Heerlen Heritage Year: Halfway down the route, looking to the future
The Year of Heerlen Heritage is halfway through. With no less than 80 projects on the counter, we look back at great projects and look ahead to the big and small activities still on the planning. In this theme year, the heritage of Heerlen is experienced (anew).
The Heritage Year kicked off with the impressive outdoor performance "50 Years of Mine Closure: Resiliently Moving Forward" on Dec. 21, 2024. Already 80 grant applications have been awarded, ranging from small neighborhood initiatives to large projects. More than 170 participants are working intensively together: from neighborhood organizations to educational institutions, in the center and in the neighborhoods and districts.
Alderman Jordy Clemens: "2025 breathes heritage. In all neighborhoods and districts we experience the heritage of our city. By working together on small, or just big events, we find each other in our shared history and promising future. That's what it's all about for me.''
Review of inspiring projects from the city
In neighborhoods, residents shared personal stories in the "Stories from the Neighborhood" project. Scholars from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany worked together on the Kowrenne project, exploring carnival traditions from their own culture and bringing them together in one Kow. The student organization Woord & Daad brought its 93-year history to life.
Grand public celebration in June and reopening of Schelment Tower
My Tattoo will show the lasting influence of the mining past through impressive portraits in the coming months. On Saturday, June 14, Heerlen will celebrate the Heritage Year in grand fashion with the unveiling of city giantess Amaka, who will be reunited with city giant Lucius. Further down town, a veritable medieval market will take place, where you can immerse yourself in medieval Herle. In the fall, the family performance Ten Towers Deep is on the program. This is a theater production based on the well-known book by children's book author Jacques Vriens, played by local amateur dramatists. The reopening of the Schelment Tower will follow in December.
More information about the program can be found on the Heritage Year page .