European Heritage Days will be held in Poland for the 33rd time. This time the event is accompanied by the slogan "Towards Architecture. Young Heritage," which aims to emphasize the importance of architecture - both historical and contemporary - in shaping cultural identity. What will we find in this year's program?
European Heritage Days (EDD) is an initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union, inaugurated in 1985, aimed at promoting culture and history. In Poland, the EDD has been organized since 1993, coordinated by the National Heritage Institute. This year the event is scheduled for two September weekends: 13-14 and 20-21, and the program includes hundreds (!) of events scattered all over Poland!
European Heritage Days 2025, program
Photo: Patrycja Adamczyk | NID; Photo: Magdalena Karpinska | NID
The EDD will include, among others, a debate at the Museum of Architecture in Wroclaw - "Longing for the Solpole. New Challenges in the Protection of Architecture". Marlena Happach, director of the National Heritage Institute, Michal Duda, director of the Museum of Architecture, Daniel Gibski, Lower Silesian Regional Monuments Conservator, Grzegorz Piątek, architect andauthor of books on architecture, and Piotr Zybura, architect from the arch_it studio and president of the SARP Wrocław Branch, and in the debate "From Supersam to Cepelia. How to protect postwar modernism?" at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw will be attended by: Marcin Dawidowicz, Mazovian Regional Historic Preservation Officer, Marlena Happach, Director of the National Heritage Institute, Patrycja Jastrzębska, EDD coordinator from the National Heritage Institute, Małgorzata Kuciewicz, architect from the Centrala Design Group, Filip Springer, author of books on architectural heritage, and architect Jakub Wacławek.
In Rybnik, the local Acropolis, i.e. the icons of the post-war city - "Okrąglak," the Rybnik Land Theater building and the public library building - will be guided by the Municipal Conservator of Monuments, Henryk Mercik. In Gliwice, on the other hand, Ewa Pokorska Ożóg, Municipal Conservator of Monuments, and Seweryn Botor, historian and social activist, will take those interested on a walk along the trail of buildings from the communist era. Visitors will also be able to tour the Sejm building on Wiejska Street in Warsaw, take a walk through the Bird Estate in Katowice, Warsaw's Ursus or the UMW campus in Toruń, learn about the architecture of Katowice from the communist era to the present day, and walk through the Działdów castle in search of architectural details. Agata Chmielowska, an art historian, architect Lukasz Wojciechowski and Magdalena Milert (@pieing) will discuss the disappearing heritage in Bar Barbara in Wroclaw, while Chris Niedenthal - one of the most prominent photojournalists of Central and Eastern Europe - will talk about the architecture of everyday life in Katowice.
European Heritage Days 2025, program
photo: Patrycja Adamczyk | NID
At the Rev. Dr. Władysław Łęga Museum in Grudziądz there will be an opportunity to build a miniature city out of architectural models, and at the Oskar Kolberg Museum in Przysm. Oskar Kolberg in Przysucha will feature a multimedia lecture by Karol Stolarek, an interdisciplinary artist, who will talk about scores and rhythms in architecture. Meanwhile, in Czyzewo, Podlasie, an exhibition showing 20th-century metal fences is under construction.
There will also be off-road games - "MODERNIZM TALKING" quests will be held in Wroclaw, Cieszyn, Gdynia and Kalisz, "Gryfow Slaski" off-road game will be held in Gryfow Slaski, and the XV Rally "Śladami Przodków" in Kalisz. On the other hand, during a bicycle tour you will be able to learn about the architecture of the Otyń municipality, and in Poznań, during a cruise on the Warta River - buildings associated with the river.
These are just a few of the proposals for this year's European Heritage Days - the full list and details of individual events are available on the EDD website.
