45 Events Planned for European Heritage Days in Luxembourg

On Tuesday 12 September 2023, Luxembourg’s Minister of Culture, Sam Tanson, presented the programme for the European Heritage Days, set to take place from Saturday 23 September to Sunday 1 October 2023.

The European Heritage Days will be placed under the theme of “Living Heritage”. The 2023 edition will also coincide with the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO convention of 17 October 2003 in view of safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and the fifteenth anniversary of Luxembourg’s national inventory. Currently, sixteen elements appear in the inventory of Luxembourg's intangible heritage; these can be consulted on the website www.iki.lu.

45 events and demonstrations will focus on intangible heritage, which includes the practices, knowledge and expertise of communities and groups of people. Accessible routes, discoveries and guided tours, workshops, educational kits and know-how demonstrations aim to introduce a large and diverse audience to all the richness of cultural heritage. All these events will be free for the public.

During the press conference, Minister Tanson underlined the importance of this living heritage, for its social dimension, among other things: “I am delighted that intangible heritage is the theme chosen by the Council of Europe. Indeed, intangible heritage, by definition, largely involves the population and thus fits perfectly into the spirit of the [European Heritage] Days which have always been based on a participatory approach.”

In addition to these events, on Saturday 30 September 2023, “Intangible Heritage Day” will take place at Abbaye de Neumünster (neimënster) in Luxembourg-Grund. This event will present the practices that are part of the inventory of intangible heritage through activities and demonstrations throughout the day. The entire programme for the day can be viewed here (in French).