In 2018, the European Year of Cultural Heritage was celebrated under the theme “Sharing heritage”. October 16th– 20th, the conference “People and places from prehistory to present” took place in Blaubeuren, on the edge of the World Heritage site “Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura”.

Representatives of Palaeolithic World Heritage sites in France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, and Russia exchanged experiences and views on how the protection, preservation, research, and communication of these unique World Heritage sites can succeed. The authors of this volume provide insights into Palaeolithic sites, which are testimony to the earliest history of humankind, and discuss the challenges arising from the tension between public use and monument-appropriate heritage management.

The individual articles illustrate the aspects of “preservation and conservation”, “monitoring”, “research” and “communication” of World Heritage sites. The solutions and practical examples presented in these case studies provide information on how to protect and manage World Heritage sites in a way that ensures their long-term conservation, thus future generations can also experience Europe’s rich cultural heritage.