Terezin 2022: International Fortress Conference

Funded by the Cooperation Programme Free State of Saxony - Czech Republic 2014-2020.

COMMON EUROPEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE FORTIFIED MONUMENTS
Initiatives for Transnational Cooperation and Networking
5.-7. April 2022

The International Fortress Conference in Terezìn aims to draw attention to today's challenges for the cultural heritage of fortified monuments and to present best practices in cross-border cooperation, projects and networking.

The Fortress Conference is part of a cross-border funding project in the Euroregion Elbe/Labe DE-CZ. Project partners are Terezín - město změny, the Fortress Königstein gGmbH and the FORTE CULTURA Network.

The conference was divided into four main content topics (conference programme):

THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF FORTIEFIED MONUMENTS IN EUROPE
Fortress Networks for the Issues of the Fortresses in Europe
THE CULTURAL HERITAGE ELBE-FORTRESSES
Cross-Border Cooperation for Fortress Tourism on the Elbe
COMMUNITY PROJECTS TO ENHANCE THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE FORTIFIED MONUMENTS
OPENING CEREMONY OF THE EUROPEAN FORTRESS SUMMER 2022
Visit to the Terezín Memorial National Monument and wreath-laying ceremony
Visit to the National Monument Fortress Prague Vyšehrad

Overview of speech abstracts and speaker CVs (pdf)

Terezín Memorandum signed

During the Internationalen Fortress Conference Terezin, René Tomášek (Mayor City Terezín), Dr. Jan Roubínek (Director Terezín Memorial) and Vendula Bláhová (Director of institution “Terezin – City of Change”) signed a Memorandum for local partnership on the preservation and development of Terezín Fortress as an educational and tourist destination. The memorandum is the beginning of a long road, but Terezín has good basics and great potential as well as strong partners such as the international fortress networks FORTE CULTRA and EFFORTS. Experts from 7 countries presented European best practices and methods for the revitalisation of historic fortresses at the conference.

We Stand With Ukraine

Part of the programme was a minute's silence in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and a joint declaration against war, for human rights and democracy.

FORTE CULTURA also declared Medzhybizh Fortress in Ukraine (Державний історико - культурний заповідник "Межибіж") a new official stop on the European Cultural Route. The annual fees for this are borne by FORTE CULTURA. Together with the partner network EFFORTS Europe, a partnership initiative was also launched to connect Ukrainian fortress monuments with fortresses of the two networks on the basis of sponsorships.

European Fortress Summer 2022 started

The opening of the European Fortress Summer 2022 with gun salutes was part of the conference programme. The initiative of FORTE CULTURA and EFFORTS brings together events in over 200 European fortresses in the period from April to October.

Other components of the meeting included a visit to the Terezin Memorial in the Small Fortress and a visit to the Vyšehrad Fortress in Prague. A summary report (DE/CZ/EN) will be made available shortly.

Visit to the National Theresienstadt Memorial and wreath-laying ceremony