Heritage days serve up cultural landscapes

Geneva's Palais des Nations will be open to the public. Canton Geneva

Switzerland's cultural landscapes are on show on Saturday and Sunday as part of the European Heritage Days. The aim is to highlight the relationship buildings and other parts of the urban landscape have with each other.

All over Europe, visitors are being encouraged to take a closer look at buildings, monuments or landscapes that are considered part of a heritage. In Switzerland, the focus is on cultural landscapes.

More than 200 events have been organised all over the country to increase awareness of the relationship between buildings, streets and squares.

The Heritage Days will also provide an insight into architectural culture from Roman times to the 20th century according to the National Centre for the Preservation of Cultural Properties.

Among the attractions this weekend, people will be able to visit a bank in Fribourg, church spires in St Gallen or the village of Kaiseraugst.

The organisers also hope that the visitors will be able to understand what makes a town or village complete starting from a variety of individual items.

This is the seventh time that the National Centre for the Preservation of Cultural Properties (NIKE Centre) is participating in the European Heritage Days. The Council of Europe launched the event in 1991.

In 1999, some 20 million people took advantage of the Days to visits sites and monuments all over Europe. Around 50,000 visitors are expected to attend the various events in Switzerland this year.

swissinfo with agencies