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List of Intangible Cultural Heritage elements in Northern Europe

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Northern Europe comprises Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and the following dependent territories: the Faroe Islands controlled by Denmark, Åland controlled by Finland, Svalbard and Jan Mayen controlled by Norway, and the British Crown Dependencies, Guernsey and Jersey, and the Isle of Man. The United Kingdom is the most recent to have ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), doing so on 7 March 2024. The convention was drafted in 2003, and took effect in 2006.

According to the convention, intangible cultural heritage elements are components of the cultural heritage within a territory that are equally as important as physical cultural elements, like World Heritage Sites. The elements are abstract and must be learned, encompassing traditional knowledge which includes festivals, music, performances, celebrations, handicrafts, and oral traditions. Intangible cultural heritage is based on the opinions of local communities, as according to the convention there needs to be stakeholders viewing the elements as "their heritage". The member states undertake to create one or several inventories of the intangible cultural heritage within their territory. This work is ongoing in Northern Europe.

UNESCO upholds two international lists of intangible cultural heritage, the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. The member states apply for cultural elements to be added to the international lists. The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which approves new inscription requests, and a definition of "intangible cultural heritage". As part of the convention, the UNESCO also upholds the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices that contains that reflect the principles of the convention – that is to uphold living traditions. No cultural elements from Northern Europe have been included on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

Inventories of intangible cultural heritage in Northern Europe

Country/TerritoryList(s) of intangible cultural heritageNational authority in chargeEstablished
EstoniaEstonian Inventory of Intangible Cultural HeritageEstonian Folk Culture Centre2007
DenmarkLiving culture – an inventory of intangible cultural heritage in DenmarkThe Danish Folklore Archives at The Royal Danish Library2017
FinlandWiki-inventory for living heritageNational Board of Antiquities2016
Iceland-The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture?
IrelandNational Inventory of Intangible Cultural HeritageDepartment of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht2016
LatviaNemateriālā kultūras mantojuma sarakstsNational Culture Center of Latvia2017
LithuaniaThe Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of LithuaniaLithuanian National Culture Centre2015
NorwayImmateriell kulturarvArts Council?
SwedenLiving traditions – an inventory of intangible cultural heritage in SwedenThe Institute for Language and Folklore?
United KingdomICH ScotlandMuseums Galleries Scotland2011

Cultural elements from Northern Europe on the Representative List

Six intangible cultural heritage elements on UNESCO's representative list originate from the region. Three have been inscribed as elements of Estonia and Lithuania, two as elements of Ireland and Latvia, one for Norway and Finland, and none for Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia share one cultural heritage element.

The table lists information about each International Cultural Heritage element:

:Name: official name, worded as inscribed on the list :Region: region within or outside a country where a heritage is still practiced :Country: country, as inscribed on the list :Year: the year the site was inscribed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List :Session: the session and decision in which a heritage is inscribed by the committeeThe .COM abbreviation is used by UNESCO for committee sessions. 3.COM represents the third session of the committee, 4.COM represents the fourth session, and so on. :Description: brief description of the heritage :Site: official UNESCO page

NameRegionCountryYearSessionDescriptionSite
Baltic song and dance celebrationsBaltic statesEstonia
Latvia
Lithuania20083.COMlast=Kurmfirst=Kairititle=A new verse in the Song Festivalurl=http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/2392/accessdate=4 November 2012newspaper=Baltic Timesdate=8 July 1991archive-date=22 January 2011archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122101447/http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/2392/url-status=live}} The event was first held in 1869, when the region was still under the control of Tsarist Russia. The second, the Latvian song festival, is also held every five years, beginning in 1873. All three events served as a celebration of national pride, and continued, even under the rule of the Soviet Union. During the fall of Communism, revolutions in the region were dubbed "Singing Revolutions", a name derived from the influence of folk festivals on the drive for independence..
Kihnu cultural spaceKihnu island and Manilaid island in the Baltic Sea20083.COMUNESCO has inscribed the cultural practices of the Kihnu people. This includes the sealing and fishing traditionally performed by the men, the farming traditionally performed by the women, and the musical performances, celebrations, and handicrafts of the community. The Kihnu people have retained the tradition of performing runic songs, a form of song that predates Christianity. Kihnu clothing, made of wool, are covered with colourful decorations, which serve as representations of the mythology of the community..
Seto Leelo, Seto polyphonic singing traditionSoutheastern Estonia and the Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia20094.COM 13.38author=Kevin O'Connortitle=Culture And Customs of the Baltic Statesurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Dl2i1Fkd_cC&pg=PA178accessdate=5 November 2012year=2006publisher=Greenwood Publishing Groupisbn=978-0-313-33125-1page=178}} During the Seto Kingdom Day celebration, the winning lead singer of a leelo group is awarded the title of "Mother of Song"..
Suiti cultural spaceWestern Latvia20094.COM 14.07The culture and traditions of the Suiti people are inscribed as an intangible cultural heritage. This includes the community's festivals, celebrations, food, folk clothing, religious practices, language, and dance and musical performances. Living in a region that is largely Protestant, the Suiti people are followers of Catholicism, a belief system that survived the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic era..
Cross-crafting and its symbolismNational20083.COMCross-crafting, the art of creating crosses, is a tradition in Lithuania. The practice is part of the Roman Catholic tradition in the region..
Sutartinės, Lithuanian multipart songsNortheastern Lithuania20105.COM 6.26Sutartinės is a form of Lithuanian folk music. The polyphonic songs are performed during celebrations..
Uilleann pipingIreland201712.COM 11.b.16The practice of playing the uilleann pipes, a highly developed form of bagpipes for playing Irish traditional music.
Hurling & CamogieIreland201813.COMThe bat and ball sports originating in Gaelic culture..
Practice of traditional music and dance in Setesdal, playing, dancing and singing (stev/stevjing)Setesdal, Agder County in southern Norway.201914.COMIn the practice of traditional music and dance in Setesdal, playing, dancing and singing (stev/stevjing), traditional dance and music belong together, interwoven in the social context..
Sauna culture in FinlandFinland202015.COMSauna culture, which can take place in homes or public places, involves much more than simply washing oneself. In a sauna, people cleanse their bodies and minds and embrace a sense of inner peace..
Inuit drum dancing and singingGreenlandDenmark202116.COMDrum dancing and drum singing are indigenous forms of Inuit artistic expression and music in Greenland.01696
Nordic clinker boat traditionsNordic countriesDenmark
Finland
Iceland
Norway
Sweden202116.COMNordic clinker boats are small, open, wooden boats between five and ten metres long.01686

