On July 16, 2025, a meeting of representatives of the so-called “Cistercian monastery landscape” was held at the premises of the Pilsen Region representation in Brussels with members of the European Parliament Tomáš Zdechovský (European People’s Party/KDU-ČSL) and Ondřej Dostál (independent/Stačilo!).
Back in 2024, the European Commission officially decided that the Cistercian Lands Connecting Europe – a cooperation of 17 Cistercian monastic landscapes from five European countries – had been designated a European Heritage Site. Five years of intensive and high-quality international cooperation under the name CISTERSCAPES have been rewarded. Four regions in the Czech Republic are involved in this international cooperation – regions historically influenced by the Cistercian Order; these are the Cistercian monastic landscapes of Vyšší Brod, Žďár nad Sázavou, Velehrad, and Plasy from our region. That is why Libor Picka (STAN), the Pilsen Region Councilor for Culture, also participated in the event.
