About us
Bearing witness to the history and identity of Europe, European Royal Residences are complex and multifacetted places of prestige: originally places of power and representation, they are now museums, open to the public, offering an extremely varied cultural programme. This range of activities connecting the past to the present raises some specific issues.
The Network of European Royal Residences is primarily a tool at the service of European palace-museum staff and experts, enabling them to meet and share their experience in the preservation, management and promotion of the rich cultural heritage in their care. As they come together around various large and small scale joint projects, through technical meetings or the organisation of common cultural programmes, this network, which is unique in Europe, aims to improve the management and conservation of European Royal Residences that receive more than 37 million visitors every year and promote them across the world.
Our aim is to strengthen collaboration at European level by reinforcing links between members, institutions and countries.
We facilitate cooperation, disseminate good practices, share experiences among professionals and build capacity through:
Governance Structure
The Network of the European Royal Residences has three bodies:
- The General Assembly (decision making body) comprised of members of the Network. They meet once a year to vote the activities of the Network, approve the budget, the admission of new members, etc.
- The Board (management body) comprised of 7 members elected by the General Assembly for a period of 3 years. It consists of one president, two vice-presidents, one Secretary General and a assistant secretary general, one Teasurer and a assistant treasurer.
- The Secretariat (executive body) comprised of 2 employees, appointed by the President. The Secretariat is responsible for the performance and coordination of the programme established by the General Assembly under the Bureau’s management.
“ ‘European Royal Residences’ means a residence which has been acquired or built by a sovereign (whether princely, ecclesiastical, royal or imperial) which may be partially still in use today, but must be opened to the public.
The institutions responsible for managing these European Royal Residences must be permanent and at the service of the public and its development. They acquire, conserve, protect, restore, maintain and enhance the heritage property (buildings, collections, gardens) they manage for the purposes of studies, education and the transmission of knowledge.” ( Art 3 of the Statutes)
CATEGORIES OF MEMBERSHIP
Full member
Any institution which manages a European Royal residence which is involved in the performance of the network’s mission and purpose. They have right of vote during the General Assembly.
Associate member
The conditions of the partnership between the ARRE and the associate member are laid down in an agreement renewed each 5 years. They pay the lowest fee they have no right of vote during the General Assembly.
Supporting member
Any person or institution providing substantial (financial or other) assistance because of its interest in royal residences working together.
Fees: For full member the subscription fee is fixed according to the number of annual paying guests of the institution.
Three amounts of contributions have been fixed:
- €11 500 for institutions receiving more than a million guests a year
- €8 600 for those who welcome between 500 000 and a million guests a year
- €5 800 for members with less than 500 000 guests a year.
The subscription is valid for one calendar year.
Admission
Admission decisions are taken once a year by the General Assembly which is usually held in May/June.
Each applicant is invited to contact the International Secretariat of the Network at residencesroyales@chateauversailles.fr to ask for the application form.
