Living
Heritage

Hradec Králové
Region

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"Living heritage is not mere folklore frozen in time. It is very much alive and needed today."

Audrey Azoulay · Director-General of UNESCO · December 2024

You do not have to prove anything or be an expert. We will walk through it together in three steps, and you only fill anything in at the last one — it takes a few minutes.

Living heritage is not a building or a collection

It is what people know and do. A custom, a craft, music, a ritual, a recipe, knowledge of the landscape. It cannot be put in a display case, because it exists only as long as someone practises it and passes it on.

The formal name is intangible cultural heritage, and the Hradec Králové Region keeps this list as part of its commitment to the 2003 UNESCO Convention. In practice it is about making sure we do not forget who in the region can do what, and that those people know we know about them.

Guarantors of the list

  • It is still practisedWe do not record what used to be. We record what is alive: the carnival people are getting ready for again this year, the workshop where the work goes on.
  • Someone passes it onBehind every entry there are real people, associations, municipalities or museums. Without them it would be just a memory.
  • It belongs hereTo the region, to a village, to families. It does not have to be famous or old. It is enough that it has its place here.

All of this is living heritage

Yes, even the unexpected

  • TraditionalLacemakers passing bobbin lace on to their granddaughters
  • TraditionalAmateur theatre, inscribed by UNESCO in 2025
  • TraditionalThe storytelling tradition of Krkonoše legends
  • ModernThe Sokol community and its gymnastics
  • ModernTramping, wayfaring and trail marking
  • ModernGraduation ribbon parties and school-leaving traditions
  • ModernThe brewing craft of Hradec Králové microbreweries
  • ModernSports fandom, choreographies and chants
  • ModernScouting and camp rituals of East Bohemia
  • ModernKrkonoše skiing as a family winter practice

This probably not

Probably not, and why

  • A castle, a church or a statue A physical monument, not a community practice
  • A festival founded the year before last It has not yet had time to grow roots and be passed on
  • A historical event A one-off event, not a continuing practice — unless it is re-enacted every year
  • A company product or brand Traditional as it may be, it is not a community practice
  • One person's private hobby It lacks a community that carries and passes it on

Five domains where living heritage lives

Five domains under the UNESCO Convention. Traditional and contemporary, rural and urban alike.

Oral traditions and expressionsStorytelling and legends, dialects and local slang, folk and original songs, memories of the last rememberers.
Performing artsMusic, dance, theatre, puppets and amateur players, dance balls and the club scene.
Social practices, rituals and festive eventsShrovetide, parish feasts and fair culture, Sokol gymnastics, graduation rituals, sports fandom.
Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universeHerbalism and folk healing, farming knowledge, landscape skills, tramping.
Traditional craftsmanshipLace making, blueprint, brewing, building and woodworking crafts.
You are not filling anything in yet. The form comes in step three.
Quick check

Does it fit living heritage?

Four questions so you know what we look at. No answer is wrong and none commits you to anything: you can send the tip even if you tick "I don\'t know" for all four.

01

Is there a group of people doing it?

An association, a workshop, a village, a group of friends. Someone has to do it, not just remember it.

02

Is it being passed on?

Apprentices, children, grandchildren, young amateur actors. It does not have to be a hundred years old; it is enough that someone is taking it over.

03

Does it belong to that place or that group?

"This is how we do it here." Without it the place or the community would not be what they are.

04

Where would it belong?

Five domains under the UNESCO Convention. Pick what fits best, more than one if you like. If unsure, skip it — we will classify it for you.

01

Oral traditions and language

Storytelling and legends, dialects and local slang, folk and popular songs, witnesses' recollections, the regional way of speaking.

02

Performing arts

Music, dance, theatre, puppetry and amateur theatre (inscribed by UNESCO in 2025). But also the club music scene, jazz jams, dance balls and regional dance traditions.

03

Social practices, rituals and festive events

Carnival, parish fairs and fairground culture, but also Sokol gymnastics, graduation parties and school-leaving rituals, sports chants, scout camps and their ceremonies.

04

Knowledge of nature and the land

Herbalism and folk healing, farming and husbandry knowledge, landscape skills, wayfaring and tramping, knowing the terrain, Krkonoše skiing as a family winter practice.

05

Skills of traditional craftsmanship

Lace making, blueprint, nativity-scene making, but equally the brewing craft of microbreweries, building crafts, blacksmithing and other manual skills kept by a community.

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Last step

Tell us about it

Five fields, no required attachments. We will find out the rest ourselves.

The everyday name the bearers themselves use.

A village, an area, or "all over the region".

Two to five sentences. What it is, who does it, why it is interesting. You do not have to be an expert.

The association's website, a video or a photo. Anything that helps picture it. An address is enough.

How to reach you

We will only contact you if the tip moves forward. Your e-mail will not be published.

May we contact you occasionally?

Optional. Tick what suits you. You can withdraw consent at any time. Sending the tip does not depend on it.