European Cultural Route
Encyclopedia
A European Cultural Route is a title awarded to cultural routes
Cultural tourism
Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or region's culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those peoples, their art, architecture, religion, and other elements that helped shape their way of life...

 recognised as significant throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 by the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...

. The European Institute of Cultural Routes
European Institute of Cultural Routes
The European Institute of Cultural Routes is a non-profit association based in Luxembourg whose aim is to help the Council of Europe, as a technical body, in the establishment of European Cultural Routes.It was established in 1998 and its role is:...

 is the body established to help the Council of Europe co-ordinate the development of these routes. Some are developed as scenic road
Scenic route
A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty...

s for motorists.

The first route awarded European Cultural Route status was the Way of St. James
Way of St. James
The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....

 route (The French Way
The French Way
The French Way is the most popular of the routes of the Way of St. James, the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. It runs from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles on the Spanish side and then another 780km on to Santiago de...

) to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...

 in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 in 1987.

History and goal

The "cultural routes of the Council of Europe" are tools of the European cultural cooperation implemented by the Council of Europe with the „European cultural convention“ in 1954. The programme of the “cultural routes of the Council of Europe” was officially created in 1987 and is managed by an executive agency of the Council of Europe in Luxembourg since 1998: The European Institute of Cultural Routes. The programme is ruled by a resolution adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The „cultural routes of the Council of Europe“ aims at the protection, the valorisation and the transmission of the European cultural heritage as well as the cultural diversity
Cultural diversity
Cultural diversity is having different cultures respect each other's differences. It could also mean the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole...

 of Europe. They also aim at the development of the intercultural dialog.

List of European Cultural Routes

There are two titles awarded: Major Cultural Route of the Council of Europe and Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.

Major Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe

  • Pilgrim Routes
    • The Way of St. James
      Way of St. James
      The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....

       to Santiago de Compostela
    • The Via Francigena
      Via Francigena
      The Via Francigena is an ancient road between Rome and Canterbury, passing through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. In mediaeval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route...

       between Rome
      Rome
      Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

       and Canterbury
      Canterbury
      Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

      ;
  • Historical and Legendary Figures of Europe
    • Saint Martin de Tours
      Martin of Tours
      Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...

      , a Symbol of sharing
    • The European Mozart
      Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
      Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

       Ways between Milano and Salzburg
      Salzburg
      -Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

      ;
  • Influence of the monasteries
    • The Cluniac
      Cluniac Reforms
      The Cluniac Reforms were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of West focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement is named for the Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, where it started within the Benedictine order. The reforms were...

       Sites in Europe;
  • Viking
    Viking
    The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

    s and Normans
    Normans
    The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

     - European Heritage
    • The Viking Routes;
  • Hanseatic
    Hanseatic League
    The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...

     Places, Routes and Memorials;
  • Parks and Gardens, Landscapes;
  • The Legacy of Al-Andalus
    Al-Andalus
    Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...

    ;
  • European Routes of the Jewish Heritage;
  • The Routes of the Olive
    Olive
    The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

     Tree;
  • The Via Regia
    Via Regia
    Via Regia, i.e. "Royal Highway", denotes a mediæval historic road. The term, in the usual sense, means not just a specific road, rather a type of road. It was legally associated with the king and remained under his special protection and guarantee of public peace.There were many such roads in the...


Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe

  • Rural Habitat
    • Architecture without Frontiers;
  • Historical and Legendary Figures of Europe
    • The Schickhardt Route;
  • Military Architecture in Europe
    • The Wenzel
      Wenceslaus, King of the Romans
      Wenceslaus ) was, by election, German King from 1376 and, by inheritance, King of Bohemia from 1378. He was the third Bohemian and second German monarch of the Luxembourg dynasty...

       and Vauban Routes;
  • The Route of the Castilian Language
    Spanish language
    Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

     and its Expansion in the Mediterranean: The Sephardic
    Sephardi Jews
    Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...

     Routes;
  • Industrial Heritage in Europe
    • Route of Iron in the Pyrenees
    • The Central-European Iron Trail
      Central-European Iron Trail
      The Central-European Iron Trail is a European Cultural Route which combines local iron routes with institutions as well as places that represent important parts of the European iron cultural heritage. The aim of the route is to increase understanding of the history, the culture and the traditions...


See also

  • European Institute of Cultural Routes
    European Institute of Cultural Routes
    The European Institute of Cultural Routes is a non-profit association based in Luxembourg whose aim is to help the Council of Europe, as a technical body, in the establishment of European Cultural Routes.It was established in 1998 and its role is:...

  • Cultural policies of the European Union
    Cultural policies of the European Union
    European Union culture policies aim to address and promote the cultural dimension of European integration through relevant legislation and government funding...


External links

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