Tuesday, 28 September 2021
For the first time, the state of Religious Heritage in Europe has been compiled into a single user-friendly collection of factsheets.
- 30 standardised country factsheets
- The number of religious buildings in each country
- Inclusion of sites from various faith groups, including various Christian and Muslim denominations, Jewish heritage and other minority heritage including Hindu, etc.
- Easy-to-use, visual representations of key elements
FRH is pleased to announce the official release of the first phase of FRH Inform, FRH’s ongoing research project dedicated to providing an overview on the state of religious heritage in Europe. The goal of this project is to gather data on the statistics and status of religious heritage of all of the countries in Europe with the aim of providing an easy-to-use collection of factsheets for anyone interested in religious heritage. This information is presented through the use of standardized fact sheets for each country. These factsheets combine both quantitative and qualitative data in order to provide an overall view on religious heritage in their respective countries. The information provided includes the number of religious buildings, religious demographics, the largest threats to the sector and much more.
FRH began the project in 2017 with the help of a multi-national academic team who have provided aid in both research and fact-checking. The factsheets have been created with a methodology combining the number of buildings, their type, financing, and ownership. Furthermore, information has been gathered on the threats to the sector and the organisations working to protect these sites. The findings for each factsheet have then been checked and peer-reviewed by members of the academic team. The information is presented in easy-to-understand statistics and infographics which explain the key findings.
The project will continue with the creation of a European religious heritage database which will bring together digital heritage experts and researchers in order to provide up-to-date information on the state of religious heritage, as well as additional information linked to sustainability, such as the use of renewable energy in religious heritage buildings, the biodiversity on lands belonging to religious heritage sites, cemeteries, archives and more.
Religious heritage is by far the largest category of cultural heritage sites in Europe and some of the most iconic landmarks of any landscape. Despite this, not enough is being done to ensure their protection. The overall goal of this project is for the information revealed in these factsheets to be used to help people understand the challenges faced by religious heritage and inspire them to work harder towards the protection of this patrimony.
More information can be found here
Note for editors:
FRH (Future for Religious Heritage) is a non-faith, non-religious organisation, working to safeguard and hand over Europe’s religious heritage for the next generations to enjoy. FRH bring together people and organisations who want to save and protect Europe’s religious heritage. A European Network with diverse members in the heritage, charity and not for profit sectors, universities, religious organisations and local and national governments. FRH provides a Europe wide platform for cooperation and exchange of ideas and knowledge. FRH is one of the 28 EU Cultural Networks co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. FRH is also a proud member of the European Heritage Alliance. FRH celebrates its 10th year anniversary in 2021.
More information can be found on our website: www.frh-europe.org
Press contacts:
FRH, Jordi Mallarach, email: info@frh-europe.org / mobile: +32 24 00 77 03 Rue de Trèves 67, Brussels, Belgium
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