BRUSSELS (EJP)---On Sunday, Europe will celebrate Jewish culture during the 8th annual European Day of Jewish Culture.

A day that this year takes place in 30 countries to discover the cultural and historical heritage of Judaism.

Thanks to open doors, circuits, exhibitions, lectures and concerts, the wider public is invited to get to know Klezmer music, contemporary art, theatre and to visit synagogues, old cemeteries, ritual baths and ancient Jewish quarters.

The chosen theme for this year, "Testimonies", will enable to highlight the imprints which have been left by the Jews everywhere they have lived.

In Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

The Bevis Marks Spanish and Portuguese synagogue in East London. Britain’s oldest synagogue celebebrated its 300th anniversary in 2001.

In the UK, synagogues built in the 18th and 19th century will be open to guided tours as well as special views of their architecture and a number of arts events taking place across the country.

In Manchester, the Jewish Museum will feature personal and taped testimonies from Jews talking about life in the Cheetham Hill area while in London’s West End, the West London Synagogue will be holding a special concert.

In Leeds, the annual Jewish arts festival starts on September 2 and runs until September 6.

In France, from 2 to 9 September, a series of conferences and visits of museums will feature the life of personalities of the Jewish community, daily life, architecture, Jewish heritage and its integration in the national culture. Several cities, such as Paris and Strasbourg, will also emphasize Jewish cooking traditions.(www.jecj-france.org).

Over 10,000 volunteers and institutional persons have been woking to organise the events: Jewish associations, history groups, tourist boards, municipalities, museums, artists, students.

Last year, the day attracted more than 125,000 visitors in 30 countries.

Launched in 1996 in the Bas-Rhin in France’s Alsace under the Open Day formula by the Jewish association B’nai B’rith Hirschler in Strasbourg, in partnership with the Agence de Développement Touristique du Bas-Rhin (Tourist board of Lower Alsace), the day was progressively extended and became the European Day of Jewish Culture in 2000.

From 2000 to 2003, the event was co-organised on the European level by four structures: the Agence de Développement Touristique du Bas-Rhin, B’nai B’rith Europe, the European Council of Jewish Communities and Red de Juderías de España (Spanish Jewish Network).

Since 2004, the event is being co-organised by B’nai B’rith Europe, the European Council of Jewish Communities and Red de Juderías de España.

For more information about the programme : www.jewishheritage.org.