Best Practices of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe
The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe are grass-roots networks promoting the values of the Council of Europe: human rights, cultural democracy, cultural diversity, mutual understanding and exchanges across boundaries.
Since 2017, the EPA Secretariat collects best practices implemented by the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the five fields of action: Cooperation in research and development; Promoting European memory, history and heritage; Cultural and educational exchanges for young Europeans; Contemporary cultural and artistic practices; Cultural tourism and sustainable development.
You can now search for best practices by year, member states, certified cultural routes, certification criteria and format.
TIPS: The good practices should appear in descending order, most recent first.
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2019
Cluniac spring in Italy
Description: Journey organized as part of the "Destinations clunisiennes" (project of the European Federation of Cluniac Sites set up to promote the discovery of Cluniac sites in Europe) to introduce our members the remarkable architectural and artistic heritage of northern Italy.
Place: Cluniac sites in the Piemont and Lombardy region, Italy
Cultural Route: Cluniac Sites in Europe
Year: 2019
Field of action: Cultural tourism and sustainable cultural development
Format: Visit ?
2020
Digital Travel Exhibition “Mozart’s spirit looking for traces through ten European countries.”
Description: The practice had been initialized by the European Mozartways Association. Involved where the Mozarteum foundation Salzburg and the province of Salzburg. For the translation partners in Italy and Czech Republic.
EPA member state: Austria
Cultural Route: European Mozart Ways
Year: 2020
Format: Digital content
Refugee crisis in the ‘Route of the Olive Tree’ actions and counter-proposals
Description: A practice that encourages intercultural dialogue around the Mediterranean of the Olive Tree through the art of comics. Through the 65 pages of this comic book edition, we watch the refugees on their difficult journey, in search of a hospitable and quiet place to protect themselves, the importance of the presence of the olive tree at every step, the meeting with friends participating in the Olive Tree Routes.
EPA member state: France, Italy, Greece
Cultural Route: Routes of the Olive Tree
Year: 2020
Field of action: Cultural and educational exchanges for young Europeans, Contemporary cultural and artistic practice
Format: Publication
Towards new touristic products within the European Route of Ceramics
Description: The project aims at improving the skills of the members of the EU Route of Ceramics in the creation
and development of new touristic products. It includes the realization of a cycle of webinars about sustainable tourism linked to cultural heritage, presenting both the theoretical and successful experiences.
Place: Emilia-Romagna region, Italy
Cultural Route: European Route of Ceramics
Year: 2020
Field of action: Co-operation in research and development, Cultural tourism and sustainable cultural development
Format: Conference
2021
Brochure Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe issued in Croatian and English
Description: The Ministry of Culture and Media published the brochure Cultural Routes in the Republic of Croatia. The brochure gathers information about the routes and their content. It aims to promote cultural heritage represented by the certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe crossing Croatia, and contains information and contacts on their representatives and stakeholders at the European and Croatian level.
EPA member state: Croatia
Cultural Route: Iron Curtain Trail - Eurovelo 13, European Route of Jewish Heritage, European Route of Historic Thermal Towns
Year: 2021
Format: Publication
ERIH WORK it OUT #4 European Dance Event
Description: The dance event takes up activities of children and young people (dancing, taking photos and videos and posting them on social media) and invites them to the industrial culture locations. Numerous on-site spectators (parents, families, friends) accompany the dancers on site. The event was accompanied by an extensive social media campaign by ERIH, reaching more than 3 million people. The dancers and spectators on site post themselves. All posts are collected on a social wall. The locations produce videos, which are published on the ERIH YouTube channel.
EPA member state: Germany (+ 35 heritage sites in 14 European countries)
Cultural Route: European Route of Industrial Heritage
Year: September 2021
Field of action: Cultural and educational exchanges for young Europeans, Contemporay cultural and artisitic practice
Format: Festival
First Europe-wide Transromanica day
Description: Transromanica unites numerous European regions sharing the outstanding cultural heritage of the Romanesque art and architecture that emerged in medieval times. Today, this unique association of regional characteristics allows visitors to experience a variety ranging from Byzantine to Western styles, including influences of the French and Mudejar architecture as well as elements of the successive Gothic style.
