Created in 1984 by the Ministry of Culture, the European Heritage Days take place every year on the third weekend of September.
The 50 states party to the European Cultural Convention participate in the European Heritage Days.
This joint action by the Council of Europe and the European Commission allows the presentation of unique cultural assets and the exceptional opening to the public of historical monuments across Europe.
The 12 million visitors of the 2011 edition confirmed it: these two very special days have been testifying for nearly 30 years to the love of the French for the history of places and art, with 16,136 sites and monuments open.
Every year, a national theme sheds particular light on an original or innovative aspect of heritage, promoting unique openings and remarkable events.
The 29th edition of the European Heritage Days dares curiosity, unveiling, and exploration. The theme of “hidden heritage” invites people to push the doors, discover courtyards and behind-the-scenes, and explore underground, buried, elevated, or unusual heritage.
It is about identifying the traces invisible at first glance, looking beneath our feet, above our heads, in the shadow or in full light, and following step by step the wandering spirit of Marcel Proust: “The real voyage of discovery does not consist in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
Aurรฉlie Filipetti, Minister of Culture and Communication, presents the event:
“There are events that become rituals, appointments we look forward to each year with the same pleasure. Since their creation in 1984, the European Heritage Days draw their modernity from the continuous and friendly sharing, with the French as well as with foreign visitors, of the greatest of riches: our heritage.
It is a privilege to hold a heritage of rare diversity, the result of the transmission of a collective heritage of inestimable value.
The theme chosen for the 29th European Heritage Days 2012 is intended to awaken the insatiable curiosity that drives us: discovering the “hidden heritage.”
The European Heritage Days thus offer a great opportunity for a large number of visitors to discover public and private buildings that open their doors exceptionally, revealing their behind-the-scenes, their unique history(ies), or their secret collections.
Combining public and private initiatives, the event represents a unique moment of transmission and enhancement of the actions of public authorities by presenting the work of those who act daily (and most often voluntarily) in the service of knowledge, preservation, and enhancement of heritage.
