cultural heritage.

The Culture Ministry of Belarus has plans to exhibit the elements of intangible historical and cultural values and publish a booklet on the European Heritage Days.

The Council of Europe pushed forward an initiative to hold the European Heritage Days in 1991. The European Commission joined it in 1999. The annual programme offers opportunities to visit monuments and sites, many of which are not normally accessible to the public. The campaign is supported by all 49 states of the Council of Europe’s Cultural Convention. Last year nearly 20 million people visited more than 30,000 sites.

The final events of the Days are due to take place on 1-3 October. The 3rd European Heritage Forum Cultural heritage. Participation. Prosperity will take place in Istambul, Turkey.

Source: BelTA