On May 6, 2025, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Eppo Bruins, signed the accession letter of the Netherlands to the Enlarged Partial Agreement (EPA) of the heritage program European Institute of Cultural Routes (ECR) of the Council of Europe. After a year as an observer member, this marks the beginning of an active role within the European network that connects culture and heritage tourism across borders.
About the Program
The heritage program ECR was launched in 1987 by the Council of Europe as a model for international cooperation in the field of culture, tourism, and heritage. The program enables cooperation between national, regional, and local authorities. Since 2010, the implementation has been managed by the EPA.
The goal of the program is to make and promote shared European heritage visible through thematic routes, while also encouraging sustainable tourism. The routes connect countries, regions, and local communities and cover various themes: from architecture and landscape to religious influences, from gastronomy and intangible heritage to the key figures in European art, music, and literature. The program also represents important shared European values, such as democratic coexistence, human rights including artistic freedom, cultural democracy, diversity, mutual understanding, cross-border European cooperation, and knowledge exchange.
Role of the Netherlands
The Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE) coordinates the Dutch membership. The Netherlands will henceforth participate in all meetings and activities of the Governing Board and the Annual Board of the EPA and will have voting rights in the assessment of new or renewed cultural routes.
The aim is to connect the program with the implementation of the Faro Convention on the value of cultural heritage for society in the Netherlands. This convention states that everyone should be able to participate in determining, preserving, and passing on heritage.
Cultural Routes in the Netherlands
Currently, there are 48 certified European Cultural Routes. Some of them also pass through the Netherlands, such as the Hanseatic Route, Viking Route, Ceramics Route, Megalithic Route, Impressionism Route, Industrial Route, and Liberation Route. Additionally, the Netherlands is working on the nomination of new routes, including a route around dragon slaying and a route about windmills.
More information about EPA can be found on the website of the program and the European Cultural Routes.