Project presentation on 2nd Participation Day and 4th Annual EUSDR Forum in Ulm 28 – 30 October 2015

Sonja Jilek, communication manager from the leadpartner organisation, cooperated with EUSDR PA 10 and the Danube Civil Society Forum, to prepare a presentation on the results of the PA3 flagship project “Danube Limes – UNESCO World Heritage” as a best practise example for transnational cooperation in all Danube countries at the 2nd Participation Day in Ulm on 28 October 2015 dedicated to “Shared Heritage – Common Future” . A specific focus will be directed to lively historic urban landscapes and the chances and challenges they offer in implementing protection, preservation and presentation activities. The project will also have its own presentation stand at the 4th Annual EUSDR Forum und participate in the programme activities.

Project presentations at the 23rd Limes Congress Ingolstadt/Germany 14 – 20 September 2015

Most of the Danube Limes Brand project partners gathered together on the 23rd Limescongress organised by the Bavarian Monument Preservation authority in cooperation with the German Limes Commission in Ingolstadt and presented their individual as well cooperative project activities, output and results to more than 400 colleagues from 30 countries in Europe and abroad. Sonja Jilek presented the Danube Limes joint Tourism Strategy Action Plan accompanied by several lecture and poster presentations by colleagues from Croatia (Igor Vukmanic), Serbia (Snezana Golubovic, Nemanja Mrdjic) and Bulgaria (Lyudmil Vagalinski). The congress also presented the opportunity for the 11th Bratislava Group meeting, where all representatives of the European Limes sections from Scotland to Romania, who had met before at the final project conference in Bucharest on 27 September 2014, discussed new ways of cooperation and the next steps in intensifying communication with ICOMOS and the WH Centre in Paris.

Project presentation at the 21st European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) Conference Glasgow/Scotland 3 – 6 September 2015

Sonja Jilek, communication manager of the Leadpartner organisation, organised a session on “Archaeology and Tourism” at the 23d European Association of Archaeologists Conference, held in Glasgow/Scotland from 3 – 6 September 2015. Starting point was ICOMOS Tourism Charter, which defines a number of guiding principles and encourages the archaeological community and the tourism industry to work together to protect and present the world’s heritage. The main questions to be answered were “But do archaeologists actually understand tourism? Does the tourism community understand archaeology? Does archaeological research inform tourism? The Danube Limes Brand project results as well as 9 other lectures examined best practice approaches to presenting archaeology to tourists, and to promoting public interest in the cultural and natural environment of areas that are tourist foci. The main result was that it requires critical and constructive frameworks for investigating the tourist potential of sites and the representation of the past. Interpretations of the past have the potential to have an impact not only within nation states but also on international politics and global markets. Another outcome of the session was the building of a new Working Party inside the EAA framework to facilitate a better dialogue between archaeologists and tourism specialists, establish a common vocabulary and establish partnerships with specialists working in similar issues (other relevant EAA Working parties, UNESCO, ICOMOS, EAC). The Working Group started their cooperative activities in September 2015 and intends to present its first results during the EAA Conference in Vilnius in Lithuania in 31s August to 4 September 2016.

Project presentation at the PA3 Floating Conference from 15 – 18 June 2015

Sonja Jilek from the leadpartner organisation and Dana Mihai from the National Institute for Heritage in Romania represented the Danube Limes Brand project at the Floating Conference, organised cooperatively by PA 3 coordinators and the Danube Competence Centre from 15-18 June 2015. The conference, which took place on a cruise ship going from Ruse/Bulgaria to Tulcea/Romania, focussed on various issues regarding cultural heritage preservation and presentation such as branding for the Danube area, sustainable touristic destination management and cross-border cooperation to foster the Danube macro-regional strategies and their implementation. The Danube Limes Brand project contributed to the event presenting their final project results regarding 4 new UNESCO Tentative List Entries for the Lower Danube Limes sections in Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania and emphasizing on the working of all project partners in developing a joint Tourism Strategy Action Plan. This Action Plan includes several brand modules representing an authentic interpretation of Roman lifestyle and culture along the edges of the empire. One of the modules, the International Danube Limes Day was already implemented in 2014 as well as in 2015 by all Danube Limes countries.

