European Heritage Days: Student Visit to the Public Open University Čakovec Building

As part of the European Heritage Days celebration, organized by the Museum of Međimurje Čakovec, students from grades 2c and 4c of the First Primary School Čakovec, accompanied by their teachers Jasminka Štefić and Draženka Blažeka, and the tireless kindergarteners from the “Sunčeka” group of the Cipelica Kindergarten, with their teachers Milana Hozmec and Petra Mićanović, visited the Čakovec Open University building.

We were delighted to share the history of the building with the younger generation and to acquaint them with our efforts to restore it to its original splendor through the ongoing renovation project. Besides its appearance, the building also impressed the students and kindergarteners with its purpose: lifelong learning. We are happy to have had the opportunity to participate in this year’s European Heritage Days and look forward to participating in future ones!

We thank the Museum of Međimurje Čakovec for organizing the study visit to our building, curator-pedagogue Ines Virč, and Head of Promotion and Marketing Anamarija Horvat Šantl. We also thank the Public Institution for Nature Protection “Međimurska priroda” and its senior expert associate for general nature protection affairs, Sara Srša, for the expert guidance. We invite everyone to follow the other activities that will take place during the European Heritage Days here: https://mmc.hr/vijesti/v20250917.html 

The year 2025 is also a year of important anniversaries related to architectural and cultural heritage. We are marking the 50th anniversary of the European Architectural Heritage Year (Strasbourg, 1975), a Council of Europe initiative that played a key role in recognizing architectural heritage as fundamental to improving the quality of life and enhancing conservation efforts. We are also celebrating 40 years since the adoption of the Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (Granada, 1985), which recognized architectural heritage as a key component of European cultural identity and established the principles for its integrated conservation. The pan-European event, European Heritage Days, was launched in the same year. Furthermore, this year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the event in Croatia, which began with the declaration of the Posavina village of Krapje as a village of architectural heritage in 1995. Krapje has prepared a celebratory program for this year. The last in this series of celebrations is the 20th anniversary of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro, 2005), which opened a new chapter in understanding heritage – not as a static legacy, but as a living process in which all citizens participate.

The energy renovation project of the Čakovec Open University building, located at Ulica kralja Tomislava 52, Čakovec, is financed through the public call for grants “Energy Renovation of Buildings with the Status of a Cultural Asset” (reference number: NPOO.C6.1.R1-I3.01) from the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, through the NextGenerationEU instrument. The energy renovation will implement energy efficiency measures, the use of renewable energy sources, and horizontal measures. This will result in the renovation of 1,758.03 m² of gross floor area and primary energy (Eprim) savings of 262.26 MWh/year, or 89.85% annually compared to the pre-renovation state. Additionally, annual heating energy needs (QH,nd) will be reduced by 66.63%, CO2 emissions will decrease by 90.64% annually, and the share of renewable energy sources will increase by 73.32%. The project complies with the “do no significant harm” (DNSH) principle. Find out more about the project here: https://pou-cakovec.hr/projekti/energetska-obnova-zgrade-puckog-otvorenog-ucilista-cakovec/.

Photo / Text: Muzej Međimurja Čakovec, Ministarstvo kulture i medija, Pučko otvoreno učilište Čakovec