Holistic Heritage

In our search for the cultural heritage of Ukrainians in Poland we have arrived in Podlasie – a region encompassing the Polish-Belarusian borderland, with the Narew river meandering through its centre and the World Heritage listed Białowieża forest straddling the border. For decades, Ukrainian inhabitants of this land have been struggling with a harmful stereotype that this region – as a national...

In this edition of Holistic Heritage we are in Romania, where we hike the Via Transilvanica with the trail’s co-founder Ana Szekely. Ana stands behind the success of Via Transilvanica , the longest walking trail in Romania, by many considered one of the most beautiful in the world. Measuring 1,400 kilometres, it crosses seven regions and many differing ethnic communities across the country. In 202...

We are in the Beskid Niski mountain range in southern Poland which is home of the Lemkos, an ethnic group of Carpathian highlanders. They have their own language, which may be classified as a dialect of Rusyn, akin to Ukrainian, and have been here in the Polish Carpathians for generations. The latest Polish census data from 2021 reveals that a fraction over 13,600 people are Lemko or identify as h...

We are in Przemyśl which plays host to the Narodniy Dim – the National House – which is run by the Association of Ukrainians in Poland. A number of families which were deported from this area in 1947 as part of Operation Vistula have since returned and are cultivating their regional traditions, language and music. We take a look at some of these stories as part of a project which aims to draw atte...

For this episode we are in Lviv and visiting the Jam Factory Art Center . This new space in an old and run-down suburb of Ukraine’s western city has been in the making for years. Now it has become Lviv’s most fashionable centre for contemporary artists both from Ukraine and beyond, and has the ambition to become the country’s premier exhibition space. Creating such a massive area for visual and pe...

We’re in the centre of Lviv to visit UA Comix – a comic book store, as you might have guessed from the name. But it’s so much more than that. In fact, you could say that comics are now helping the Ukranian war effort against Russia. Bohdan Kordoba is the founder and CEO of UA Comix. Even though it has always published comics and graphic novels, the full-scale invasion by Russia has meant that more...

Assistance for heritage during times of war has been a leitmotif throughout the Ukraine Heritage Spotlight podcast series. In this episode we look closely at the activities undertaken by non-governmental organisations, including those bringing physical support for heritage institutions endangered by ongoing Russian attacks. Iryna Nikiforova offers us an insight into current heritage matters – orga...

December 2022 marked the reopening of the Slovak National Gallery after major reconstruction. A large part of exhibition premises were closed for more than twenty years due to their derelict condition, and construction works took almost seven years. Bratislava has now regained one of its most iconic buildings for art and culture, as well as a meeting place for residents and tourists. The bold soci...

How has the concept of heritage changed over the decades? We take a look at best practices and approaches to heritage preservation with Professor Jacek Purchla, Vice-President of Europa Nostra. We met at the Heritage Hub in Kraków in June 2024 on the occasion of the announcement of the European Heritage Awards. Hosted by John Beauchamp together with Katarzyna Jagodzińska, head of the Europa Nostra...

Physical damage to Ukraine’s cultural heritage is very real. Official figures from UNESCO dated 10 April 2024 reveal verified damage to 351 sites since 24 February 2022, including religious sites, museums and monuments, as well as other heritage sites. For the inaugural episode, I’m in Lviv, Ukraine’s western gateway, where we meet leading cultural figures to learn what is being done to preserve –...

One of the most important activities in heritage research is not just looking at the past, but recording the present for future generations of citizens and scholars. This is exactly what Dr Iryna Sklokina is doing from the Center for Urban History in Lviv.  One of the centre’s projects is „Un-archiving Post-industry”, which digitally preserves endangered industrial heritage collections in Ukraine’...

W 2023 roku historyczne centrum Lwowa zostało wpisane na Listę światowego dziedzictwa UNESCO w zagrożeniu. Decyzję Światowego Komitetu wymusiła trwająca od lutego 2022 roku pełnoskalowa inwazja wojsk rosyjskich na terenie Ukrainy. Choć Lwów jest położony daleko od frontu, od początku wojny w tym regionie zniszczone zostały trzy obiekty dziedzictwa. Jak dzisiaj wygląda sytuacja zabytków we Lwowie,...

