European Heritage Days: Background

The European Heritage Days are an initiative of the Council of Europe that originated in 1985 and has been organised jointly with the European Commission since 1999. The initiative continues today under the permanent slogan: 'Europe, a common heritage'. Each year, mainly during a weekend in September, museums and historical sites across Europe open their doors for free, offering citizens the opportunity to connect directly with Europe's cultural heritage. The purpose of the initiative is to foster a sense of belonging among European citizens by raising awareness of, and cultivating appreciation for, the continent's cultural richness and diversity. Another aim of the initiative is to counter racism and xenophobia and encourage greater tolerance, raise awareness among the public and political authorities of the need to protect cultural heritage against new threats, and promote European responses to social, political and economic challenges.

All participating countries are signatories to the European Cultural Convention. To ensure thematic coherence across these countries, a central theme is announced each year. It provides a common framework for organisers while allowing flexibility in how events are developed at national and local level. Beyond celebrating tangible heritage, the theme invites participants to explore the diverse architectural styles of the past and, in doing so, to reflect on the important intangible heritage that underpins them. Artistic skills and craftsmanship form part of this valuable knowledge and must be transmitted across generations to preserve European heritage. National authorities, together with regional authorities, civic groups and volunteers, oversee the organisation of the events and specific activities that involve the general public and, in particular, young people and schoolchildren. The theme selected for 2025 was Heritage and Architecture, chosen to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the European Architectural Heritage Year. Countries may adapt the common themes to their own national context. 

Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine (2026)

The annual theme for 2026 is Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine. This highlights the urgent need to safeguard heritage at risk and ensure that historic sites, natural landscapes, languages and traditions continue to inspire future generations. The theme is structured around three complementary approaches:

Revive – bringing endangered traditions, crafts and stories back to life through craft workshops, cultural festivals and oral history projects;

Resist –encouraging communities to stand up against threats to heritage, using heritage as a source of identity and resilience;

Reimagine – finding new ways to engage with heritage – digitally, artistically and across borders – to make it meaningful, accessible to all and alive for generations to come.

Europe's rich cultural heritage reflects centuries of interaction among diverse languages, architectural currents, traditions, practices and shared values, which together have shaped its identity. As the Council of Europe and the EU note in the 2026 European Heritage Days thematic brochure, 'Our heritage, both tangible and intangible, serves as the foundation of our identity, history, and traditions. From architectural marvels to storytelling traditions, from ancient monuments to cultural practices, each element constitutes the essence of our collective memory'. The celebrations this year also focus on intergenerational knowledge, linguistic diversity and regional and minority languages, as heritage thrives when communities actively participate in its preservation. Education plays a key role in fostering understanding of the importance of heritage for European societies today, helping people better understand the world they live in.

Heritage is not static or inert, but alive and vibrant. In a rapidly changing world, it is exposed to massive and diverse threats such as climate change, digitalisation, urbanisation, globalisation, armed conflicts and migration. These forces can damage physical sites, erode intangible practices and knowledge, displace communities and weaken ties to place and identity. Safeguarding cultural legacies therefore requires balancing modern development with adaptive reuse, keeping traditions alive and connected to their original communities, and protecting rural and traditional economies. The displacement of communities can contribute to the decline or disappearance of languages, practices and social structures. The 2026 European Heritage Days thematic brochure also highlights the vulnerability of regional and minority languages, describing them as 'a vital part of Europe's cultural fabric' and 'among the most vulnerable aspects of intangible cultural heritage, often at risk of decline or extinction'.