The 15th edition of the V4 Heritage Academy

On 29 June, the 15th edition of the V4 Heritage Academy: Management of UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Sites in the Visegrad Countries began; it will run until 4 July 2026. This year’s summer school is taking place in Rožňava, Slovakia, and is dedicated to the heritage of the historic Gemer region, with a particular focus on the conservation and promotion of late medieval architecture and the creation and management of cultural routes.

The V4 Heritage Academy is an international educational program aimed at professionals working in the heritage sector, researchers, and students from the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary who are involved in the preservation of cultural heritage. The Academy provides a space for exchanging experiences, acquiring knowledge, and learning about best practices in the preservation and promotion of cultural and natural heritage.

The program for this year’s edition focuses on the practical aspects of managing World Heritage sites and preparing nominations for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Topics covered in the lectures and workshops will include, among others, contemporary challenges related to the inscription of new sites on the World Heritage List, the review of national Tentative Lists (Tentative Lists), a comparison of the operational mechanisms of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and the European Heritage Label, the development of management plans for heritage sites, and the protection of cultural landscapes and sacred heritage. Participants will also discuss the new roles of historic sites, the involvement of local communities, funding for heritage conservation, and the use of heritage as a driver of sustainable regional development.

An integral part of the program consists of four field workshop modules conducted along the Gothic Route in the Gemer region. Participants will visit, among other sites, the Gothic churches in Ochtiná, Koceľovce, Štítnik, Plešivec, Rákoš, and Henckovce; the Romanesque rotunda in Šivetice; the ruins of the monastery in Gombask; the palaces in Jelšava and Betliar; and numerous sites related to former mining and metallurgy. During the study visits, experts will present examples of ongoing conservation work, methods for documenting historical monuments, and practical models of heritage management. The school will conclude with a presentation of the workshop results, during which participants will present their own proposals for actions related to the protection, interpretation, and promotion of the heritage of the Gemer region.

In 2026, the Gothic Route Association received the European Heritage Award/Europa Nostra in the category ‘Citizens Engagement and Awareness-raising’ [Citizens Engagement and Awareness-raising]. The award recognised the commitment of experts in architecture, history, education and other fields who work to protect, conserve, research and promote this heritage in the Gemer region. Thanks to them, a regional map of monuments and a trilingual website in Slovak, Hungarian and English, presenting the churches and other monuments of the Gothic Trail, have been created. On the association’s initiative, the ‘Gothic Trail – Forgotten Heritage’ festival is also held annually in various churches across the region.

For the past fifteen years, the V4 Heritage Academy has been one of the most important educational initiatives in the field of heritage preservation carried out as part of cooperation among the Visegrad Group countries. The program not only enables participants to acquire specialized knowledge but also creates a lasting network of contacts among representatives of institutions involved in heritage preservation, public administration, academia, and non-governmental organizations from the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. Collaborative work on case studies and the exchange of experiences foster the development of new solutions in heritage management, strengthen international cooperation, and build a shared perspective on the preservation of Central European heritage as an important element of European identity.

The V4 Heritage Academy is organized by the International Cultural Centre in Kraków and the Council for Monuments of the Slovak Republic, in cooperation with the organization Gotická cesta. The event’s partners are the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Construction and Transport of Hungary.

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