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Welcome to the January issue of the newsletter!
This month's country of the month is Belarus. Take a look at this country's beautiful wooden churches in our Religiana list The Wooden Churches of Belarus.
Our featured article is written by FRH council member, Michael Mail about the Jewish Heritage structures of Europe and what his organisation, the Foundation for Jewish Heritage is doing to protect them.
#JUMPFORHERITAGE, a campaign following up to our 'Torch of Heritage and Culture' initiative, was launched on December 15 2020. Since then, we have had many participants and are receiving many submissions to the photo competition. We encourage you to participate to support religious heritage and for a chance to win a trip to Barcelona!
Over the past three months, FRH has welcomed 20 new members to our network, welcome to Future for Religious Heritage! Check our interactive map for an overview of our members by country.
FRH is proud to have been able to share its knowledge and give a European perspective to a publication by the Dutch national Heritage Agency about the reuse of churches in the Netherlands and its benefits towards sustainable development and a circular economy. The book can be found online, in Dutch, here.
In EU news, Vice president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, issued a statement to commemorate 2021 as a holy year for the 'Camino de Santiago', a historic pilgrimage route that was designated as Europe's first cultural route and greatly contributed to cultural exchange and the development of religious heritage on the continent.
As always, we are happy to feature members in our newsletter, so feel free to submit articles, event notifications, or anything else you would like to share with the network.
Jordi Mallarach Parés
FRH Executive Officer
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Slonim Synagogue (1642). Source: Wikimedia Commons
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PROTECTING EUROPE'S JEWISH ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE
Belarus, our country of the month, has a diverse variety of religious heritage sites, many of which, unfortunately, are under threat. Many of these are Jewish heritage sites, such as the Great Synagogue of Slonim. This article titled Europe's Jewish Architectural Heritage, written by FRH council member and Chief Executive of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage, Michael Mail, takes an in-depth look at the structures that they have been working to protect. READ MORE >>>
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Source: Henrik Lindblad
FEATURED MEMBER: HENRIK LINDBLAD
This month we are featuring our council member Henrik Lindblad who is one of the founding members of FRH as well as one of our newest council members. Henrik is a Heritage Officer at the Church of Sweden, a trained Art Historian and a specialist in ecclesiastical art, architecture and heritage management. He previously worked for the Swedish National Heritage Board and the Ministry of Culture. He is also co-founder of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee PRERICO (Places of Religion and Ritual). In our interview with Henrik we learn about how he became interested in religious heritage, what he does in his work, and what he thinks are some of the best ways to help safeguard religious heritage. READ MORE >>>
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#JUMPFORHERITAGE. Source: Future for Religious Heritage
#JUMPFORHERITAGE GAINING EUROPEWIDE SUPPORT
Since our launch on December 15th, our campaign #JUMPFORHERITAGE has been going strong. Many people from around Europe have been sharing their photos on social media and we've had quite a few submissions to our contest that we've been posting every day. Furthermore, we've been featured in local media such as in Italy and Poland as well as Europewide outlets such as the European Heritage tribune. Finally, we are honoured to have the support of Creative Europe and the European Heritage Label, who have been sharing our content on social media. We encourage everyone to participate in our campaign to showcase their religious heritage and even win a trip to Barcelona! READ MORE>>>
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Map of FRH Members. Source: Future for Religious Heritage
FRH WELCOMES 20 NEW MEMBERS
FRH is pleased to welcome 7 full members and 13 associate members into the network! These organisations and individuals have joined us during the past three months and we are very excited to begin working with them. Our new full members include Abbayes de Normandie from France, DIPSOC and the Eugenia Balcells Foundation from Spain, The Saqqara Site Tombs Project from Germany and the Synodical Office of Pilgrimage Tours of the Church of Greece. These, as well as our 179 other members from over 35 countries, can be found on the interactive members' map on our website. READ MORE >>>
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St Peter's Church - Vught, the Netherlands. Source: Lilian Grootswagers
FRH MEMBERS CONTRIBUTE TO BOOK PUBLICATION BY THE DUTCH NATIONAL HERITAGE AGENCY
FRH considers extended use and reuse as sustainable methods to hand over religious heritage to future generations. Extending their useful lifespan has multiple benefits that go beyond the project itself to the surrounding area, contributing to sustainable development and a circular economy. FRH members, as well as the office, are proud to have been able to provide input and insights on the European level to the latest publication of the Dutch National Heritage Agency. Our member, Mrs. Lilian Grootswagers was one of the co-authors of this publication titled 88 New Uses of Religious Heritage in the Netherlands, one of the products of their National Religious Heritage Program, running from 2018-2021. The publication contains 88 inspiring, richly illustrated examples of religious heritage reuse. The 400-page book clarifies what is involved in this change and which solutions are conceivable. Up-to-date figures and international comparisons give the subject perspective. This publication is an inspiring example of how reuse can give endangered sites a new life. It is available for purchase, in Dutch, online. READ MORE >>>
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THIS SECTION IS FOR MEMBERS ONLY. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BECOME A MEMBER, YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION OUR WEBSITE. READ MORE>>> |
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Camino de Santiago Marker. Source: Wikimedia Commons
EUROPEAN COMMISSION VICE PRESIDENT MARGARITIS SCHINAS COMEMORATES THE COMPOSTELA HOLY YEAR 2021
Being a jubilee year, 2021 is considered a holy year for the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route leading to Santiago de Compostela, which served as an important place of cultural exchange and development throughout European history. Margaritis Schinas, Vice President of the European Commission, recently released a statement to commemorate this event. FRH President, Pilar Bahamonde, whose work greatly focuses on pilgrimage routes shared the following: “Our great Goethe once said, "You don't travel in order to arrive but in order to travel". 21st-century Pilgrimage is a lifestyle. It expresses the love of Europeans for sharing and enjoying their diversity and commonalities through experiences, places, souls, freedom, culture and heritage. The Camino de Santiago historical route links religious buildings as markers of European cultural identity in an intangible thread that connects us all. I am sincerely moved by Vice President Schinas´s statement and thankful to him for bringing the celebration of the Jubilee Year of Santiago de Compostela route into the forefront." The Vice President's full statement can be found on the European Commission's website. READ MORE >>>
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Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Source: Wikimedia Commons
NOVA GORICA, CHOSEN AS THE EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2025
The European Capitals of Culture Expert panel announced on 18 December 2020 that the city of Nova Gorica has been recommended for the European Capital of Culture 2025 title. The designation of a city as a "European Capital of Culture" highlights the richness and diversity of a city as well as gives it an enormous boost to its recognition and tourism. READ MORE >>>
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Wooden Churches of Belarus. Source: Religiana
FEATURED RELIGIANA LIST: THE WOODEN CHURCHES OF BELARUS
This month's country of the month is Belarus. We began to introduce our country of the month with a Religiana list showcasing the exquisite wooden churches of this eastern country. Belarus, a land of plains and forests, has hundreds of beautiful wooden churches. These vernacular monuments of different sizes, shapes and colours inherit the rich sacred architecture of Orthodox and Greek-Catholic origin. READ MORE >>>
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Member of the Month - Klosterland. Source: Future for Religious Heritage
FRH MEMBER OF THE MONTH: KLOSTERLAND
This month's FRH Member of the month is Klosterland. Klosterland is a non-profit organisation created in 2013, to establish trans-regional, cross-border cooperation among abbeys and promote the preservation and revitalisation of monastic heritage. Under the Klosterland umbrella, members also present their offerings as well as network products, like exhibitions, concerts, events and information media. READ MORE >>>
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