European Heritage Days

In September every year millions of Europeans visit historical monuments and sites throughout Europe on the occasion of the European Heritage Days. This is a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union in which over forty countries participate each year. Its main aims are to promote awareness of our built, natural and cultural heritage thereby encouraging its conservation and preservation, to promote Europe's common cultural heritage and to foster mutual understanding.

In Ireland we celebrate European Heritage Days with a full week of events. The programme is coordinated by the Heritage Council in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

To find out what's happening in other European countries this year please go to the European Heritage Days website or EU Heritage by Country. If you would like to find out more about the European Heritage Days programme in general please visit the Council of Europe website.