Place: Germany: Magdeburg, Königslutter, Merseburg / Portugal: Valsousa, Lisbon / Spain: Santo Domingo de Silos, Zamora, Portomarín / Italy: Vezzolano, Pavia / Serbia: Kraljevo, Novi Pazar, Raška / Austria: Millstatt, Maria Wörth / Slovak Republic: Spišská Kapitula / France: Paray-le-Monial / Romania: Alba Iulia / Croatia: Velika Gorica, Hrvatska / Luxembourg: Luxembourg
Cultural Route: Transromanica – The Romanesque Routes of European Heritage
Year: 2021
Field of action: Co-operation in research and development, Enhancement of memory, history and European heritage, Cultural tourism and sustainble cultural development
Format: Conference
Implantation and Dissemination of the Route of Alpujarras
Description: This route, that links Almeria and Granada through the Alpujarras region, is one of the most varied and surprising routes in Europe. Starting from the Mediterranean Sea, the Route crosses impressive and diverse landscapes: Tabernas desert, the highest mountain range of the Iberian Peninsula, real oasis…, until arriving at the fertile valley of the Genil river.
EPA member state: Spain
Cultural Route: Routes of El legado andalusí
Year: 2021
Format: Conference, visite
Interactive Story maps illustrating Hanseatic history
Description: The partners of the Interreg project HansaLink developed map-based online stories in order to illustrate Hanseatic themes in a creative and interactive way. HansaLink’s focus was on the conceptualization of cultural routes, which connect Hanse cities closer and thus, raises the visibility of Hanse cities and their heritage. What is more, the project also aimed at informing about the history of the Hanseatic League and connecting this information with the sights and institutions on the spot.
EPA member state: Online
Cultural Route: The Hansa
Year: 2021
Format: Digital content
Meetings of national cultural routes operators
Description: The Finnish Heritage Agency and Visit Finland organised two online meetings for cultural routes operators in Finland in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Culture Finland. The goal of the meetings was to provide a platform for informal exchange of information and good practices and to facilitate networking between route initiatives in Finland.
EPA member state: Finland
Cultural Route: Viking Routes, Route of Saint Olav Ways
Year: May to October 2021
Format: coordination meeting
On the tracks of W.A. Mozart through the DomQuartier Salzburg - Video production
Description: The production was a cooperation between the DomQuartier Salzburg, Tourism Salzburg GmbH and the province of Salzburg, all located in Salzburg. An actor slipped into the role of Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang's father, and tells the story of the young Mozart in the respective rooms.
EPA member state: Austria
Cultural Route: European Mozart Ways
Year: 2020 - 2021
Format: Digital content
The Liberation Route Europe hiking trails, local routes, and digital travel planner
Description: In spring 2021, the new Liberation Route Europe website was finally launched. The map-centred website presents the route’s sites, points of interests and stories in six languages, and adds an innovative travel planner. Users are now able to plan their own itinerary along the Liberation Route Europe and its hiking trails, and download it to their preferred device.
EPA member state: Online, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands
Cultural Route: Liberation Route Europe
Year: 2021
Format: Digital content
Working meeting with national representatives of the different Itineraries
Description: On June 16, 2021, the second national working meeting was held with the national responsible for the routes present in Portugal. The beginning of the working meeting was attended by Bernardo Alabaça, Director General of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Stefano Dominioni, Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes and Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes
EPA member state: Portugal
Cultural Route: Routes of the Olive Tree
Year: June 2021
Format: coordination meeting
2022
"Bonne Route" on the Saint Martin Route with Tjerk
Description: In 2017, Dutch theatre artist Tjerk Ridder symbolically set off from Tours on a journey on foot between Paris and Utrecht with his donkey "Lodewijk", following the Via sancti Martini through France, Belgium and the Netherlands. His socio-cultural pilgrimage continued in the Netherlands in 2018, between the towns of Utrecht and Gröningen. With the logistical help of the Saint Martin Cultural Centre - Netherlands (Utrecht), a documentary film was produced about Tjerk's journey, a book about his experience "Bonne Route" was published and a musical play "Bonne Route" was presented on Europe Day and on World Peace Day on 21 September 2022.