A SEE Capitalization Pole Meeting 18 November 2014

In the final project phase the project leadpartner and coordinator of the SEE Capitalization Pole 13. Cultural Resources initiative invited all pole members to participate in an international workshop organised in Vienna on 18 November 2014. The workshop, which was attended by participants from Austria, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Slovakia, focussed on developing more innovative Public-Private-Partnerships, increased cooperation with SMEs and chances for future cooperation in the new EU Programming period. The workshop was finalised by a visit to the new “Kunstkammer”-exhibition in the Vienna Art History Museum with its marvellous display of historic craftmenship.

A Day out on the Limes in Lower Austria – full day Media Event 2 October 2014

The Leadpartner, the Institute for History, Vienna University used the final project results to cooperated with the Danube University Krems in organising a one-day excursion to the famous, best preserved Limes Monuments in the western part of Lower Austria, in Zeiselmauer, Tulln, Traismauer, Mautern and Bacharnsdorf including a presentation of the final project results in Austria as well as on a transnational level in all the Danube countries involved. Both universities invited several media representatives on national, regional and local level to participate in this event and to experience together the not so well known but best preserved Limes monuments, which will in future be included in the Austrian World Heritage Site “Danube Limes in Austria”. The Limes tour and media event, which included also statements from local representatives of Limes municipalities, museums and private societies in Zeiselmauer, Tulln and Mautern found a wide media echo in local, regional and national newspapers and journals, see list below.

 

2nd Danube Limes Brand Strategy and final conference Ruse/BG – Bucharest/RO 25-28 September 2014

The final conference, organised together in a 2-day event by the Bulgarian partner team from the National Archaeological Institute and Museum in Sofia (ERDF PP6 NAIM) in Ruse and by the National Institute for Heritage (ERDF PP5 NIH) in Bucharest, saw more than 100 participants from the partner countries as well as from Germany, The Netherlands and UK. The list of speakers included the main Bulgarian and Romanian coordinators from EUSDR PA 3 Culture and Tourism, Mr Evgeni Spassov from Bulgaria and Mr Teofil Gherca from Romania as well as representatives of the international and national UNESCO Commissions, Mrs Daniela Urschitz from EUSDR PA 10 and Mrs Maria Tzankova, Executive Director of Association of Danube River Municipalities. The 1st day in Ruse was dedicated to the results regarding the new nomination documents and the joint action plan of the countries in the Lower Danube area, in Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. Those were presented together by a project member and the individual representative of the Ministry of Culture. Additionally colleagues from all other European Limes section reported about their latest development on the nomination set up, management issues and tourism development too, bringing in a lot of new ideas and contacts. The 2nd day in Bucharest focussed on the transnational joint Tourism Strategy Action Plan for the Danube Limes, best practise examples on regional development in the Lower Danube, the Danube Delta and the UNESCO WH in Regensburg, Bavaria including presentations on the transnational DanubeHIKE project, the cross-border SONDAR project, and various new tourism initiatives in Hungary and Romania. The main conference event was followed by a 2-day study visit to the magnificent Roman fort sites along the Danube in Romania and the Danube Delta, organised by Ms Dana Mihai and Mr Ciprian Sandu from the National Institute of Heritage

Danube Limes Brand partner consortium applies for an EU Citizenship network project “GEMINI” to twin Limes municipalities

The International Danube Limes Day celebration in June/July 2014 being such a great success story in individual Limes municipalities along the Danube, the Leadpartner and individual project partners decided to enlarge this concept into all European countries sharing a bit of Limes heritage. As a first step representatives and administrators in 15 Limes municipalities from Scotland to Romania were contacted and invited to participate in this twinning initiative, to get a chance to meet in 2015/16 and discuss common issues regarding the prospective or existing World Heritage agenda and to set up more transnational cooperation between administrators, cultural resource managers, museum curators and schools across Europe. Finally 13 municipalities situated in and representing all European Limes sections/countries could be included in the application and now hope for a positive decision.

