Routes of the Reformation

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The Reformation routes ( English Routes of the Reformation ) is the name of a 2019 certified cultural path of Europe . The planning of the route began with the Reformation anniversary in 2017 . At the same time, the initiative makes a contribution to the International Year of Sustainable Tourism 2017 and the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. The " Thüringer Landgesellschaft mbH", based in Erfurt, is the "leading partner" in the development of the project. The “kick-off” event took place on July 5, 2016 in the town hall of Lutherstadt Eisleben . The project ends in June 2019. In April 2019, the cultural route Routes of the Reformation , established as part of the project, was certified as a cultural route by the Council of Europe.

Desired project results

"The main goals of the project are to network Reformation sites (both material and immaterial cultural heritage) that are present all over Europe, to establish a cultural route as well as an umbrella brand and a stable, long-lasting management structure for the maintenance and operation of the route after the project period. "

Specifically, there should be a knowledge transfer between the project partners on three levels: “Firstly, within the project partnership in the form of a mentoring program between experienced and inexperienced project regions; secondly, insights will be gained from existing cultural routes and thirdly in the form of training courses for the local population and stakeholders from the areas of tourism, church and culture. "

The focus of the project is heavily on the aspect of tourism marketing , the "capitalization of cultural heritage". It was not yet clear in summer 2017 whether the ECRR should represent a collection of individual drivable routes or a list of individual sights, based on the example of the various types of cultural trails that already exist.

Partner institutions and finances

Twelve institutions in seven countries ( Germany , Italy , Austria , Poland , Slovenia , the Czech Republic and Hungary ) support the ECRR. In June 2017 a “Concept for a European Cultural Route related to the Reformation” was presented.

In detail, the project partners are:

  • the Thuringian Landgesellschaft (Germany)
  • location marketing Mansfeld-Südharz (Germany)
  • Südharz GmbH (Germany)
  • the Church and Tourism Association (Germany)
  • the Protestant Church in Austria (Austria)
  • the tourism organization Upper Austria (Austria)
  • the Lower Silesian Tourist Organization (Poland)
  • the Institute for Territorial Development and Innovation Turin (Italy)
  • the association of the Tisza Valley (Hungary)
  • the municipal self-government of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg region (Hungary)
  • the public administration of the city of Velenje (Slovenia)
  • the regional development agency of the Pilsen region (Czech Republic)
  • the Regional Development Agency South Bohemia (Czech Republic).

Eight regions, namely the Tisza Valley (Hungary), Torre Pellice (Italy), Velenje (Slovenia), Mansfeld-Südharz and Erfurt (Germany), Jawor (Poland), České Budějovice and the Pilsen region (Czech Republic) were identified as pilot regions and will be provided with a new infrastructure in the form of digital information points and tourist information signs in order to provide international guests with relevant background information. As a visible project result, 80 information signs at relevant sights as well as seven “multimedia, multilingual information terminals” are to be erected.

The project is financed from ERDF funds from the European Union for the “ INTERREG Central Europe” program. From July 2016 to June 2019, the ECRR project is budgeted for € 2,309,253.85. The EU will pay € 1,896,160.06 of this. A problem with the certification of the cultural trail could arise from the fact that the cultural heritage of the Reformation in Germany is also supported by funds from the Fund for the European Heritage Label and that double funding for the same object or the same initiative from different European funding sources is actually undesirable.

Structures to be integrated into the route

At the beginning of the ECRR project, there was no institutional network with other initiatives for the Reformation anniversary in 2017, such as the opening of the European Station Path , which leads from Geneva to Wittenberg. The appointment of the ECRR project city of Torre Pellice, a Waldensian stronghold in Piedmont , as the Reformation city of Europe on April 7, 2017 shows, however, that there are starting points for networking various projects to “enhance the Reformation-specific cultural heritage”.

Map of the Luther Trail on the border between Thuringia and Saxony. The south-western section is not included on the board.

Lutherweg

The Luther Trail is to be included as a hiking and pilgrimage route in the European cultural route of the Reformation . Starting from Worms , it runs through Hesse , Thuringia, Bavaria , Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt . Since June 2016 the "Lutherweg Informationszentrum Reinhardsbrunn" has been located in Reinhardsbrunn as a " spiritual center ". The “Erlebniswelt Reinhardsbrunn” as a whole, like the Lutherweg, is looked after by the ECRR project partner “Church and Tourism”.

Way of the book

As a project partner, the Protestant Church in Austria brings the way of the book into the ECRR. This is an evangelical pilgrimage that follows the Bible smugglers route during the time of secret Protestantism in the Duchy of Austria .

It has so far led from Ortenburg in Lower Bavaria to Agoritschach in Carinthia , but is to be extended south to Trieste in Italy and north to Zwickau in Saxony and connected to the Lutherweg. The path was opened in autumn 2008. The extension of the path from the book to Trieste is to be called " Elvine-de-La-Tour-Weg "; on the Austrian side, it should already begin in Villach .

