This is the first time in the award's 40-year history that a museum from our part of the world has received this honor.

Since 1977, the award has been given to museums that have made exceptional contributions to the understanding of European cultural heritage.

The War Childhood Museum will receive the "La femme aux beaux seins," a bronze statue by Joan Miró, which will be kept by the museum for one year before being passed on to the next recipient. The award will be given in April during the official ceremony organized by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and then again in May, when the European Museum Forum will have its own manifestation in Warsaw for the "European Museum of the Year."