Project Rhodope - on the trail of Orpheus and Eyridike

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Map of the Rhodope Mountains in the border area between Greece and Bulgaria

The Rhodopes project - on the trail of Orpheus and Eyridike is a development project of the Republic of Bulgaria with the European Union and Switzerland .

description

The project aims to make the Bulgarian and Greek parts of the Rhodope Mountains accessible for passenger and goods transport and for tourism, especially from the Greek city of Drama (in the East Macedonia and Thrace region ) to the cities of Dewin and Dospat in Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian government has designated the area as an assisted area to the European Union and received funding to improve the tourist infrastructure with the LEADER project Rhodope Mountains - on the trail of Orpheus and Eyridike in the period from 2005 to 2009. At the same time, Switzerland also participated in the project financing and content design through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) . France also provided important assistance with the documentation and restoration of cultural monuments, while Greece helped set up the tourist infrastructure. Since then there has been close cooperation between the Bulgarian and Eastern Greek nature park rangers .

The Rhodopes project - on the trail of Orpheus and Eyridike is reminiscent of the historical region of Thrace , in which ancient mythology was the home of the legendary Orpheus and his lover Eurydice . This is where the legendary hero Spartacus was born.

Archaeological evidence of Southeast European history can be found in numerous places, where Thracians , Macedonians , Romans , Byzantines , Bulgarians , Crusaders , Turks and Jews lived and fought . The natural beauties are also significant: you will find scenic hiking trails, caves and rocky areas, imposing gorges and mountain streams. Nature parks and protected areas have been designated to protect these areas.

Stages of the project

Investigations into the conception of selected tourist routes and roads began in October 2005. In the period from 2006 to 2009, regular meetings between representatives of the EU and Bulgarian government members and representatives at local, regional and central levels were agreed and implemented. On the part of the EU, Greece, as its immediate neighbor, took the lead. In the period from 2008 to 2009, the agreed measures were implemented, for example the creation of information points, expansion of traffic routes, training of tourist guides and cooperation between the city administrations of Smoljan , Blagoevgrad , Drama , Kavala and Xanthi . The project was completed in spring 2009, and brochures and a website with detailed descriptions in English, Greek and Bulgarian were also published.

Impressions

Web links

Commons : Project Rhodope Mountains  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ European Commission - Agriculture - Rural Development Leader + - Member States files Bulgaria. Retrieved May 28, 2009 .
  2. ^ Swiss Contribution to Bulgaria. In: Swiss Development Cooperation SDC website. Retrieved May 28, 2009 .