Danube Limes Summer University Krems, Austria 25-29 August 2014

The Danube Limes Summer University was organised and implemented by our partners from the Danube University (Christian Hanus, Gregor Radinger, Peter Strasser) in Krems, Austria for the second time now between 25 and 29 August 2014. Several experts including colleagues from the Cech Republic and Switzerland worked together with 12 students from 5 Danube countries on topics about future protection, presentation and promotion of the Danube Limes sites and monuments. A working group dedicated to the military protection of cultural property continued to build upon their work from the previous year by the discussion of the legal framework and setting up risk scenarios and plans for Austrian Limes sites in case of flood catastrophs, earth quakes, traffic, air and noise pollution (group leader Wolfgang Mattes, Hubert Speckner). A second group decided to work on light interventions on Limes sites – including day- as well as artificial light and made good use of the Danube University´s own Light laboratory (group leader Gregor Radinger, Sonja Jilek). This workshop included a fantastic night time excursion into the UNESCO World Heritage Wachau Valley and presenting several new light interventions on monuments as well as landscapes lead by the light expert and artist Sigrun Appelt. The week was closed by a most successful public event where both experts and students presented their final results and outcome of their joint work.

 

Danube Limes Brand Project at the 3rd Annual Forum Vienna, Austria 25-27 June 2014

The project´s Leadpartner participated and organised a project presentation in the thematic villages and tents-in-action in the frame of the 1st Participation Day of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Wednesday 25 June 2014 Esterházy Palace, Eisenstadt, Austria and attended the workshop on Creating Structures for Creativity in the Danube Region. The project was also presented via its own stand at the 3rd Annual Event of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region at the town hall in Vienna, 26-27 June 2014. Both events turned out to be excellent occasions to set up new contacts and enlarge the already wide Limes network and the more interdisciplinary project network, with the results that some new contacts were already invited and included into the final conference and/or moreover in the next project application.

Danube Limes Brand partners celebrate a joint Danube Limes Day – Dokumentation

All 9 partners in the Danube Limes Brand project participate in a newly created international Danube Limes Day. The events are scheduled end of June, beginning of July 2014 around the International Danube Day. The programme organised by partners at 15 individual places in 8 countries offers a wide variety of activities – festivals, bike rides, ships cruise, exhibitions, lectures, conferences, Roman army reenactment group demonstrations, movies – designed for various target groups such as families with children, teachers and pupils, professional scholars, tourists interested in culture and local inhabitants. In the organisation of the events the partners cooperate with local municipalities, archaeological sites and museums, libraries and private companies.

WP6 Digital reconstruction of Roman forts and landscape

ERDF PP 5 and 6 the National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Bulgaria, the National Institute for Heritage, Romania and the Museum of Slavonia Osijek decided on an alternative method of reconstructing and presenting their Limes sites in digital architectural models including the surrounding ancient landscape as a pilot project activity. There is a great advantage in this because it allows results to be made visible via the computer screen. The project activities ranged from simple views of a building through 3-D external views such as the granaries (storage buildings) at the Roman fort of Batina – Ad Militare in Croatia, to more complex 3-D videos of whole Limes forts and landscapes such as the late Roman fort of Iatrus – Krivina in Bulgaria or the fort of Dinogetia on the Lower Danube Limes section in Romania. This aids to the definition of sites and monuments and help understanding of its setting.
Bilder-Leiste: Roman fort Batina in Croatia and late Roman forts Iatrus at Krivina, Bulgaria and Dinogetia, Romania

 

WP 5 Project Meeting “Roman Wellness & Spa Tradtions Concept” Vienna, Austria 13 May 2014

The Leadpartner initiated together with ERDF PP3 the Department for Tourism and Regional Development, Károly Róbert College (Zoltán Bujdoso & Veronika Kathi-Major) a coordination meeting on their WP5 activities regarding the introduction of Roman bathing traditions into the modern Wellness and Spa tourism. For the further development of this idea the Leadpartner invited two experts from the European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA) Paul Simons and Chris Pound, a contact established at the Cultural Routes Annual Forum at Innsbruck in November 2013, to participate in the meeting and discuss further synergies and future cooperation possibilities. There are currently two European initiatives, the already established “European Route of Thermal Heritage” and the new proposition of a multinational UNESCO heritage “Great Spas of Europe”. The Roman thermae were centres not only for bathing but socializing, a concept which was relived and continued in the great spa traditions of the 19th century. The discussion focussed on the definition of common interests, knowledge exchange and future project cooperation. KRF presented its current WP5 activities and results in the municipality of Komárom, Hungary and elaborated together with two participants from Slovakia, the Regional Development Agency Komarnó (Livia Bertokova, Anita) future trans-border cooperation initiatives in a project follow-up.

