Council of Europe

Description

Description

Europe’s history has not always been peaceful development, but has also been marked with conflict and war. Each period has left clear traces in people’s minds and is reflected in architecture and monuments. An International conference „Cold War – Hot Topic in Europe“ will mark the European Heritage Days in Estonia on 6 – 7 September. There are still quite clear traces from the Cold War period in all Europe that often seem strange and frightening to us and that by now are disappearing rapidly. The conference will address various topics related to the Cold War period in Europe and the post-conference tour will introduce some of the traces left from this time in Estonia. Speakers from Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Estonia will participate. The main objective is to strengthen mutual understanding between neighbouring countries around the Baltic Sea through an exchange of information on their recent history. The idea is that history should be told from the historically valuable sites at which historic events took place.

Description

45 years ago, in 1966 the Old Town of Tallinn was for the first time protected as a heritage site – i.e. a heritage protection area was designated in old Tallinn to value its long history, architecture and environment. This year the European Heritage Days celebrate this anniversary with a conference on architectural history and a seminar on sustainable development and use of traditional building materials and crafts. However, in addition to the capital city Tallinn, there are a number of historic towns and villages in Estonia whose development is often a joy for local inhabitants and visitors, but sometimes fast uncontrolled development also becomes a source for concern. In order to draw attention to the value of historic towns and villages, the Estonian Heritage Society organises a number of events around Estonia in the frame of the EHDs.