The European Commission and Europa Nostra have announced the winners of the 2026 European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards.
The annual EU prize for cultural heritage honours 30 excellent achievements and outstanding personalities from 18 European countries representing the latest developments and priorities related to heritage policy and practice in Europe.
These are the winners in each category
Conservation and adaptive reuse
Outstanding projects aiming at conservation, regeneration and adaptation to new uses of cultural heritage, including cultural landscapes.
- Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary
- Polirone Monastic Complex, San Benedetto Po, Italy
- Multifunctional Urban District of Bologna – DumBO, Italy
- Garden of Nikolai Astrup – Astruptunet, Vassenden, Norway
- Bánffy Castle, Răscruci, Romania
- Dome of the Church of Escuelas Pias of Valencia, Spain
- Salinas de La Concepción, Menorca, Spain
Research
Innovative research projects which lead to tangible effects for the safeguard and enhancement of cultural heritage or/and to improve the access, enjoyment and understanding of heritage assets by communities.
- The Cypriot Fiddler, Cyprus
- National Historical Archive of Italian Restorers – ASRI, Italy
- FENIX Project, Seville, Spain
Education, training and skills
Exemplary projects or related to cultural heritage with the aim of fostering knowledge transfer, capacity-building and/or enhancing traditional or new skills and crafts related to heritage.
- Heritage Craft School, Iceland
- Improving the Energy Performance of Heritage Properties in State Care Initiative, Dublin, Ireland
- International Summer School on Historic Masonry Structures – HIMASS, ITALY / Spain
- Cita Rīga’s Initiative ‘Co-creating Urban Heritage with Children’, Latvia
- Safeguarding the Dobrota Lace Tradition – Pacijenca Project, Kotor, Montenegro
- School of Renovation, Skofja Loka, Slovenia
Citizens’ engagement and awareness-raising
Outstanding heritage-led projects which foster social cohesion, inclusion, multicultural dialogue and understanding, nurture a sense of place and belonging, celebrate diversity and multiple identities as well as stimulate citizens’ engagement, ownership and civic responsibility.
- Croatian Coral Center Zlarin, croatia
- Sector 2: Nicosia – The Green Line Project, Cyprus
- Gardens of Peace Project, France
- 14 Henrietta Street – Social History Museum of Dublin Life, Ireland
- Intorno a Minerva Project, Breno, Brescia, Italy
- Gothic Route Initiative, Slovakia
- Preserving the Art and Memory of Polina Raiko, Kherson, Ukraine
Heritage champions
Influential and inspiring individuals or organisations whose exemplary action demonstrates an exceptional level of dedication, impact and civic engagement for the safeguard and enhancement of cultural heritage.
- Din l-Art Ħelwa – The National Trust for Malta, Valletta, Malta
- Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Preservation, Madrid, Spain
- Museum Open for Renovation NGO, Kyiv, Ukraine
- Maryna Hrytsenko †, Chernihiv, Ukraine (Posthumous Award)
Awards ceremony at the European cultural heritage summit
The grand prix laureates and the public choice award winner – each receiving €10 000 – will be announced during the European heritage awards ceremony 2026 on 28 May, in Cyprus, during the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2026.
About the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards
The European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards have been running since 2002. They were set up by the European Commission and are run by Europa Nostra. The action is co-funded under the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
For more than 23 years, the Awards have been a key tool to recognise and promote the multiple values of cultural and natural heritage for Europe’s society, economy and environment.
Three of this year’s winners come from countries that are not associated to Creative Europe, namely the United Kingdom and Türkiye. As they cannot benefit from the EU’s programme, they are honoured by Europa Nostra with a separate ‘Europa Nostra Award’ instead.
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