Participation in the 2nd Danube Conference on Culture Novi Sad, Serbia 5-6 May 2014

The Leadpartner (S. Jilek) participated together with IPA PP1 Archaeological Institute of Serbia (Snežana Golubović, Mladen Jovicic) in the Danube Conference on Culture in Novi Sad Master Centre, Serbia. The conference morning was dedicated to the presentation of already running or finalised Danube culture initiative, while the afternoon was dedicated to two workshops on European Capitals of Culture and Danube related events and networks. DLB members attended the workshop on events and networks and presented their Danube Limes Day initiative in all the Danube countries. The next day saw a summary of the two workshop discussions and the Annual Conference of the Working Group Culture and Sciences (ARGE Donauländer), where the prospective World Heritage nomination Danube Limes was a major presentation topic.

 

New national Limes website online in Serbia

In March 2014 IPA PP 1 the National Archaeological Institute and Serbian Academy of Sciences launched a new website on the Danube Limes section, sites and monuments in Serbia, www.danubelimes-serbia.rs. This is to inform the relevant stakeholders in Serbia on national, regional and local level as well as the international community about the activities regarding the prospective UNESCO application in Serbia and give the basic information about the Serbian Limes section, its individual sites and monuments. The website will be constantly enlarged according to the progress of the nomination initiative.

 

Participation in the SUSTCULT final conference Ljubljana, Slovenia 8 April 2014

Following our SEE Capitalization Pole initiative, the Leadpartner (S. Jilek) participated in the final SUSTCULT conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The conference summarized the various approaches, challenges and projects results regarding the management of cultural heritage in 7 sites in Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Albania, the Former Republic of Macedonia and Romania. Especially interesting for the DLB project is that some of those sites already have UNESCO status and the integrated and innovative methods and tools developed inside the SUSTCULT project can be studied and help in building and strengthening individual management principles and boosting local/regional economies on Limes sections and sites. The SUSTCULT final conference also analysed future funding opportunities and looked at future potential.

5th Project Coordination Meeting Sofia, Bulgaria 24-25 March 2014

The 5th project meeting was organised by ERDF PP5 the National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences at the Hotel Arena di Serdica in the centre of Sofia, a rather appropriate conference spot built on top of the monuments of the amphitheatre of the Roman town of Serdica. All project partners participated in the event which concentrated mainly on protection policies and management issues in Bulgaria and the individual Danube Limes countries. ERDF PP 4 Province of Rimini presented a draft version of the Joint Danube Limes Tourism Action Plan and all partners presented and discussed the activities planned for the joint international Danube Limes Day. Several partners provided new results on the progress of their regional planning concepts and pilot projects in Batina/HR, Bratislava/SK, Dinogetia/RO, Iatrus/BG, Komárom/HU, Rimini/IT and Viminacium/SRB, especially on the digital reconstruction of Roman fort architecture and landscape models, which were discussed and challenged by all participants. A Steering Committee meeting was scheduled on Tuesday, 25 March to look into, discuss and decide on the final project activities and remaining budget issues.

 

Local stakeholder presentation Batina, Croatia 5 March 2014

A local stakeholder information event was organised by IPA PP2, the Museum of Slavonia Osijek at the Memorial center of Batina Battle on 5 March 2014. The main aims of this event were the presentation of the DLB project, its activities, outputs and goals and its impact on Draž municipality, where the Batina site is located. Participants which attended the event came from Osijek Baranja County (Senior Advisor for Education), Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, Conservation Departement Osijek (archaeology and art history experts), Municipality Draž (mayor, members of the municipal council), Tourism Board Draž (head of tourism board), Elementary school Draž (teachers), City Museum Sombor, Serbia (curators) and Museum of Slavonia, Osijek (curators). The presentation also included various other aspects such as Limes (Frontiers of Roman Empire) and segments registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List, archaeological excavations and sites along the Limes in Croatia, a Tourist expertise and market research study, archaeological research in Batina including a concept of the development of tourism on the site Ad Militare in Batina and the visualization of the castle Ad Militare in Batina. The discussions with the local stakeholders were followed by a joint visit of the Roman fort site Ad Militare.

