European Heritage Volunteers

For over 20 years, European Heritage Volunteers have linked volunteering to historic heritage maintenance.

The participants will get a deeper understanding of the continent’s cultural heritage. Also, they are given the chance to gain or expand their knowledge by participating in practical real-life projects and training initiatives. The aim of the cooperation is not only to preserve Europe's cultural heritage, but also to awaken a passion for restoration, conservation and monument preservation among young people in particular, thus ensuring that culturally important monuments can also be preserved for future generations.

2021_Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial

In their second project of the year, students from all over the world are documenting the historical inventory of the memorial site on site. Since 15 August, the participants of the European Heritage Volunteers 2021 have been taking care of the recording and documentation of the building stock of the former staff building of the concentration camp, which is to be integrated into the museum in the future, in close cooperation with Burghauptmannschaft Österreich.

After recording structural elements, material damage and their causes, the students will work out ways to make the best possible use of the building for the museum.

Another focus of the work is on the monuments that commemorate the victims of the Nazi reign of terror and were erected by various countries on the grounds of the Mauthausen memorial. The focus here is on damage assessment and evaluation.

2021_Monastery site Mariabrunn, 1140 Vienna

Young people working for the architectural heritage. The international cooperation project started in August in Vienna Mariabrunn. In cooperation with the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments, Burghauptmannschaft Österreich organised a European Heritage Volunteers project in the summer, in which young people from all over Europe can work together to preserve the architectural heritage and gain practical experience in handling and caring for historical building fabric in addition to their studies.

From 2 to 14 August 2021, the participants will document the building condition of selected parts of the former Mariabrunn monastery complex. In addition to structural and design elements, damage and its cause will be recorded in a detailed catalogue in order to be able to develop a design plan for later structural measures to preserve the building fabric.

The work will be carried out in the presence of relevant experts from the Federal Monuments Office and Burghauptmannschaft Österreich, who will ensure that high quality standards are maintained. Accompanying lectures on theoretical principles round off the training programme in terms of content.

2020_Stone figures - symbol "Ascent to Olympus" - in Belvedere Palace

The stone sculptures in front of Belvedere Palace were the first project in Austria to be renovated by European Heritage Volunteers. They are located in the Belvedere Garden. Their former glory was restored as part of an international training course of  "European Heritage Volunteers" in cooperation with Burghauptmannschaft Österreich and Bundesdenkmalamt. Together with the Belvedere, the stone figures are part of UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The focus of the course was on stone conservation and restoration techniques. The focus was not only on cleaning, but also on filling cracks, reinforcing, attaching missing parts and painting.
For the project, volunteers from various European countries worked on the restoration under the guidance of renowned restorers.

Find more information about European Heritage Volunteers