EPA member state: France
Cultural Route: Saint Martin of Tours Route
Year: 2022
Format: Exhibition
A.R.I.S.T.E. (Aeneas Route Information System for Tourism and Education)
Description: A.R.I.S.T.E. is a digital platform conceived in order to give a digital dimension to the archaeological heritage linked to the legend of Aeneas and which represent the main destinations of Aeneas Route. The purpose of the platform is to find a common solution to the need of ensure a more democratic access to the cultural goods and the need of digitise the cultural heritage for conservation and protection purposes.
EPA member state: Online
Cultural Route: Aeneas Route
Year: January-June 2022
Format: Digital content
FIRE 2022 – International festival of Aeneas Route
Description of the good practice: The Festival, organized between Cuma and the Aragonese Castle of Baia with the Archaeological Park of the Campi Flegrei (PaFleg), contained illustrations of Virgilian sites by historians and archaeologists, poetry reading, theatrical performances, enhancement of Albanian culture, concerts of ethnic music, film screenings, wine tastings and local products offered by Slow Food.
EPA member state: Italy
Cultural Route: Aeneas Route
Year: September 2022
Format: Festival
Café of Europe 2022 - Thermal Villages: Rural Development Opportunities
Description: The 2022 Café of Europe, entitled “Thermal Villages: Rural Development Opportunities”, was held in the Portalera Thermal Laundry in Caldes de Montbui and online.
Caldes de Monbui has developed many uses for thermal waters, from being a key ingredient in local gastronomic specialities to irrigating crops in the fields with waste thermal water. This is an ancient tradition which has been reinstated after a restoration project in the “thermal orchards”. The event venue was one of several historic thermal laundries in the town, used until relatively recently for the town's washing, and whose waters irrigate the crops nearby.
EPA member state: Spain
Cultural Route: European Route of Historic Thermal Towns
Year: May 2022
Format: Conference
Cluniac Ways in Europe, coordination session
Description: 7 stakeholders taking part in the development and the standardization of around 1000km of hiking ways in France and Switzerland, through surveys, interviews, online forums and meetings in the field.
EPA member state: France and Switzerland
Cultural Route: Cluniac Sites in Europe
Year: July 2022
Format: Coordination meeting
Conference “Historic Cafés: A Meeting of Ideas”
Description: The seminar highlighted the importance of Historic Cafés, their tangible and intangible heritage, cultural and social value, as Cultural Heritage. It also promoted Historic Cafés as heritage places of unquestionable value, the network of national (Portuguese) and European Historic Cafés and their contribution, to shaping European cities.
Place: Coimbra, Portugal
Cultural Route: Historic Cafes Route
Year: 2022
Field of action: Cultural tourism and sustainable cultural development
Format: Conference
Conference “The woman of the ancient Mediterranean. From past to present, a key to understanding”
Description: With the conference “The woman of the ancient Mediterranean. From past to present, a key to understanding", a critical reflection has been launched on the role of women and on the female figure, starting from the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean to arrive at contemporaneity.
Place: Naples, Italy
Cultural Route: The Phoenicians’ Route
Year: 2022
Field of action: Co-operation in research and development
Format: Conference
D’Artagnan European Meetings
Description: AERA organized the first “d’Artagnan European Meetings” in Lille, on the 350th anniversary of his governorship of the city. The historical Commission, relying on the Musketeers’ history, chose this emblematic place to hold the Meetings: a conference with French and Belgian historians and academics on d'Artagnan and his mission in Lille, a presentation on the effective implementation of the Route through the “d’Artagnan Territorial Project”, a toolbox for public and private territorial stakeholders, as well as workshops on the educational program.
EPA member state: France
Cultural Route: European Route d’Artagnan
Year: June 2022
Format: Coordination meeting
European Heritage Days – Exhibition “Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe trespassing Türkiye”
Description: “Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe crossing Türkiye” exhibition was organised in the frame of the European Heritage Days 2022 and lasted 1 week. The exhibition was organised preparing several roll-ups describing the theme, topic and countries of 8 certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe crossing Türkiye.