 

Project presentation at the “Night of the Museums” Osijek, Croatia 31 January 2014

The Croatian partner, the Museum of Slavonia Osijek (Archaeological Museum) used the Night of the Museums, an action commenced first in 2005 as a Zagreb city project to promote the museums as place for everyone, to present and promote the SEE project “Danube Limes Brand” at its scheduled date 31 January 2014. 9881 visitors attended the event, which demonstrated the importance of preserving the Limes heritage through sustainable development inside a new UNESCO application, the availability of cultural heritage to local inhabitants and the interaction of various institutions and local communities involved in the cooperation to succeed in this aim.

Project Presentation at the Monumenta Salzburg, Austria 16-18 January 2014

Peter Strasser and Elisabetta Meneghini from ERDF PP 1 Danube University Krems represented the Danube Limes Brand project at the international fair “Monumento Salzburg” from 16-18 January 2014. This fair which is organised every second year, acts as an international platform for monument preservation, conservation and restoration. This year´s event, which was dedicated to the preservation of stone, saw 180 exhibiting companies from 8 countries and attracted more than 2.500 visitors. Exhibition stands, practical demonstrations and more than 40 lectures provided an important opportunity for knowledge exchange and networking in the field of cultural heritage protection. The Danube Limes Brand project was presented via personal contacts, banner and various printed PR material on individual Limes sections.

Participation in the TransDanube Conference Vienna, Austria 16 January 2014

Sonja Jilek from the Leadpartner organisation was invited to participate in the one-day information event of the SEE project “TransDanube” organised at the international Vienna Tourism Fair (Ferienmesse) on 16 January 2014. The presentations concentrated on sustainable mobility concepts and information systems for touristic purposes, funding opportunities and included various best practise examples in tourism offers and packages, for soft mobility use. Those examples and the lessons learnt in the individual projects provide excellent expertise and role models how to better develop and manage cultural and natural heritage assets inside the Danube Limes initiative.

Project Coordination Meeting Vienna, Austria 9-10 December 2013

Day 1 of the partner meeting focussed on two main issues, most relevant for WP 3 nomination documents, WP 4 branding process & WP 5 development of regional Limes presentation concepts: 1) stakeholder involvement and 2) monument protection policies, strategies and mechanism in all the Danube countries involved in the project. The Lead partner decided on the format of individual working group discussions with key-lectures as introduction to the themes and a common presentation and discussion session at the end to equally inform all PP representatives about the outcomes of the discussions. The key lectures for the stakeholder involvement on local level were the presentation of the “Topothek” concept – digital local archives of historic photos and other documents on individual communities – by Alexander Schatek from the World Heritage Site Semmering Railway and the SEE TransDanube project by Klara Brandl, Evironment Agency Austria on soft mobility, sustainable transport and tourism along the Danube. The following discussion resulted in the decision to join forces to organise a common Danube Limes Day in the first week of July 2014 (1-6.07.2014) with individual activities organise by the PPs. The key lectures for the monument policies topic were presentations on the present situation in Hungary by Levente Nagy from Gyula Forster Heritage Centre and Dana Mihai, National Institute for Heritage for Romania. The following knowledge exchange on monument preservation strategies in all PP countries provides an excellent base for a joint transnational report on Danube Limes monument protection regulations and future strategies. The second meeting day, including a Steering Group Meeting at the beginning focussing on the potential risk of budget´s decommitment on project level, was dedicated to the monitoring of the project activities and finances of all WPs and PPs involved and resulted in a detailed work- and actionplan including financial assumptions till the end of the project in September 2014.

 

DLB Coordination Meeting Vienna 9-10-12-2013 agenda

 

International Open Space Conference “Skills, Competences, Inclusion”. Developing Innovative Human Capital Policies and Projects in the Danube Region Vienna, Austria 5-6 December 2013

The meeting, which was organised by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection in the frame of the EUSDR Priority Area 9 People and Skills, focused on education and training issues, labour market and marginalised communities. Using the open space format the agenda was set up on the spot by all participants during the morning session. The communication manager of the Lead partner attended all three session organised on 1) Creativity and Entrepreneurship in the Danube area 2) Youth Platform, formal and non-formal education 3) SONDAR Soil protection. The outcomes of the meetings for the DLB project were an update on the cooperation with the ARGE Donauländer working group involved in Sustainable Network in the Danube Area Regions (SONDAR) and the European Land and Soil Alliance (ELSA) on a European level, and a new cooperation with the DunaVision project, a civil society initiative focussing on visioning and creating the future society through various activities though out the year in all Danube countries. This approach, which correlates with the aims of the DLB project is based on a cross-generational, cross-sector and cross-cultural procedure. The conference was also used to set up new personal contacts with tourism SME´s in Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania, which will be included in the future activities on the upcoming project events in the Lower Danube area.

