Cultural gems is a free and open source web application, conceived by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, to map cultural and creative places in Europe. The main purpose is to capture diversity in culture and creativity, including information provided by European cities, universities, and other public and private organisations to complement data on selected cultural places from OpenStreetMap .

Its first release was launched in 2018, as a legacy of the European Year of Cultural Heritage . Over the course of five years, thousands of contributions were collected from users through collaborations with organisations, municipalities, and culture lovers, resulting in a comprehensive repository of information on over 1 million places throughout Europe.

Cultural gems community

Hundreds of contributors shed light on culture and creativity in European cities and towns. 

Local administrations, universities, and culture lovers enriched collaborative maps with their knowledge. Among others, a special thanks goes to Europeana , Municipality of Bologna , Municipality of Coimbra and Politecnico di Milano - DCxT, Cultural gems' partners.

Our open data

The data stored in the Cultural gems database can be reused.

Much of the information made available comes from the OpenStreetMap database, and the data was enriched by Cultural gems' partners and users between 2018 and 2023.

To ensure efficient access to our data, we provide downloads of user-contributed content. For OpenStreetMap data, you can download it directly from the OpenStreetMap website .

If you require the full dataset, including both user contributions and OpenStreetMap points, as well as other related material, please contact us at JRC-COIN@ec.europa.eu to request access.

Get the dataset  

Policy impact 

• Implementation of the European agenda for culture and of the EU strategy for international cultural relations. Cultural gems is mentioned among the cross-cutting cultural heritage actions and as the platform aiming at offering a common place for places suffering of digital divide.
• European culture from home. Cultural gems is showcased among the Commission's 'Recovery from coronavirus: success stories', thanks to its EU Culture from Home initiative.
• Framework for action on cultural heritage. Cultural gems is presented as one of the tools bringing forward legacy of the European Year of Cultural Heritage (Pillar 1: Participation and access for all).

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Press & Media

• Културни съкровища" - интернет в помощ на култура в Европа - Radio interview at Bulgarian National Radio ‘Рестартирай Европа: По-силна - за теб!' (Restarting Europe) (BG)
• Cultural Gems: un'app racconta la geografia culturale delle città europee AgCult (IT)
• MIL-OSI Europe: The Commission outlines a set of actions to keep cultural heritage high on the political agenda (EN)

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