The 2016 European Heritage Days in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be celebrated in Olovo, a small town near Sarajevo which has been known for lead ore deposits and mining since the Middle Ages. The town’s participation in the festival was announced in June by the Federal Minister of Culture and Sports, Zora Dujmović who discussed various cultural projects with the town councillor Đemal Memagić.

As an old industrial town, Olovo has a long mining tradition and rich industrial heritage that should be put on the European map through European Heritage Days and other cultural projects. With the goal of developing the cultural sector, the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports will support the town with multiple grants, as announced  by Minister Dujmović.

 “Our aim is to collaborate with the municipality of Olovo on the promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, as well as to make the town better known to the public."

The Minister further noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina is rich in historic monuments that are on the UNESCO list of world heritage sites and that the town of Olovo should be proud of its history. With its various monuments, churches and mosques, as well as with astonishing natural landscapes, Olovo could be an important addition to the European Heritage Days celebration in Bosnia and Herzegovina that have been taking place since 2003.

Over the past 12 years, the festival has been organised in multiple towns across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The beautiful city of Mostar, a home to the Old Bridge listed as the UNESCO heritage site, participated in the European Heritage Days in 2004, when the bridge was opened. Tuzla and Srebrenik celebrated the theme of “Cultural Heritage as Communication” in 2005, while Velika Kladuša, Bihać and Cazin joined the event in 2006. Other towns that have been a part of the manifestation include Sarajevo, Stoc, Jajce, Travnik and many others.

Photo credits: Wikipedia