The Slovak Jewish Heritage Route joins the European Route of Jewish Heritage of the Council of Europe

BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA — At a ceremony held on May 4th at the Museum of Jewish Culture in Bratislava, the Slovak Jewish Heritage Route, which includes more than 25 sites throughout the country, was formally incorporated into the European Jewish Heritage Route, certified by the Council of Europe. 

At the event, the President of the AEPJ, François Moyse, along with its Director, Victor Sorenssen, introduced the European network, the Cultural Routes program of the Council of Europe, and also reflected on the importance of this project, its potential, as well as the essential nature of cooperative work in the field of European Jewish heritage. 

Addressing the audience were the following figures involved in the preservation of Jewish culture and heritage: Director of the Museum of Jewish Culture, Michal Vaněk, as well as Maroš Borsky, Director of the Jewish Cultural Institute and the Jewish Community Museum in Bratislava, Founder and Coordinator of the Slovak Jewish Heritage Route, represented in the AEPJ by the Jewish Heritage Foundation — Menorah.

The event ended with the unveiling of a plaque of the new route at the entrance of the Museum by François Moyse and Katarína Bruncková, Ministry of Transport of Slovakia.

The festive event was attended by special guests Chief Rabbi of Bratislava Baruch Myers, the General Director of the Slovak National Museum, Branislav Panis and our Austrian partner of the AEPJ, Alfred Lang, who coordinates the Jewish Heritage Route of Burgenland and is also a national coordinator of the European Days of Jewish Culture. 

At the AEPJ, we are opening up a new chapter of cooperation at the European level. We will work together with a cooperative approach, by developing long-term integrated strategies, with a cross-cutting, multidisciplinary and participatory basis, that will promote a community sense of ownership, a feeling of responsibility and practical involvement—an approach that seeks cooperation between the academic, educational, cultural and artistic fields, as well as tourism sectors.

We understand that heritage is not simply about the past—it is vitally about the present and future. Heritage involves continual creation and transformation. Valuing and having a deeper understanding of Jewish cultural heritage would contribute to intercultural dialogue, promoting inclusiveness and social cohesion. When looked at with a complex vision and a full understanding of its potential and consequences in its promotion, it is possible to turn heritage and culture into a driving force for social development and cultural diplomacy. It’s about social impact, it’s about responsibility—these goals articulate a contribution to the construction of a more plural and diverse Europe through the promotion and development of the Jewish historical and cultural heritage in Europe.

François Moyse continued his trip to Warsaw, where he was able to visit the extraordinary Polin Museum, which features the 1000-years old history of the Jews in Poland. He also met with the Ambassador of Luxembourg, Mr. Paul Schmit, and humanist and Holocaust survivor, Mr. Marian Turski.