Together with 6 other European partners, the Municipality of Breda receives € 1,273 million in European funding for the WaVE project (Water-linked heritage Valorization by developing an Ecosystemic approach). This project aims to utilize and revalue heritage on and around water. The partners thus not only want to preserve and further develop heritage and nature, but also expect side effects such as socio-economic growth and climate adaptation. The Municipality of Breda receives an amount of € 417,961 from a European subsidy.
The partner cities and regions have in common that their territory is rich in heritage that is historically linked to or formed as a result of the interaction with water as part of the natural environment. The partners have a task in the field of heritage and water. They are of the opinion that a correct approach to this task leads to the preservation and proportional development of heritage and nature with the expected side effects (spillover) including socio-economic growth and climate adaptation.
The grant offers opportunities to work together at European level on policy strategies that are needed for restructuring tasks related to heritage and water.
Breda is historically interwoven with water, with its development linked to its medieval inner city that is located at the place where the Mark and Aa rivers meet. The rivers brought Breda political and economic prosperity for centuries and created an area rich in water-bound cultural heritage sites.
Alderman Paul de Beer (urban development and climate) on this: “I am pleased with the European contribution to this project. As Breda, we are working hard on the redevelopment of our center. In addition, we naturally also benefit from the enormous wealth of cultural heritage, a large part of which is linked to the water. We are transforming an area of 124 hectares on the river into a center with mixed functions, environmental awareness and innovation. We also capitalize on the binding power of water and cultural heritage. "
Alderman Marianne de Bie (heritage) is also enthusiastic: “In Breda we recognize the value of our water-related heritage. We want to use 21st century challenges such as climate change as an opportunity for a revaluation and further development of our cultural heritage on and around the water. I am thinking of the Nieuwe Mark and the Zuidwaterlinie, but also of our historic sewer and fountains in our city center. I am pleased to note that Europe recognizes these opportunities for water-related heritage and, together with our European partners, supports us in the WaVe project ”.
Partners
The partners in the WaVE project are the cities of Ravenna (Italy) and Aarhus (Denmark), the province of Alicante (Spain), the Ister Granum region (Hungary-Slovakia Euroregion) and the knowledge institutes Certimac (Italy) and Delft University of Technology. Breda is the lead partner of the project.
