Ljubljana, 20 September 2008 - The 18th European Heritage Days got underway on Saturday in Raščica, the hometown of Primož Trubar (1508-1586). Launching the event, devoted this year to one of the founders of the Slovenian written language, President Danilo Türk labelled it "an important project, one of the most interesting initiatives underway across Europe".

According to the president, Slovenians have a high level cultural creativity, while also being a nation capable of cherishing its cultural heritage and also contributing to European cultural identity.

"Europe is an area of nation states and national cultures. A uniform European culture does not exist, there are only elements, which form our European identity," he said.

The open question for the future, according to the president, is to which extent the traditions of European nations should develop into joint cultural expressions and in which areas this should happen. He sees the greatest diversity hiding in cultural elements filling our everyday lives.

President Türk described Trubar as a "great Slovenian and great European". According to him, the Protestant reformer had already proven in a time when the Slovenian nation was still in its infancy that "there is no contradiction between projects developing a nation's own identity and culture and projects that make us a constitutive part of a shared European identity".

Numerous events dedicated to Trubar's life and work will be organised in and around Slovenia. The highlights in Ljubljana include the exhibitions "Primus, 1508-1586, Primož Trubar" at the City Museum and "Koga briga knjiga?" (Who Cares About Books?) at the National Archive.

The European Heritage Days, a traditional event sponsored by the Council of Europe and the European Commission, run in 49 European countries across Europe. This year's novelty is the forum on European cultural heritage, which will be held in Brussels from 23 to 24 October.

In Slovenia, the event is organised by the National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and runs in 40 cities and towns across the country. Last year, European Heritage Days were dedicated to architect Jože Plečnik, marking the 135th anniversary of his birth and the 50th anniversary of his death.

Source: STA