The transnational application “Places of Peace” for the European Heritage Label (EHL) was submitted on 28 February to the European selection by the Government of Croatia, the Member State of the European Union where it had been submitted for evaluation in the national phase.

The current submission to the European selection was already expected by the promoters of the candidacy given the unconditional support expressed since the beginning of its preparation by the Croatian Government through its Ministry of Culture and the Croatian National Coordinator of EHL, Ms. Anuška Deranja-Crnokić.

The European Heritage Label, established in 2011 by a joint decision of the European Parliament and the European Commission, aims to distinguish “sites that symbolise important stages in the creation of today’s Europe and the role they have played in the history and culture of Europe“. The “Places of Peace” application is a transnational application which includes 7 sites associated with the signing of Peace Treaties located in 6 Member States of the European Union: Monastery of Saint Francis of Zadar (Croatia), Park of the Historic Fountain of Kaynardzha (Bulgaria), Paço dos Henriques of Alcáçovas (Portugal), Convento de San Francisco/Historic Complex of Alcañices (Spain), Convention House of Évora Monte (Portugal), House of Peace of Vasvár (Hungary) and Trencin Castle (Slovakia). The two German sites initially planned to be included in this application (Hubertusburg Castle and Altranstädt Castle) were forced to withdraw due to bureaucratic procedures and other constraints of the German State.

The application highlights the importance of the Intangible Heritage associated with these sites – Peace – as well as the way in which they combine this Heritage with the active pursuit of promoting a Culture of Peace and the fact that all of them are currently accessible to the public, housing various facilities: interpretation centers, art exhibitions related to their Heritage, public libraries, tourist offices, conference rooms and auditoriums, among others.

The application is coordinated by the Municipality of Zadar, Croatia, and after the submission to the European selection process, it will now go through a phase of verification of its eligibility and then a qualitative evaluation phase, carried out by an International Panel of Experts appointed for this purpose by the European Commission.

The “Places of Peace” application was sponsored by the European Network of Places of Peace (ENPP) since the vast majority of public entities that currently manage the candidate sites are members of this European Association, which is based in Portugal, in the historic town of Évora Monte.

A few dozen children from the Basic Education Schools of Caldeiro and Mata (Estremoz) and Évora Monte participated throughout the morning of May 27th in a set of activities commemorating the 190th Anniversary of the Évora Monte Convention, in an initiative organized by the Teachers Ana Basaloco and Sílvia Cuco, from the Education Department of the Municipality of Estremoz.
The activities took place in the Historic Center of Évora Monte (Portugal) and the children had the opportunity to watch a video about the Introduction of Liberalism in Portugal in the Torre/Paço of Évora Monte, they visited the Exhibition “Celebrating Peace” in that space and the Interpretative Center of Convention of Évora Monte installed in the House where the Convention was signed on May 26, 1834 and they made a short visit to the main points of heritage interest of the site.
This initiative had the support of the European Network of Places of Peace  (ENPP) which was represented by its President, Professor Eduardo Basso and comes as a result of the ERASMUS+ Training Course carried out by ENPP in Bulgaria in October/November 2023,
in which the two teachers responsible for its organization participated.

On the 4th and 5th of May, the city of Wageningen (The Netherlands) commemorates the German Military Capitulation signed at the Hotel De Wereld in that city and which led to the end of the Second World War (WWII) a few days later.
This year’s event has a vast program with military ceremonies, live music, meetings with war veterans and recreational and sporting activities.
The program for May 4th highlights the Silent Procession from the Church of S. João Baptista to the “Monuments of the Fallen”, the Fire of Freedom and the Freedom Race in which 2,500 athletes are expected to participate.
On May 5th, it will be the turn of the National Commemoration of the Capitulation of 1945 and the Freedom Parade that honors the international military cooperation that led to the defeat of Hitler’s armies.
Also on this day, the event “Children are in charge”, live music shows on 15 stages spread across the city and meetings between WWII Veterans with the population will take place. Great World War . The day ends with the “Freedom Meal” in which around 790 guests will participate at a 400 meter long table.
The Commemoration of the German Capitulation is an organization of the National Committee Wageningen45.

The European Network of Places of Peace (ENPP) was present at the 1st Edition of the “Peace4Culture Partners Forum” which took place on December 2nd at the University of Baku, in the capital of Azerbaijan, at the initiative of the Minister of Culture of that country, Mr .Anar Karimov. The ENPP representation was in charge of its President of the Board, Eduardo Basso, who presented a paper entitled “European Network of Places of Peace – An example of multilateral cooperation in Europe” during the 3rd Forum Plenary Session entitled “The Peace and Security Challenges: building multilateral cooperation“.

The Forum’s inaugural session was attended by, among others, Mr. Hikmat Hajiyev, International Policy Advisor to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr.  Anar Karimov, Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan and Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative of the Nations United for the Alliance of Civilizations.
At one of the breaks in the sessions, guest speakers and moderators were welcomed by the Head of the Organization of Muslims of the Caucasus, Grand Mufti Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade.

On the second day of presence in Azerbaijan, the ENPP representative joined a group of speakers and moderators on a visit to the city of Shusha, considered the Cultural Capital of Azerbaijan and which was occupied by Armenia from 1992 until 8 November 2020, when was released by action of the Azerbaijani Army. On this visit, it was possible to observe the degree of destruction caused by the War between the two countries and the Armenian occupation, but also the gigantic effort that the Government of Azerbaijan has already made and continues to make to recover the Historical and Architectural Heritage of the city of Shusha.

With the accomplishment of the 1st “Peace4Culture Partners Forum“, the Government of Azerbaijan kicked off a broader initiative, the “Peace4Culture Call“, which will implement other projects under the general theme “Peace4Culture” to be launched soon.

In the Photo: An aspect of the Closing Session of Peace4Culture Partners Forum with Mr. Anar Karimov, Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan

As announced, a new exhibition was inaugurated last Saturday, September 11, at Hubertusburg Castle (Wermsdorf, Germany) entitled “My Hubertusburg” in a joint project by the Municipality of Wermsdorf and the Dresden State Art Collection and will be on display at that space until November 7th.

The Castle of Hubertusburg, whose Friendship Association is a founding member of the ENPP, is located in the region of Saxony and was the scene of several important historical events, including the signature of the “Peace of Hubertusburg” that ended the Seven Years’ War, one of the bloodiest European wars.

For these reasons, but also for the various uses that this Castle has had since its construction, there is a very deep connection with the population of the German city where it is located (Wermsdorf) and the exhibition now inaugurated is intended to be a showcase of stories, memories, feelings and relationship of the people of Wermsdorf with “their” castle. Therefore, the exhibition consists of around 100 objects from private owners in Wermsdorf as well as various works of art from the Dresden State Collection, complemented by a presentation of the history of Hubertusburg Castle.

The exhibition is divided into 6 rooms of the Castle of Hubertusburg, each of them subject to a theme, and one of these rooms is entirely dedicated to the importance of this Castle as a “place of peace”, to the work of its Friendship Association and its connection to the European Network of Places of Peace since its foundation in 2010. This room is decorated with the well-known phrase by Rosa Luxemburg “I feel at home all over the world where there are clouds and birds and human tears” and an audio recording is available in which Ulf Müller, member of the Hubertusburg Castle Friendship Association and Vice-President of ENPP, explains the work of his Association related to peace, namely its activity as a member of the European Network of Sites for Peace (ENPP).

This exhibition, which precedes a vast set of initiatives and exhibitions already scheduled for the next 4 years, is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday, between 10 am and 6 pm.