Kempens Landschap Foundation receives ECTN ‘accessible heritage tourism’ award for Ursulines' Winter Garden

24.10.2024 - Kempens Landscape Foundation wins the ECTN ‘Accessibility to Heritage’ award with the Winter Garden of the Ursulines. The award was presented at an official ceremony in Dublin Castle on 24 October. The award recognises the Foundation's efforts to make the heritage site accessible and permanently visitable.

European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) is a European network working with partners such as Europa Nostra to promote and develop cultural tourism and heritage. With their ‘Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards 2024’, they reward initiatives that contribute to sustainable cultural tourism in Europe. Foundation Kempens Landschap and the Winter Garden won the main prize in the category ‘Heritage Accessibility’. With this award, ECTN focuses on initiatives that make heritage - literally and figuratively - accessible to everyone.

New experience

The Winter Garden has had limited public access in the past. Since May, the visitor experience has been extended with a multilingual experience trail for individual visitors. Foundation Kempens Landschap provided new audiovisual installations, soundscapes and adapted modules to bring the story of the Winter Garden to life in an accessible way, also for people with disabilities. The new experience was created in collaboration with Tourism Flanders, Agency for Real Estate Heritage, vzw Wintertuin and the municipality of Sint-Katelijne-Waver.

In addition, the Foundation carried out work to improve the physical accessibility of the heritage site. These interventions included the construction of a new car park with spaces for the disabled, the creation of an integrally accessible main entrance and the installation of adapted sanitary facilities. These interventions were financially supported by Tourism Flanders, the Heritage Agency and the Cultural Infrastructure Fund (FoCi) of the Flemish Government.

Strong impression

The Winter Garden was shortlisted alongside other strong international candidates, such as the beautifully preserved medieval town of Cittadella in Italy and the Lithuanian city of Kaunas, famous for its stunning modernist architecture. The jury appreciated the unique way in which the Winter Garden manages to be both accessible and historically valuable. The combination of inclusiveness and concern for heritage made a strong impression. The Winter Garden is a great example of how heritage can be made accessible to all, without compromising the historical value and beauty of the location.