Heritage sites around Europe are often threatened. Conflicts, natural and human-made disasters, climate-change-related issues, neglect, unsuitable development or lack of funds are all reasons for a site to be endangered.
This is the chance for heritage professionals around Europe to draw attention to sites that they care about, but might be facing tough times: nominations for the 7 Most Endangered Programme opened in June. Europa Nostra‘s programme welcomes nominations from a wide range of heritage sites, such as museums, places of worship, or intangible heritage assets. In 2022, each of the 7 successful nominees received €10,000 to help kickstart campaigns to save the sites.
Who can nominate
- Europa Nostra’s Country Representations, Member and Associate Organisations (see full list)
- Public and private bodies active in the heritage field located in countries where Europa Nostra is not yet represented
- Member organisations of the European Heritage Alliance
- Individual members of Europa Nostra
The 7 Most Endangered Programme has been run by Europa Nostra since 2013 – in partnership with the European Investment Bank Institute. It also has the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union as part of Europa Nostra’s network project “European Cultural Heritage Agora”.
Last year’s sites ranged from a bridge in Albania to a fortress in the Netherlands. The panel of international experts that selected the finalists was looking for sites that not only had strong heritage significance, but could also encourage community engagement and dialogue – something for this year’s applicants to keep in mind.