EUSDR PA9 International Open Space Conference Programme

 

Danube Limes Branding working group meeting Rimini, Italy 25-26 November 2013

Representatives of the Lead partner, Vienna University (Sonja Jilek) and the Serbian partner, Archaeological Institute, Serbian Academy of Science (Emilija Nikolic) attended a working group meeting organised by Enzo Finocchiaro and Michela Magnani of the Province of Rimini with external experts from the School for Advanced Studies in Tourism, University of Bologna, Rimini Campus (Alessia Marriotti, Francesco Barbini) for a brainstorming process setting up the priorities for the DLB WP 4 output, the needed preparatory activities from the PPs and the idea to build a shared working methodology for developing the DLB Action Plan. Day 1 focussed on the definition of the DLB back ground philosophy, the structure of the DLB Action Plan and the timing of priority plans, objectives and actions with respect to the PPs pilot actions. The discussion was based on already existing management plans on Serial UNESCO WHS Tourism, Council of Europe Cultural Routes and prolonging strategies along the Danube by integrating actions and goals with the European scale Limes Tourism Connection Action Plan, prepared in the frame a DG Enterprise project 2012-2013. The 2nd day was dedicated to the presentation and discussion of the partner´s pilot action, the Rimini Roman Route including Maurizio Biordi, the director of the Rimini museum into the session. All participants agreed to suggest an common Danube Limes Day in all partner countries in July 2014 to be decided and planned during the next project meeting in Vienna on 9-10 December 2013 by all PPs. The Rimini Heritage Festival, scheduled for 20-22 June 2014 will provide a first promotion opportunity to this Limes Day and should demonstrate the connection between Roman Rimini and the development of the Roman frontier along the Danube.

Danube Limes Branding working group meeting Rimini, Italy 25-26 November 2013 Agenda

Council of Europe Cultural Routes Annual Advisory Forum Innsbruck, Austria 21-22 November 2013

This year´s Annual Forum, hosted by Austria holding the present 6-month chairmanship of the Council of Europe from November 2013 to May 2014, focussed on the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes (EPA) signed in December 2010. The conference with two days of presentations, debates and discussions, which was attended by Sonja Jilek, communication manager of the Lead partner and Emilija Nikolic, a representative of the Serbian partner, was used to exchange knowledge about existing and prospective new Cultural Routes and their management and to get informed about the next steps on the theme “Council of Europe Cultural Routes 2014-2024: Quo Vadis? The conference was an excellent opportunity to foster cooperation between our multinational Limes heritage along the Danube with other routes, especially the inscribed Route of the Phoenicians, active in the Mediterranean and to set up a new communication with the European Historic Thermal and Spa Towns Association, which correspondence nicely with our initiative on Roman wellness and spa traditions. Both route organisers agreed on more joint activities with the Danube Limes Brand project during the next months.

Council of Europe Innsbruck Forum programme

2nd Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region Bukarest, Romania 28-30 October 2013

Representative of the leadpartner and the Romanian project partner, the National Institute for Heritage, attended the 2nd Annual EUSDR Forum, which focussed on 1. growth, job and global impact, 2. a balance of economy and ecology and 3. on future financing possibilities. On the second day, when parallel thematic workshops highlighted the future challenges and already achieved results, Sonja Jilek and Ciprian Sandu joined workshop 4 on an effective, attractive and safe Danube Region, where new initiatives for cultural routes were presented. The Danube Limes Brand project was invited to present its aims, goals, common activities and intermediate results to the participants of the 6th Steering Committee Meeting of the EUSDR Priority 3 meeting on “Culture and Tourism” on 30 October in the House of the Danube. This common initiative of connecting the Roman frontier sections of all 10 countries along the Danube was well received and individual Steering Committee members offered further support on international as well as on national level.

