Cultural heritage of the European Union
is extremely diverse: it combines all of
the cultural heritage of its Member States each
of which is unique on its own. The importance
of cultural heritage is often mentioned and there
are a lot of documents in the field of international
law aimed at its protection as well as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) whose aim is to preserve and promote cultural diversity. But what
is the meaning of cultural heritage? What is its
content and which categories of cultural heritage
are there? In order to understand why exactly the
preservation of cultural heritage and its protection from destruction as a result of international
armed conflicts, which we have been witnessing
for the last years, and different crimes related to
its illegal trafficking, is important, it appears to
be necessary to give answers to those questions.