Europa Nostra Awards 2016: Greece Collects Two EU Prizes for Cultural Heritage

Awarding of the Traditional Watermill in Agios Germanos, Prespes, Greece.

Byzantine Church of St. Peter in Kastania, Mani. Credit: S. Mamaloukos

The winners of the 2016 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, Europe’s top honour in the field, were celebrated on Tuesday during a high-profile event at the Zarzuela Theatre in Madrid.

Greece received two awards in the “Conservation” category for the Byzantine Church of St. Peter in Kastania, Mani, and for the Traditional Watermill in Agios Germanos, Prespes.

The Traditional Watermill in Prespes was also selected by independent expert juries and announced as one of the seven Grand Prix laureates and will receive 10,000 euros.

For more on Greece’s Byzantine Church of St. Peter and Traditional Watermill, press here.

Traditional Watermill in Agios Germanos, Prespes. Credit: Aggeliki Georganta

The other six Grand Prix laureates include The King’s Little Pathway in El Chorro gorge, Malaga, Spain (Conservation category); Wimpole Hall’s Gothic Tower in Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom (Conservation); Conservation study of the village Gostuša in Pirot district, Serbia (Research); Employees and Activists of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, BiH (Dedicated Service); Mrs. Giulia Maria Crespi, Milan, Italy (Dedicated Service); and “Adopt a Monument”, Tampere, Finland (Education, Training and Awareness-Raising).

The rehabilitation of “The King’s Little Pathway” in Spain was the big winner of 2016: the expert jury granted it a Grand Prix while the general public selected it as their favourite heritage project in Europe. Some 8,000 people voted for the Public Choice Award. The online vote, which is in its fifth edition, was conducted via the Europa Nostra website.

Winners of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards.

Maestro Plácido Domingo, President of Europa Nostra.

The ceremony, which was co-hosted by Maestro Plácido Domingo, President of Europa Nostra, and Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, saw the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards presented to 28 winners from 16 countries taking part in the EU’s Creative Europe programme.

2018: European Year of Cultural Heritage

During the ceremony, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, proposed for 2018 to be the European Year of Cultural Heritage.

“At a time when the European Union is confronted with many political, economic and social challenges, this initiative has a very special meaning. Cultural heritage, indeed, connects people across generations and across borders, generates economic growth and fosters social inclusion”, said Europa Nostra’s president, Plácido Domingo, while welcoming the Commission’s intention.

The call for entries for the 2017 Awards is posted online. The deadline for applications is October 1, 2016.