The number of cultural heritage sites in Ukraine is huge, yet with local municipalities struggling to finance the upkeep of buildings, monuments and other treasures, new ways of financing have had to be found. That is where Spadshchyna. UA – which means ‘heritage’ in Ukrainian – comes into play. The NGO was set up to raise awareness of cultural heritage in Ukraine as well as become a first point o...

The ongoing war in Ukraine has not only caused physical damage. Russia’s continuing “special military operation” also has a cultural dimension, one which Ukraine is now having to fight against, and not just with heavy weaponry. In this episode of Ukraine Heritage Spotlight, we are in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv to meet renowned historian and public intellectual Professor Yaroslav Hrytsak. H...

The World Monuments Fund is an independent organisation based in New York devoted to safeguarding heritage locations to build mutual understanding across cultures and communities. Since 1965, its global team of experts has preserved cultural heritage at more than 700 sites in 112 countries. Today one of the countries in need of special attention is, of course, Ukraine. One of the many specialists...

The European Heritage Hub is one of the largest cultural heritage-driven projects across Europe to support the green, social and digital transformation of our society.  Launched in May 2023 by a consortium of 20 partners led by Europa Nostra, and co-funded by the European Union, this pilot project brings together a large array of heritage stakeholders and initiatives, responding to the need for a...

“Cultural heritage is by nature politically sensitive, highly complex with a high degree of symbolic significance, emotionally charged and with a risk of political manipulation concerning its history, ownership and use,” we read in a “ Concept on Cultural heritage in conflicts and crises ” published by the European Union in 2021.  As of mid-February 2024, UNESCO has verified damage to 342 sites si...

Vyshyvankas have always had a symbolic meaning, referring to prosperity, luck and protection. Now, at a time of war with Russia, vyshyvankas have gained an even deeper symbolism – they signify the continuation of Ukrainian culture in the face of destruction of cultural heritage. Ukrainians believe that vyshyvankas have a magical power, and take vyshyvankas with them as a token of protection. Simil...

What can civil society do for heritage? Basically there is no limit. In this episode we speak to Natalia Gnoińska, president of Fundacja 8Marca , who has initiated a concept of the Innovation Manor in Rokietnica, south-east Poland. The Innovation Manor addresses the problem of undeveloped architectural heritage sites located in rural areas, seeking new functions for them and creating a development...

What does the situation of the contemporary artistic world in Ukraine at war look like? Is the war visible in contemporary artistic practice in the public space? Artur Wabik, a visual artist specialising in murals and graffiti, curator, manager of cultural projects based in Krakow, shares his perspective on Ukrainian institutions, exhibitions, projects and careers of artists as they are today.  As...

We take a look at industrial heritage and why we should love old factory buildings instead of tear them down. What is being done to promote industrial heritage, and what has to be done to preserve industrial heritage while keeping in line with the EU’s green deal? What can the Central and Eastern European region learn from Western European industrial preservation activities? These are just some of...

60 years ago, on 29 November 1963, Europa Nostra was founded at the Council of Europe premises in Paris. Starting out with 11 founding members, it has become the largest civil society network dedicated to cultural heritage in Europe. Today, it gives voice to over 300 organisations from across Europe and beyond. Europa Nostra is constantly exploring new fields and topics that need special attention...

60 years ago, on 29 November 1963, Europa Nostra was founded at the Council of Europe premises in Paris. Starting out with 11 founding members, it has become the largest civil society network dedicated to cultural heritage in Europe. Today, it gives voice to over 300 organisations from across Europe and beyond.  This remarkable milestone would not have been achieved without the unwavering support...

Autumn 2023 marked the opening of a blockbuster exhibition “Image of the Golden Age: Culture in the Times of the Last Jagiellons” at the Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków, presenting 16th century culture on the vast territory of Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth. The exhibition displays several hundred works gathered from all over the world, including the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the British Library in...

60 years ago, on 29 November 1963, Europa Nostra was founded at the Council of Europe premises in Paris. Starting out with 11 founding members, it has become the largest civil society network dedicated to cultural heritage in Europe. Today, it gives voice to over 300 organisations from across Europe and beyond.  This remarkable milestone would not have been achieved without the unwavering support...