07/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - Commissioner Jan Figel, responsible for cultural questions, took part last week in awarding the European Union's Cultural Heritage Prize, the Europa Nostra awards, to 34 prizewinners from 22 European countries, at the El Pardo Palace in Madrid. Mr Figel said on this occasion that “cultural heritage is widely recognised across Europe as a vehicle of cultural identity and as a testimony of the fertility of the dialogue between cultures”. The first five awards of €10,000 each, go to: - the Ottoman Baths in Omeriye (Cyprus), the Via de la Plata (Spain), the collection of photos by Edward Chambré Hardman (United Kingdom), the doctorate thesis on ancient worker cities of Upper Silesia by Dr Anna Sulimowska-Ociepka (Poland); and the Association Maisons Paysannes de France (France). The award has existed since 2002, in the context of the Culture 2000 programme of the European Commission.