Council of Europe Cultural Route

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Logo of European Cultural Routes

A Council of Europe cultural route is a real or virtual connection between places and sites that has been officially certified as a “cultural route” by the Council of Europe . Until 2010, cultural routes were referred to as the European cultural route . A Council of Europe cultural route refers to a country (region) or several countries (regions) and deals with topics that are of a European nature because of their historical, artistic and social interest, be it due to the geographical route or the content and the Meaning.

history

The European Cultural Routes program was launched in 1985 by the European Commission . It was decided by the Council of Europe in 1987. The Camino de Santiago was certified as the first cultural route on October 23, 1987 . Since 2007, the basis of the program has been the “Resolution CM / Res (2007) 12 on the Cultural Routes” of the Council of Europe, passed by the Committee of Ministers on October 10, 2007 at the 1006th meeting of the permanent representatives of the foreign ministers (Ministers' Deputies).

Types of cultural routes

According to extent and areas involved

Cultural routes can be:

  • transnational projects (several countries are involved)
  • transregional (cross-border or not) or
  • regional projects (if the cultural-historical, artistic and social interest of the projects goes beyond the borders of the region or the state).

According to passability, fixation of the route and meaning of the term

Main route of the Megalithic Street; Branch paths that branch off from the main line lead to many stations

Some cultural trails meet the requirements of a holiday route (according to German criteria) or an adventure route (according to Austrian criteria): You can drive on them with motor vehicles from the starting point to the end point or drive a circular route. An example of the first type is the Schickhardt Strasse, certified in 1992 (which, however, is no longer considered a cultural route in 2017), an example of the second type is the part of the Transromanica (the Romanesque route ) that runs through Saxony-Anhalt . Such cultural roads are drawn on road maps, marked there as holiday or adventure roads and signposted in the real landscape by uniform traffic signs. A variant of the first type consists in that side roads branch off again and again from the main route like dead ends, at the end of which there are stations of the route (example: the street of megalithic culture as the German part of the European route of megalithic culture).

Marking of the Pickerweg with the scallop shell , the sign of the Camino de Santiago

There are also cultural trails that can only be walked on for long stretches or by bike (e.g. a large part of the Camino de Santiago ) or by watercraft (e.g. the Viking routes). In the case of the Way of St. James, it still needs to be clarified in some cases which routes pilgrims took from Scandinavia or Eastern Europe to Santiago de Compostela in the Middle Ages . If historians discover that a certain route was used by pilgrims, that route should then be considered part of the network of the Camino de Santiago. For example, the Pickerweg , which was regarded exclusively as a trade route until the early 21st century, is considered the Way of St. James according to recent research.

Furthermore, there are cultural routes that do not have a fixed route, but are largely only to be understood as a non-officially established connection between two stations or regions with cultural significance. An example of this is the connection between the German and the Italian part of the Transromanica: it is up to each tourist to decide how he wants to get from the German to the Italian part of this “cultural route”. In this sense, the Transromanica (like many other European cultural routes) is an “imaginary route”.

Finally, there are also interpretations of the term cultural route in which the meaning of the connection between place / site A and place / site B implied by the term “route” or “route” is not necessarily taken into account. According to the definition of the member city Wiesbaden, the " European Route of Historic Thermal Towns " is a "growing network " in the sense of an organization and ultimately with the sponsor EHTTA ("European Historic Thermal Towns Association", German: "European Association of Historic Thermal Towns") ) identical. Logically, the city of Wiesbaden speaks of the "European route of historical thermal cities [...] connecting the historical and cultural heritage of the thermal cities" (and not the cities themselves). As a mere network, i.e. H. The Hanseatic League, which was re-established in Zwolle in 1980 and consists of those cities of the historical city union that have joined the project , also regards itself as a connection between places that are related to a topic of European importance . This network is identical to the “cultural path” Die Hanse, which was certified by the Council of Europe in 1991 .

One possible cause of misunderstandings about what a "way" is is that the English word "way" can also mean "a way to connect people". ).

Objectives of the "Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe" program

According to the Council of Europe, in 1985 the European Commission was guided by the idea of ​​taking a journey through space and time to show how the legacies of different countries and cultures in Europe contribute to the common cultural heritage . The cultural routes are intended to put into practice the fundamental values ​​and basic practices of the Council of Europe: human rights, democracy, cultural diversity and identity, conversations, mutual exchange and enrichment across borders and centuries. The cultural routes are intended to function as an “open air” laboratory for European development. They are intended to implement charters, conventions and recommendations relating to cultural heritage and sustainable tourism into reality through an educational approach.

The Council of Europe's Cultural Routes program has a threefold objective:

  1. Make the common cultural identity of European citizens more visible, more valuable and more alive in daily life,
  2. to preserve and enhance the European cultural heritage,
  3. In the interests of an improved quality of life and in the interests of social, economic and cultural development, to offer the citizens of Europe new opportunities for cultural tourism in their free time.