|file:Kihnu church.JPG|alt1=A Kihnu church with a green roof behind a small stone wall.|A Kihnu church |file:Eesti rahvarõivad-EE 1.jpg|alt2=Illustrations of Estonian folk costumes. One depicts a girl in a traditional Seto dress.|Depiction of a girl in traditional Seto dress, third from the left. |file:KuningriikM.JPG|alt3=An audience listening to a speaker during Seto Kingdom Day.|Seto Kingdom Day in 2006. |file:Gatakiemis.jpg|alt4=A Lithuanian cross standing by a forest.|A cross constructed in Lithuania. |file:Alsunga_-_panoramio.jpg|The town sign of Alsunga, center of the Suiti cultural space. |file:In de sauna. Slaan met berkentakken, Bestanddeelnr 920-4683.jpg|Finnish sauna |file:Garda V Defence Forces (8121575528).jpg|Irish women playing camogie

Total heritage elements by country

Exclusive heritage elements are those that are inscribed as a heritage of a single country. Shared heritage elements are inscribed as elements of multiple countries.

CountryExclusive elementsShared elementsRef.
Denmark11
Estonia21
Finland11
Iceland—1
Ireland2—
Latvia11
Lithuania21
Norway11
Sweden—1
United Kingdom——

Entries from Northern Europe in the Register of Good Practices

The first entry from Northern Europe in the Register of Good Practices was accepted in 2016. Oselvar boat – reframing a traditional learning process of building and use to a modern context is a concept from Norway. A non-profit boatyard and workshop foundation supports the traditional knowledge concerning Oselvar boats.

In 2018, The Land-of-Legends programme in Kronoberg Region (South-Sweden) was added to the registry for promoting and revitalizing the art of storytelling. The organization behind the Land-of Legends programme is the Storytelling Network of Kronoberg, an accredited NGO within the system of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Norway is also part of a multi national entry in the Register of Good Practices, inscribed in 2020. The entry, named Craft techniques and customary practices of cathedral workshops, or Bauhütten, in Europe, know-how, transmission, development of knowledge and innovation, is a joint listing for Norway, Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland.

Notes

References

References

  1. "Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings". United Nations Statistics Division.
  2. (12 April 2024). "Intangible Cultural Heritage: the United Kingdom becomes the 183rd State to join UNESCO’s Convention".
  3. "Text of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO.
  4. "The States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003)". UNESCO.
  5. "State Parties". UNESCO.
  6. "UNESCO – Text of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage".
  7. "UNESCO – Purpose of the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and of the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices".
  8. "UNESCO – Browse the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of good safeguarding practices".
  9. "Intangible Cultural Heritage Law".
  10. Kurm, Kairi. (8 July 1991). "A new verse in the Song Festival". Baltic Times.
  11. Tallinn, BC. (6 October 2009). "Tiny Estonia tunes up for giant national-pride choir". AFP.
  12. Mardiste, David. (6 July 2009). "Crisis can't dampen Estonia's traditional song fest". 6 July 2009.
  13. "Baltic song and dance celebrations". UNESCO.
  14. (2001). "The Temporal Structure of Estonian Runic Songs". Walter de Gruyter.
  15. "Kihnu cultural space". UNESCO.
  16. "Seto Leelo, Seto polyphonic singing tradition". UNESCO.
  17. "Suiti cultural space". UNESCO.
  18. "Cross-crafting and its symbolism". UNESCO.
  19. "Sutartinės, Lithuanian multipart songs". UNESCO.
  20. "Uilleann piping". UNESCO.
  21. (28 November 2018). "Uilleann piping". UNESCO.
  22. "UNESCO – Practice of traditional music and dance in Setesdal, playing, dancing and singing (stev/stevjing)".
  23. "UNESCO – Sauna culture in Finland".
  24. "Denmark — Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO.
  25. "Estonia — Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage". Estonia.
  26. "Finland — Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO.
  27. "Iceland — Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO.
  28. "Ireland— Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO.
  29. "Latvia — Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO.
  30. "Lithuania — Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO.
  31. "Norway — Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO.
  32. "Sweden — Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO.
  33. "United Kingdom — Information related to Intangible Cultural Heritage". UNESCO.
  34. "UNESCO – Oselvar boat – reframing a traditional learning process of building and use to a modern context".
  35. "UNESCO – Land-of-Legends programme, for promoting and revitalizing the art of storytelling in Kronoberg Region (South-Sweden)".
  36. "UNESCO – Sweden".
  37. "UNESCO – Craft techniques and customary practices of cathedral workshops, or Bauhütten, in Europe, know-how, transmission, development of knowledge and innovation".
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