International Kickoff-Symposium VIA REGIA - European Cultural Route
in the Thuringian States Chancellery Erfurt
02nd July till 04th July 2004
press release on the results
In the framework of the project “From Galicia to Galicia: VIA REGIA – Europe´s royal road” , 140 people representing 54 towns of Ukraine, Poland, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands met in an international symposium in Erfurt (Germany) to discuss, in the Thuringian State Chancellery, the forms of a future common work. The goal is to develop the historical road VIA REGIA as a “Cultural Route of Europe” – this road goes from Santiago de Compostela in Western Spain to Kiev in Ukraine and it is the longest and the oldest country´s connection between Western and Eastern Europe.
The minister for Europe in Thuringia, Hans Kaiser, emphasized in his inaugural addresse the role of culture in the process of European arrangement, and referred to the importance that cultural processes will also have increasingly in the future for the economic development of the regions. Günter Mudrich, the secretary of the chamber of regions in the congress of municipalities and regions of Council of Europe encouraged the participants to make their ambitious and large intention more concrete. He assured them the support by the Council of Europe. The cultural committee in the congress of municipalities and regions had already voted on its last session in favor of the development of the road VIA REGIA as a “Cultural Route of Europe".
The participants at the symposium agreed to tie together the touristic routes that already exist along the road and to develop new ones, and to market together the numerously existing sights, parties, cultural climaxes, leisure equipments, typical crafts products, culinary specialities, gastronomic equipments, hotels, pensions and holiday homes.
The intention that stands under the patronage of the general secretary of the Council of Europe, Walter Schwimmer, and is supported by the Thuringian Minister-President, Dieter Althaus, promotes the " rediscovery of Europe by the Europeans " in a particular way.
Now for the initiators of the project, the European centre of culture and information in the association VIA REGIA - Culture for Europe and the European information centre in the Thuringian State Chancellery, it is important to create during the next months structures that would give to this project a durable ability to work.
Dr. Jürgen Fischer
(project manager)