European Cultural Heritage Strategy for the 21 st century „ Page 7 Foreword he European Cultural Heritage Strategy for the 21st century should be seen against the backdrop of the changes that have taken place in the concept of heritage, rooted in the very history of Europe, particu- larly during the 18th and 19th centuries. It may be useful at this point to refer to some of the significant T milestones in the complex history of this concept and of heritage policies which reveal both common trends and clear differences in the various countries of Europe, resulting from the particular circumstances of each State and the latter’s relationship with heritage and history. — As a legacy of the values of antiquity reclaimed and rediscovered in the Renaissance and the Enlight- enment, particularly through the Roman and papal tradition, the protection of heritage entered the public, religious and private spheres with the aim of conserving and passing on the objects, rituals and vestiges of the past to future generations. From the 17th century onwards, scholarly “antiquarians” throughout Europe put together collections of objects of all sorts, created the first museums and founded learned societies. Some countries, such as Sweden, adopted official instructions at that time. The French Revolution, with its contradictory measures - both destructive and protective - and its upheavals, including instances of plunder- ing following the nationalisation of property, marked a turning point. — Intellectuals then became involved. In 1799, Goethe asserted the concept of collective ownership and protection of heritage: “All works of art belong as such to the whole of humankind and their possession entails the duty to take care of their conservation” 2 . In 1825, Victor Hugo in his pamphlet entitled“War against demolishers” wrote: “There are two things about a building: its use and its beauty. Its use belongs to the owner, its beauty to the whole world. To destroy it is therefore to exceed one’s right. 3 ” The fruits of the Enlightenment - museums of the arts, of science and technology - were opened to the public in a number of countries. In France, this institutionalisation process developed with an educational aim alongside the nationalisation of property. — In the 19th century, in a Europe fragmented into opposing nations, nationalist movements and later the revolutions of 1848 sought to justify and strengthen the existence of States, some of which were just emerg- ing while others were under threat. People turned to the past to acquire an identity of their own. Gradually, there was a shift from the idea of a monument in memory of a person or an event (from the Latin monu- mentum - a memorial structure, based on the verb monere - to remind) to the idea of a monument having a historic and artistic value. Across Europe, the foundations of a national heritage policy began to emerge. Inventories were drawn up, followed by laws which little by little laid down regulations governing protection, conservation and enhancement. 2. Goethe J. W. (von) (1799), Propyläen. Eine periodische Schrift, Tübingen , quoted in Swenson A. (2013), The rise of heritage. Preserving the past in France, Germany and England , 1789-1914, Cambridge University Press, p. 278. 3. Hugo V, Sur la destruction des monuments en France (1825), dans : Guerre aux Démolisseurs, Revue des deux mondes , tome 5 (1832), pages 607-622.