Free for everyone will be the admission to the archaeological sites, public museums, and monuments of Greece that are managed by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture on Saturday and Sunday, September 23-24, as then the European Heritage Days are celebrated for the 27th year (always on the last weekend of September).
This year’s common European theme of the celebration is European Heritage Days 2023: Living Heritage. The celebration of this year’s theme is related to the 20th anniversary of the signing of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003, a convention that our country ratified in 2006.
The theme “Cultural Heritage and Tradition: Testimonies of Yesterday in Today” refers to practices and skills that have been passed down from generation to generation and are still practiced today, contributing to the preservation of collective memory, strengthening common identity, and promoting respect for cultural diversity and creativity. The organizers of this year’s events have planned activities with physical presence related to:
-Traditional dances, songs, and festive customs from various parts of Greece, folk artistry, traditional costumes and clothing, traditional cuisine and Mediterranean diet (daily and festive meals), traditional professional practices and techniques (navigation, irrigation, jewelry making – silversmithing, ceramics, olive and mastic cultivation, wine production, fishing techniques, stone carving, etc.), embroidery and weaving (thread, fabric, and weaving techniques, batik, carpet weaving, and yarn dyeing techniques), timeless use of plants with healing properties, folk traditions, local customs and myths, games, shadow theater performances, elements of daily life, testimonies of older neighborhoods and communities in modern urban centers, village histories and their monuments, etc.
-Visual arts events of contemporary art (periodic exhibitions, classical music concerts, book presentations)
-Guided tours to local museums, monuments, and archaeological sites, as well as places with historical and living memories, highlighting their role in local communities.
-Finally, digital activities have been planned that can be projected in real and non-real time and will be hosted on the European Heritage Days’ Facebook and Instagram pages, in addition to the electronic media of their organizations (websites, social media pages, etc.).
We remind you that during the year, free admission to museums, monuments, and archaeological sites is valid on the following dates:
• March 6, Melina Mercouri Memorial Day
• April 18, International Day for Monuments and Sites
• May 18, International Museum Day
• Two-day European Heritage Days (the last weekend of September each year)
• October 28, a National Holiday
• The first Sunday of each month from November 1 to March 31.