ALICANTE, SPAIN.- The European Museum of the Year Award, organised by the European Museum Forum, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, with a Presentation Ceremony and associated activities based at various venues in Alicante, Spain, hosted by MARQ Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Alicante and local sponsoring organisations.

The 2007 Awards were recently announced during a ceremony attended by more than 150 people from 28 European countries at MARQ Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Alicante, followed by a Gala Dinner at the Estación Maritima of the Port of Alicante. The winners were announced by Sir Neil Cossons, EMF’s President and presented by the Forum’s Patron, Her Majesty Queen Fabiola of Belgium.

The results of the 2007 Awards are as follows:

The Micheletti Award for the most promising technical or industrial museum among the current year’s candidates goes to Brunel’s ss Great Britain in Bristol, U.K. This project was judged to be an outstanding achievement by a privately financed Trust. The daring decision to bring a rusting hulk from the Falkland Islands to Bristol, followed by a major study to find the best solution for its preservation was a huge task in itself. The subsequent preservation, reconstruction and interpretation of the vessel has transcended all expectations and with its associated museum telling the story of the ship in reverse time order in historical, cultural and technical terms, visitors are provided with a unique experience. The installation of lifts within the ship’s funnel makes accessibility available to all, which is rare aboard a historic ship.

The Council of Europe Award, a bronze statuette by Miró, goes to the International Museum of the Reformation in Geneva, Switzerland, as the first and only museum dealing with the subject of the Reformation in Europe. Focused on Calvin, it deals with other figures such as Martin Luther, and covers historic events going well beyond Geneva. The museum has close relationships with museums, research institutions and universities in other countries and its publications on the history of the Reformation are of outstanding quality. Theological discourse is brought into the exhibition and although it is dedicated to one particular branch of Christianity, the museum demonstrates a high level of religious tolerance. This award was presented at a separate ceremony in Strasbourg on 17 April 2007.

The 2007 European Museum of the Year Award is given to the German Emigration Center in Bremerhaven. This stylish museum, in a purpose-built building on the site of the dock from which more than seven million emigrants from Germany and Eastern Europe departed, pays tribute to those who left for a variety of reasons, bound for the New World. Theatrical techniques and effective multimedia installations transport the visitor from dock to ship and eventually to shore, experiencing the uncertainty of the emigrants’ arrival in the Promised Land. The Gallery of Seven Million, containing documentation on all the emigrants from the port, leads visitors towards a substantial modern research section, where they have the opportunity to follow their own lines of enquiry right up to the present day. Excellent visitor facilities are matched by a willingness and ability to cope with large numbers, as indicated by the average length of time for a visit. With its package of qualities, this is a worthy winner for EMYA’s 30th anniversary year.

Specially commended: Museum of the Bresse Region, Saint-Cyr-sur-Menthon, France; The Dolhuys: Museum of Psychiatry, Haarlem, The Netherlands; The Railway Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Paul Klee Centre, Bern, Switzerland.

These four museums received a special diploma recognising their excellence in conception, innovative approach to interpretation and attention to the needs of their visitors.

During the two days of public interviews before the Ceremony, those museums which had passed the first stage of the judging each received a certificate in recognition of their innovatory achievements. The full list of these museums can be seen on the website of the European Museum Forum.