European Heritage sites are milestones in the creation of today’s Europe. Spanning from the dawn of civilisation to the Europe we see today, these sites celebrate and symbolise European ideals, values, history and integration. Since 2013, these sites have been selected for their symbolic value, the role they have played in European history and activities they offer. These sites bring the European Union and its citizens closer together.

A panel of independent experts has submitted its report on the state of the 38 sites awarded the European Heritage Label before 2019, among two from Slovenia, the Franja Partisan hospital and Javorca Memorial Church of the Holy Spirit.

The Franja Partisan hospital was a secret hospital hidden in the mountains, run by partisans during World War II as part of a broadly organised resistance movement against the occupying Nazi forces, and supported by the local population. Franja Hospital is a symbol of human fortitude and medical care, of solidarity and companionship in hardship, between staff and wounded from both sides of the conflict.

Javorca Memorial Church of the Holy Spirit expresses the idea of pacifism; it is a Place of Remembrance for nations that fought on the Isonzo (Soča) Front, and a part of military landscape with war remains. Names of the fallen inside the church convey individualised remembrance, underpinning European values. Peace, human dignity and equality through respect for different cultures, religions and ethnicities are leading values of this site.

European Heritage Label sites are monitored every 4 years in order to ensure that they continue to meet the criteria for the award of the European Heritage Label as set out in the Decision establishing the action.

Read the monitoring report, including recommendations for the following monitoring period.
Discover the list of sites awarded the European Heritage Label.

In 2020, the European Commission awarded the European Heritage Label to ten historical sites across the Union, among them the written poem Zdravljica. National and University Library, which holds the most important manuscript versions of Zdravljica and all printed editions, has thus become the seat of the Prešeren Zdravljica memorial site.