Newcastle/Gateshead, UK: EUROPA NOSTRA ANNUAL CONGRESS 2008
Northumberland has always been at the frontier; the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire; the frontier between England and Scotland. The banks of the Tyne gave birth to an amazing engineering heritage. The depth of a river close to the sea, power derived from coal, intellectual and craft skills, enabled Newcastle and Gateshead to become one of the frontiers of the industrial revolution. A very special part of England, jealous of its independence, proud of its industrial heritage and working class traditions, is looking forward to your visit.
Apart form the meetings of the Management Committee, the Council and the General Assembly, the Congress will explore the engineering heritage, not only of this region, but of Europe too. We will celebrate the contribution of different cultures to our common European heritage. Hadrian’s Wall was one of the first multi-cultural societies in Europe, the north-east of England remains a multi-cultural experience.
Sir Neil Cossons, former chairman of English Heritage and a renowned industrial archaeologist, will give the keynote speech at our Forum on Engineering Heritage. Dame Liz Forgan, chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, will present the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards at a ceremony to be held in Durham Cathedral, one of the grea test Romanesque sites in Europe, redolent of the power of the Norman state.
Tours in the Northumberland countryside will be a complete contrast to NewcastleGateshead. You will see how Lord Armstrong, the great engineer and industrialist, carved a micro-climate from a moorland landscape and built the first house in the world to use electric power. At Housesteads Fort you will be able to imagine life on the wild and hostile Roman frontier. The Post Congress Tour will concentrate on Northumberland’s later history; its castles built against the invading Scots, but also the elegant country houses, and their notable gardens, built by the descendants of those castle-builders whose family names continue through the centuries and are still represented today.
John Sell
Chairman Europa Nostra UK
Information zum Gesamtprogramm
Zum Programm des „Forums“ am 13. Juni
Über die Verleihung der Europäischen Denkmalpreise anlässlich des Jahres-Kongresses folgt ein eigener Bericht.