Existing cultural routes

In 2019, the following 38 cultural trails are certified as such by the Council of Europe:

  1. The Way of St. James (1987)
  2. The Hanseatic League (1991)
  3. The Viking Cultural Route (1993)
  4. The Via Francigena (Franconian Paths, 1994)
  5. The Legacy of Al-Andalus (1997)
  6. The Mozart Ways (2002)
  7. The Routes of the Phoenicians (2003)
  8. The Iron Road in the Pyrenees (2004)
  9. European Routes of Jewish Heritage (2004)
  10. The Cluniac Sites in Europe (2005)
  11. The streets of the olive tree (2005)
  12. The Martinusweg (2005)
  13. The Via Regia (Königsstrasse, 2005)
  14. Transromanica, the Romanesque Road of the European Cultural Heritage (the German part is the Romanesque Road , 2007)
  15. Iter Vitis (the ways of the vineyards, 2009)
  16. The Olavsweg (2010)
  17. The ways of prehistoric stone art (2010)
  18. The European Route of the Cistercian Abbeys (2010)
  19. The European Route of Cemetery Culture (2010)
  20. The European Route of Historic Thermal Towns (2010)
  21. The European Ceramic Route (2012)
  22. The European Routes of megalithic (2013) (the portion in Lower Saxony called since 2006 Route of Megalithic Culture )
  23. The European cultural long-distance hiking trail Huguenot and Waldensian trails (2013)
  24. ATRIUM - Architecture of Totalitarian Regimes of the 20th Century in Europe's Urban Memory (2014)
  25. The European Art Nouveau Network (2014)
  26. Via Habsburg (2014)
  27. In the footsteps of Roman emperors and wine (2015)
  28. The European ways of Emperor Karl V (2015)
  29. In the footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson (2015)
  30. Destination Napoleon (2015)
  31. Fortified Cities of the Grande Region (2016)
  32. The Impressionism Routes (2018)
  33. Via Charlemagne (2018)
  34. The European Route of Industrial Heritage (2019)
  35. The Iron Curtain Road (2019)
  36. Le Corbusier Destinations: Architectural Promenades (2019)
  37. The Route of the Liberation of Europe (2019)
  38. The Routes of the Reformation (2019).

Candidates and plans

  • Longobard Ways Across Europe
  • The Chocolate Way - Cultural ethic network of artisan heritage sites
  • Via Molina

Withdrawal of certification

Recognition as a “Council of Europe cultural route” can also be withdrawn. Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe are evaluated every three years by the “European Institute for Cultural Routes” based in Luxembourg . If the requirements for a cultural path of the Council of Europe are no longer met due to deficiencies in planning, budget preparation or strategic management, the certificate will be withdrawn.

The requirements of the Council of Europe were specified in resolution CM / Res (2010) 52 in 2010:

  • A cultural route must form a cross-border network in which at least three countries are involved. These must be member states of the Council of Europe or signatory states to the European cultural agreement.
  • The subject must support the fundamental values ​​of the Council of Europe and be further developed through continuous research.
  • The proposed projects must be self-sufficient in terms of their financial and human resources.
  • A legal entity, such as an association or a merger of several associations, must be created.
  • The network must develop democratic processes that lead to joint decisions on strategies and activities.
  • Appropriate cultural tourism products such as guided tours, documentation, further route suggestions, etc. must be developed for the entire cultural route.
  • Activities for young people and regular cultural and artistic events, such as festivals and events, but also thematic discussions and technical debates must be implemented.

Of the 29 cultural routes listed by the Council of Europe in 2010, they have lost their certificate: The Heinrich Schickhardt Cultural Route, the Don Quixote Route, the Via Carolingia, the Sankt Michaels routes, the European Iron Road in Central Europe, the Wenzel and Vauban circular routes , the route of the Castilian language, European routes on the legacy of migrations and the trail of prehistoric cave paintings.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ European culture and information center in Thuringia: Via Regia - Cultural Route of the Council of Europe
  2. ^ Council of Europe: 30 Years Cultural Routes Program By The Council Of Europe . 23 October 2017
  3. ^ Josef Schönauer: Way of St. James as a European cultural route . pilgern.ch. 23 October 2017
  4. ^ Via Regia - Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe
  5. ^ Cathleen Scheiner: Excursus: European Cultural Route / Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. Practice: Can, but does not have to be a continuous route! . European cultural route of the Reformation / location marketing Mansfeld-Südharz. November 17, 2016, p. 8
  6. ↑ Martin Wein: Romanesque Liaison. In: Die Zeit of January 17, 2008
  7. ^ City of Wiesbaden: European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA)
  8. ↑ Margit Schulte Beerbühl: European networks: the network of the Hanseatic League . European history online . July 21, 2011
  9. ^ Council of Europe: The program of European cultural routes . 2017
  10. ^ Council of Europe: [ Explore all cultural routes ]. 2019
  11. ↑ Cultural route of the Council of Europe / Itinéraire culturel du Conseil de l'Europe: The Hanse Today
  12. ↑ Homepage "Longobard Ways Across Europe"
  13. ↑ Homepage "The Chocolate Way"
  14. ↑ Eva Häferle: "European Cultural Routes ". A handbook for practice ( memento of the original from October 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Austrian Federal Ministry for Science, Research and Economy. December 2012, p. 34f. (38f.) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bmwfw.gv.at
  15. ^ Mühlenverein Mecklenburg-Vorpommern eV: Via Molina - The Mühlenstraße in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - Cultural Route of the Council of Europe
  16. ^ Council of Europe: Chair of the Committee of Ministers for talks in Tbilisi: New impulses for the Council of Europe's cultural routes , footnote 2 . December 10, 2010