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Symbolic handover of the EU Council Presidency

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On 18 December 2025, the long-standing tradition of the symbolic handover of the EU Council Presidency continued at the Felleshus (community centre) of the Nordic Embassies in Berlin. To mark the transition of the EU Council Presidency from Denmark to Cyprus on 1 January 2026, the customary handover of the Berlin EU Council Presidency Wheel took place in the capital, as it has for many years.
Following an invitation from Cypriot Ambassador Maria Papakyriakou, Executive Director Prof. Michael Grünbart and the Managing Director of the Cyprus Institute Dr Thorsten Kruse travelled to Berlin for this event. In addition to the handover of the bicycle, Ambassador Papakyriakou presented the key points of Cyprus' upcoming Presidency. President Nikos Christodoulidis will shortly give a detailed presentation of the work of the Cypriot Presidency. The entire event was accompanied by performances from the Berlin HXOS choir. 

Impressions of the event

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Research stay at the Cyprus Institute

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Dr Catherine Keane, a late antique archaeologist and Byzantine art historian, is a visiting researcher at the Cyprus Institute from 15 to 17 December 2025. During her time in Münster, she will further her research into the significance of Late Antique churches in Cyprus. On 16 December, she will give a lecture entitled 'More than a Church: Late Antique Ecclesiastical Complexes in Cyprus', as part of the 'Byzantios – Streifzüge durch das Reich der Rhomäer' research colloquium.

Visit to the Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence in Limassol and the German Embassy in Nicosia

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On 12 December, Thorsten Kruse visited the Cultural Heritage Cluster at the Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence in Limassol.
He had discussions with Dr Dante Abate and Dr Konstantinos Roussos about opportunities to integrate remote sensing, digital technologies, and geophysical methods into the institute's ongoing projects, particularly those dealing with the documentation of inter-communal religious heritage in Cyprus. The participants also discussed how Earth observation and non-invasive surveying techniques could complement historical and social research, offering new perspectives on the documentation of sensitive and complex cultural landscapes.
It was agreed at the end of the talks to begin cooperation with a pilot study to test the scalability of this interdisciplinary approach, as well as to establish long-term, sustainable cooperation between the institutions.
Both parties are looking forward to taking the next steps and jointly advancing innovative, technology-based approaches to researching and protecting the shared cultural heritage.

Sincere thanks go to Dr Dirk Roland Haupt, Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Nicosia, and Dr Andreas Andreou, who facilitated the exchange with the Cultural Heritage Cluster of the ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence following a meeting at the German Embassy.

'Reif für die Insel' - Interview with Prof. Michael Grünbart

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In the current issue of the university newspaper wissen|leben, Prof. Michael Grünbart, the Cyprus Institute's Executive Director, discusses the upcoming presidency of the Council by the Republic of Cyprus in the first half of the year, and the challenges this will present. In the article, he also explains the Cyprus Institute's planned focus areas for the near future. The article can be found here in the online version of the university newspaper.

New Managing Director

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Thorsten Kruse has been the new Managing Director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Cyprus Studies at the University of Münster since August 1, 2025. Following the official reopening of the institute in July 2025, he succeeds Sabine Rogge, who retired in October 2020.
Thorsten Kruse has been conducting academic research on Cyprus for almost 25 years and has extensive knowledge of Cyprus-specific topics. Since 2015, he has initiated various projects on the island's religious heritage. The already very comprehensive results of one of these ongoing projects, entitled “Religious Heritage of Cyprus,” can be found on the project website www.cyreligiousheritage.org/.

Reopening of the Cyprus Institute

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On 3 July 2025, Lord Mayor Markus Lewe received the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus, Maria Papakyriakou, in the Peace Hall in the Historic Town Hall. After taking a sip from the tap reserved for special guests, the ambassador signed the City of Münster's Golden Book. She visited Münster on the occasion of the reopening of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Cyprus Studies, which also took place on 3 July.

 

Impressions of the reception

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Publication of a report on religious heritage in the greater Nicosia area

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On Wednesday 6 October 2021, Thorsten Kruse, presented at Chateau Status in Nicosia (Cyprus) the report he has prepared on the current situation of the religious heritage of the Christian and Muslim communities in Greater Nicosia, which was forcibly left behind in the 1960s and after 1974.
After the welcome by Mehmet Harmancı, Mayor of the Turkish Municipality of Nicosia, Hubert Faustmann, Head of the Cyprus Office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and Salpy Eskidjian from the Office of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process (RTCYPP), Thorsten Kruse presented his report, which was financially supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and published in the series "Democracy and Human Rights".
The report (in English) is available at http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/zypern/18387.pdf and at the project website https://www.cyreligiousheritage.org/.

Launch of a website on religious heritage of Cyprus

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Within the framework of the research project "Religion and Politics - Dealing with Cemeteries, Places of Worship and Religious Memorial Places in Cyprus", based at the Cyprus Institute (University of Münster) and led by our colleague Dr Thorsten Kruse, a new important project milestone has been implemented. Since 2 August 2021, the new project website is officially launched:

https://www.cyreligiousheritage.org/

The website presents the current condition of Christian and Muslim places of worship and cemeteries in a transparent, descriptive way and has the endorsement and support of the religious communities of Cyprus.
The interactive website was developed and realised by Dr Kruse with support by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) in Cyprus and the Office of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process under the Auspices of the Embassy of Sweden (RTCYPP).
The website enables all interested visitors to easily access the recorded data concerning the religious heritage of Cyprus and to inform themselves about the current status of the Christian and Muslim religious heritage on the island.
The relevant information on the surveyed villages and religious sites can be accessed both by their district affiliation and via an interactive map that also allows for an individual search:

https://www.cyreligiousheritage.org/map

So, give it a click and join us to protect the rich religious heritage of Cyprus.

When the Cemetery Becomes Political – Dealing with the Religious Heritage in Multi-Ethnic Regions

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Editors: Thorsten Kruse, Hubert Faustmann, Sabine Rogge
Schriften des Instituts für Interdisziplinäre Zypern-Studien, vol. 14
Münster / New York: Waxmann 2020

226 pages, with numerous illustrations
Paper-bound: € 34,90, ISBN 978-3-8309-4265-8
E-Book: € 30,99, ISBN 978-3-8309-9265-3

further information

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Book reviews:

• FRH - Future for Religious Heritage (online book review)
  "Highly recommended read to gain a better understanding of the complex issue of religious heritage in a diverse Europe."

 

Farewell to the Cyprus Institute

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After almost 25 years at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Cypriot Studies Dr. Sabine Rogge, the Managing Director of this institution, retired on 31 October 2020.