In Šoštanj we opened the European Cultural Heritage Days and the Cultural Heritage Week 2026

This year’s DEKD and TKD put the question of how to preserve and understand heritage in the face of rapid social, technological, and environmental changes in the spotlight. Climate change, urbanization, development pressures, digitalization, and changes in lifestyle present new challenges to heritage, while modern knowledge and technologies also open up new possibilities for its exploration, safeguarding, interpretation, and integration into modern life.

The central thought of this year’s days is therefore the search for a balance between the past and the future. Old is not good just because it is old; just as new is not bad just because it is new. Preserving heritage does not mean stopping time, but rather thoughtfully guiding changes and connecting traditional knowledge, materials, and techniques with the possibilities offered by modern science, technologies, and new approaches.

Šoštanj as the host of this year's opening ceremony

The event began with a press conference at the Šoštanj City Gallery, in which they participated. Boris Goličnik, Mayor of the Municipality of Šoštanj, Danijela Brišnik, Head of the Celje ZVKDS Regional Unit, Nataša Gorenc, DEKD Coordinator, Milena Antonić, TKD Coordinator, and Špela Poles, Director of the Šoštanj Cultural Institute.

Mayor Boris Goličnik expressed pride and joy that this year’s nationwide opening is taking place in Šoštanje, and thanked all the participants who contributed to the preparation of the events with their work and good mutual cooperation.

Danijela Brišnik drew attention to the rich technical and industrial heritage of Šoštanj and the Šaleška Valley and presented the exhibition The castle garden of Gutenbuchel: a technical masterpiece. The greenhouse, erected in 1926, celebrates its hundredth anniversary this year and represents an exceptional example of technical heritage that should not only be recognized and valued, but also thoughtfully integrated into the life of the space.

DEKD coordinator Nataša Gorenc presented the scope of this year's program. 350 events in 150 locations She co-creates more than 500 organizations, 20,000 children and young people, and 1,500 mentors. At the same time, she emphasized one of the fundamental messages of DEKD: »What we do not know cannot be valued, and much less preserved.«

Special attention is also being paid this year to young people. Coordinator of the TKD, Milena Antonić, presented numerous opportunities through which the Cultural Heritage Week connects educational institutions with museums, galleries, archives, libraries, associations, and other partners. The aim is for heritage to not remain only something that children and young people know from books, but something that they can experience, explore, understand, and co-create directly.

Špela Poles presented the program of events in Šoštan and invited the visitors to the events that will take place in the city as part of this year’s DEKD and TKD in the coming days.

Heritage as a space for meeting generations

The press conference was followed by Central opening ceremony, With this event, we officially entered the European Days of European Cultural Heritage and the Cultural Heritage Week this year.

DEKD and TKD have been proving for many years that heritage is not just the domain of professions or institutions. Local communities, societies, volunteers, kindergartens and schools, as well as people of all generations, are involved in its research, presentation and preservation. Some partners in the project have been involved for twenty years, while at the same time young people are increasingly involved in learning and interpreting the heritage in their own way.

The very meeting of different perspectives, generations, and experiences makes it possible for heritage to remain alive – not only as a memory of the past, but as part of the space and society in which we live today.

Heritage is not only what we inherit. It is also what we create today and what we will leave behind for the future.

The European Heritage Days and the Week of Cultural Heritage are taking place From 26th of september until 10th of october 2026.

👉 Check out the DEKD and TKD 2026 program brochures and find events in your area.

You are invited to join us!