On Friday 16 October 2020 the Third European Thermal Heritage Day was held under the theme “Thermal Architecture”. Organized by the European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA), network carrier of the European Route of Historic Thermal Towns, the event – initially foreseen to be held in Baden Baden (Germany) – took place in the form of an online conference.

The opening of the conference was led by Mrs. Margret MERGEN, Lord Mayor of Baden-Baden, José Manuel BALTAR BLANCO, EHTTA President, and Prof. Dr. Mr. Claus WOLF, Head of State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Württemberg. Among the opening speakers were also Dr. Mrs. Birgitta RINGBECK, Chair of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) and Ambassador Mr. Christian BIEVER, President of the European Institute of Cultural Routes (EICR).

The event included presentations on Thermal Architecture in Europe held by representatives of the EHTTA Scientific Committee and World Heritage experts. Furthermore, a roundtable discussion under the headline “Managing Thermal Architecture and generating community support” was held by representatives of various World Heritage Sites.The online conference was round up by a Digital Walking Tour through “Thermal Architecture” in Baden-Baden, accessible on EHTTA’s YouTube channel.

EHTTA was founded in 2009 and first certified as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe in 2010. It is a very active member of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Programme, implementing innovative initiatives in the fields of research, enhancement of European heritage, youth involvement, artistic practice and sustainable cultural and tourism development. Steadily growing, it started with six founders and has now a total of 46 members across 18 countries. One of the newest members is the city of Mondorf-les Bains from Luxembourg, which joined this year in June.

Further information, the complete programme and the conference broadcast can be found on the EHTTA’s website and Facebook page.