EPA member state: Türkiye
Cultural Route: Aeneas Route
Year: October 2022
Field of action: Enhancement of memory, history and European heritage
Format: Exhibition
International Congress on Thermal Tourism
Description: EHTTA, a UNWTO Affiliate Member, was selected to organize an International Congress on Thermal Tourism as part of the UNWTO’s Work Programme for 2022. The International Congress on Thermal Tourism was developed around three major themes: Tourism, Heritage and Experience, with renowned speakers making up panels on each of these subjects.
EPA member state: Spain
Cultural Route: European Route of Historic Thermal Towns
Year: September 2022
Format: Conference
International Forum on Cultural Tourism for Lebanon, Expo 2020 Dubai
Description: From 4 to 11 March 2022, the International Forum on Cultural Tourism for Lebanon was held at the Lebanese Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, organized by the Lebanese American University - LAU in collaboration with the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism and sponsored by His Excellency, the Minister of Tourism Eng. Walid Nassar, to celebrate Lebanon's accession to the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.
EPA member state: Lebanon
Cultural Route: Phoenicians’ Route
Year: March 2022
Format: Conference
International Rock Art Congress
Description: Each November, a three-day congress is held in the former Carmelite Convent of Trigueros (Spain). Scientists and specialists of whole Europe came every year to share and contrast their knowledge about rock art. In collaboration with the universities of Huelva (Spain), Algarve (Portugal), and the UNIA (La Rábida, Spain), university students are especially invited.
EPA member state: Germany
Cultural Route: European Route of Megalithic Culture, Prehistoric Rock Art Trails
Year: 2022
Format: Conference
Multimedia exhibition “The First Lady of Serbian Literature”
Description: The multimedia exhibition was dedicated to Isidora Sekulić, one of the Serbian women writers included in the WWR and was prepared by the Novi Sad City Library, a WWR member. It presented the life and work of the writer and it featured a VR reconstruction of her room as well as some of her personal items (chair, type-writer, manuscripts…).
EPA member state: Serbia
Cultural Route: Women Writers Route
Year: November 2022
Field of action: Enhancement of memory, history and European heritage
Format: Exhibition
Network Overcoming Antisemitism Seminars
Description: NOA (Networks Overcoming Antisemitism) explored multiple ways of dealing with antisemitism, counting among its main objectives the dissemination of positive narratives through socio-cultural educational activities towards diversity and Jewish culture, as well as with training and teaching tools that effectively counter antisemitic prejudice, aside others. The seminars were focused on ways to connect the non-Jewish society to the Jewish life and culture.
EPA member state: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Italy, Spain
Cultural Route: European Route of Jewish Heritage
Year: September - November 2022
Format: Conference / Seminar
Scientific Conference “New arrivals in historic landscapes”
Description: The conference “New arrivals in historic landscapes - Archaeological heritage tourism and smart landscape management in the 21st century” was organized, by the Hungarian National Museum, Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture, and the Iron Age Danube Route Association.
EPA member state: Hungary
Cultural Route: Iron Age Danube Route
Year: May 2022
Format: Conference
The Cultural Tourism Roadmap for Lebanon
Description: The Cultural Tourism Roadmap for Lebanon at the Lebanese Pavilion- Expo 2020 Dubai- March 4-11, 2022
EPA member state: Lebanon
Cultural Route: Phoenicians’ Route
Year: March 2022
Format: Visit
The largest sculpture of Saint Martin in the World
Description: Spearheaded by the Association "Les Amis de Jallanges et de Saint Martin", this project is in line with the eco-responsible approach of its initiator, Stéphane Ferry-Balin, the owner of the Château de Jallanges (Tours - France).
EPA member state: France
Cultural Route: Saint Martin of Tours Route
Year: July 2022
Field of action: Contemporary cultural and artistic practice
Format: Exhibition
Thermal Travels – Immerse Yourself in the Spa Culture of Europe
Description: EHTTA successfully applied for funding from the European Travel Commission (VisitEurope) to run an online campaign in the summer of 2022. The Great Spa Towns of Europe also contributed to the campaign funding.
EPA member state: Czechia, Greece, France, Germany & Italy
Cultural Route: European Route of Historic Thermal Towns
Year: July 2022
Format: Digital content