Primož Trubar Trail

A cycle path across Slovenia is to be named “Primož Trubar Path”. The section between Murska Sobota and Trieste, where the Primož-Trubar-Weg meets the “Elvine-de-La-Tour-Weg”, is to be looked after by the city of Velenje and the Slovenian Evangelical Church. Primož Trubar is the founder of the Evangelical Church in Slovenia. Between 1553 and 1561 he translated the New Testament of the Luther Bible into Slovenian . In 2015 a group of Upper Austrians went in search of traces of Trubar in Slovenia, which the course of the newly created path is based on.

reception

From the point of view of the Thuringian state government (the state of Thuringia is the owner of the Thuringian Landgesellschaft, the main institution responsible for the cultural route), tourism is generally one of the few branches of the economy with considerable growth . Cultural tourism makes up around a third of this industry. Tourism with a religious background is growing very quickly. The state government supports the Reformation anniversary as a cultural, not a religious event. In addition to promoting tourism, the state wants to make the legacy of the Reformation clear, for example to show Martin Luther as the father of the modern German language . The Thuringian state government is not about "using taxpayers' money to bring new members to the church".

The Evangelical Church in Anhalt emphasizes that the “Church and Tourism” initiative, in which it is involved, is not just about developing tourism concepts for parishes, but also about the concept of “ spiritual tourism ” developed especially in Central Germany "To convey" tangible spirituality "to travelers. The concept of “open churches” plays a central role.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Interreg Central Europe: ECRR.
  2. ↑ European cultural route of the Reformation. In: sharingheritage.de, accessed on November 1, 2017.
  3. ↑ a b Reinhardsbrunn Adventure World: Official start of the Interreg project “European Cultural Route of the Reformation”. Press release from "Interreg Central Europe", July 11, 2016, accessed on July 14, 2016.
  4. ^ Council of Europe: Cultural Routes: newsroom. The Council of Europe certifies 5 new Cultural Routes. In: coe.int, April 30, 2019, accessed on May 11, 2019.
  5. ^ Council of Europe: The routes of the Reformation
  6. ↑ Thüringer Landgesellschaft: European Cultural Route of the Reformation (ECRR). In: thlg.de, accessed on May 11, 2019.
  7. ↑ Interreg Central Europe: Concept Of A Reformation-Themed European Cultural Route. Version 2. Torino / Erfurt, June 2017, p. 2 ( interreg-central.eu ( memento of October 29, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) [accessed on April 10, 2019]).
  8. ↑ Interreg Central Europe: Concept Of A Reformation-Themed European Cultural Route. Version 2. Torino / Erfurt, June 2017 ( interreg-central.eu ( memento of October 29, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) [accessed on April 10, 2019]).
  9. ↑ Cathleen Scheiner: ECRR. General information. European cultural route of the Reformation / location marketing Mansfeld-Südharz. November 17, 2016, p. 5.
  10. ↑ Cathleen Scheiner: European Cultural Route of Reformation - ECRR. European cultural route of the Reformation / location marketing Mansfeld-Südharz. Lutherstadt Eisleben 2016, p. 12.
  11. ↑ Cathleen Scheiner: ECRR. General information. European cultural route of the Reformation / location marketing Mansfeld-Südharz. November 17, 2016, p. 6.
  12. ↑ Lutherweg Society: Lutherweg - Walk, look, pray, come to rest
  13. ↑ Wieland Fischer: Off to new paths: "Lutherweg Information Center Reinhardsbrunn" is created. (PDF; 328 kB) In: Thüringische Landeszeitung . January 6, 2016, accessed April 10, 2019.
  14. ↑ Charlotte Matthias: Project "Way of the Book" - From Carinthia to Trieste. evangelisch-sein.at, accessed on April 10, 2019.
  15. ↑ Tourism Pastoral Working Group of the Catholic Church in Austria. Network “Pilgrims in Austria”: The way of the book - when the Bible was hot commodity. ( Memento of November 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) In: pilgerwege.at, accessed on April 10, 2019.
  16. ^ Evangelical Church AB in Austria : Elvine-de-La-Tour-Weg. In: wegdesbuches.eu, accessed on April 10, 2019.
  17. ^ Evangelical Church AB in Austria: Primož-Trubar-Weg. In: wegdesbuches.eu, accessed on April 10, 2019.
  18. ↑ Evangelisches Bildungswerk Upper Austria: Information hike on the path of the book Kranj – Triest, 17 days. March 2015, p. 21 ( PDF; 2.1 MB [accessed April 10, 2019]).
  19. ↑ evangelisch.de : Reformation anniversary as an opportunity for cultural tourism. October 13, 2016.
  20. ^ Christian Antz : Market Chances of Spiritual Tourism. Gera. March 23, 2010, thesis 26.
  21. ↑ Evangelical Church of Anhalt : Church and Tourism. In: landeskirche-anhalts.de, accessed on April 10, 2019.