European Cultural Route of Reformation

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01.07.2019

News

ECRR finished

After three years of project implementation, we have successfully finished this phase. Our most important outputs can be found in the publications section. For anyone in a similar endeavour, aiming at a certification as “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe”, it might be helpful to trace our steps taken in this regard. Moreover, we are happy to share our experience and share our knowledge, just get in contact with us!

NEWS/EVENTS

Past news

During project implementation we have held many meetings, have conducted numerous workshops and trainings and have participated in a number of public fairs and events. All our news and events have been archived. Please find them here.

What we have learnt

Looking at the Reformation from a European perspective for the first time...

...we have learned a lot during project implementation. We have learned that there is not one Reformation but that the term Reformation represents a multifaceted process, covering a variety of European regions, actors, and points in time. Only together the efforts have led to the long lasting and deep changes of Europe’s society, politics, and culture. The balance and diversity of our network demonstrate the tremendous surplus of approaching the topic in a European way. The related developed transnational action plan serves as a model for future endeavours of cooperation and network establishment in the field of cultural heritage. All our actions were strongly grounded in the regions concerned, involving local and regional players in training sessions. Our approach of consecutive train-the-trainer seminars and local trainings has proven valuable for jointly elaborating and passing on the knowledge into many regions. The project’s main aim of receiving the award as certified cultural route of the Council of Europe was achieved by close cooperation of partners from all countries. Only together we were able build a sustainable and valuable network and to compile the ambitious application in the short time given. Future cultural routes aiming for this certificate are welcome to take a look at our journey and to get in touch with us. We are happy to share our experience and share our knowledge. For more information please look at our published documents.

Tapping into opportunities linked to anniversaries of Jan Hus (in 2015) and Martin Luther (in 2017), the project "European Cultural Route of Reformation" (ECRR) for the first time framed Reformation as a European process. In the implementation period, the project established a network of more than 35 stakeholders from more than eight countries. The transnational approach to the Reformation as a unifying European topic is supporting regional development by increasing visibility for and attracting more (international) tourists. The sustainable management of the reformation heritage is fostered by extensive capacity building that took place within the project: In eight project regions a total of 267 people has been trained on three topics focussing on reformation-themed cultural heritage, including ways to reduce CO2 emissions of tourism and digital promotion approaches. Project partners provided their individual expertise and together, the project collected a great amount of knowledge and experience related to the fields of culture, tourism, policy, and infrastructure, always concerning regional development for especially rural areas. A training curriculum summarizing the content and experiences is offering the chance for future knowledge transfer.

As durable transnational management structure, the association “Routes of Reformation” has been founded. It draws on ECRR's achievements and is further supported by a scientific committee of experts on Reformation, history, and culture. Guidance for the route’s development and related actions is also provided by the prepared transnational action plan that has been formally adopted by 25 organizations during project lifetime and lays ground also for the future route members.
The established cultural route is benefiting from the project's digital promotion campaign and publicity means specifically created in the project, namely the mobile app "Routes of Reformation" (available for free at app stores) and the route website (www.reformationroutes.eu). This is complemented by seven info points, equipped with digital touchscreen stations, created within the project. These long-lasting physical outputs make the route locally visible, tangible and provide easy access to the whole network for residents and visitors.
The application and successful recognition as certified “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” is a major result, substantially boosting the young route.

News

Routes of reformation certified as european cultural route

Routes of Reformation has officially received the certification as European Cultural Route and is thus, now recognized by the Council of Europe.

ECRR SUCCESSFULLY HOSTS FINAL CONFERENCE OF PROJECT

On May 17, ECRR hosted its final conference in Gosau, Austria. More than 100 participants from all project regions and beyond gathered to celebrate the achievements of the past three years and made plans for everything that is yet to come for the Routes of Reformation association.

Routes of reformation certified by council of europe

The Routes of Reformation, product of ECRR, has officially been certified by the Governing Board of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) on April 10, 2019. This is a tremendous honor and opportunity. More can be found here.

Official launch of our Route website

As part of our project, we conceptualized and designed a route website. The website went officially live on October 1, 2018 and provides details on our route, its diverse sites, and the Reformation processes in Europe and beyond.