Agenda of the 2nd Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region Bukarest, Romania 28-30 October 2013

Participation in the SUSTCULT project workshop Veszprém, Hungary 30 October 2013

According to our SEE Capitalization Pole initiative colleagues from our Hungarian partner team, the Károly Róbert College Gyöngyös, were invited and participated in the SUSTCULT project workshop. The SUSTCULT project aims are to explore and sustain the hiden and tangible cultural heritage. The workshop focussed on the potential of cultural heritage as a driver for job creation and income generation. Part I delt with best practices, presented by partners and other EU projects in which cultural heritage is the main topic of the development processes. The Danube Limes Brand project, which was presented by Zoltán Bujdoso, raised a lot of interest by SUSTCULT partners. A new contact link was established with the Forster Gyula Center of Hungary and their representatives were invited to take part in the next Danube Limes Brand workshop in Vienna 9 December 2013. Veronika Major-Kathi and Zoltán Bujdoso also participated In Part II, which was organized through the well-known “focus group” approach, in which every participant was invited to share and discuss experiences of the workshop topics in small groups.

SUSTCULT Workshop Veszprem 30-10-2013 Agenda

National Limes information event and 1st working group meeting Viminacium, Serbia 24 October 2013

The Serbian Danube Limes Brand project partner, the Archaeological Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences organised a 1st national Limes information event and invited various national, regional and local stakeholders to the Research Centre at Viminacium. Representatives of the National Center for Heritage, of the Serbian UNESCO Commission, of various regional institutions, museums and communities attended the morning session, which focussed on the existing and planned World Heritage nominations in Serbia, an overall presentation on the “Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site” given by the project´s leadpartner and on the individual Serbian Limes section and sites by the Serbian project partners. In the afternoon the 1st national Limes working group meeting took place, where a close cooperation between the National Center for Heritage, the Archaeological Institute and regional and local heritage institutions was agreed on. A secnond meeting was already scheduled for 4 November 2013 in Belgrade.

National Limes information event and 1st working group meeting Viminacium, Serbia 24 October 2013 – Agenda

4th Annual Hadrian´s Wall World Heritage Conference Hexham, United Kingdom 18 October 2013

Invited by Hadrian´s Wall Trust, the managing body for Hadrian´s Wall World Heritage Site, the meeting brought together experts on the UK and Germany´s already existing WH sites and various local and regional stakeholders from Hadrian´s Wall area. The conference contributed to the exchange on British and German WH management principles and best practice examples on cultural heritage preservation, education activities and stakeholder involvement. The new Danube Limes Brand initiative, the individual Limes sections and common aspirations and objectives were presented, discussed and further elaborated. The results of this exchange of management knowledge and stakeholder involvement are valuable not only for the development of the prospective Danube Limes World Heritage applications by Danube Limes Brand partners but can also be used by various regional activities and organisations on cultural heritage.

Agenda of the 4th Annual Hadrian´s Wall World Heritage Conference Hexham, United Kingdom 18 October 2013

1st Danube Limes Strategy Conference Bratislava 16-18 September 2013

The 1st Danube Limes Strategy Conference, organised in in Bratislava, Slovakia from 16-18 September 2013 presented the interim project results and illustrated the Danube Limes network. The Conference included a visit to the Archaeological Park Carnuntum, Austria on Monday 16 September organised by the ARGE Donauländer and a river cruise to Komárom, Hungary on the 3rd conference day.

1st Danube Limes Strategy Conference – Report and slidesow

1st Danube Limes Strategy Conference – Programme
1st Danube Limes Strategy Conference – Hotel reservation form

Summer Academy 2013 Krems, Austria

From 26 to 30 August 2013 the Summer University Renovation and Revitalisation 2013, organised by the Center for Architectural Heritage and Infrastructure at the Danube University of Krems, will be open for all project partners, encouraging and supporting especially the participation of younger scholars in the project. The Summer University will focus on the one hand on the model-like development of the sites along the Danube Limes, on the other hand on the elaboration of an overall strategy for the promotion of the Danube Limes as brand name and of its touristic development. Archaeologists, conservators, tourism-experts, economists, legal experts, architects and engineers from the countries along the Danube will participate in the Summer University and will cooperate on interdisciplinary issues.
Invitation and preliminary programme

 

Slideshow Summer Academy Krems, August 2013

Exhibition on „The Everyday Life of a Roman Legionary“, National Museum of Archaeology Sofia, Bulgaria

The National Institute of Archaeology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the National Museum of History, and the Museums of Razgrad, Svishtov and Ruse present an exhibition revealing the everyday life of a Roman legionary in the military zone of the Limes section in Bulgaria to a wider public. The exhibition in the National Museum of Archaeology in Sofia, 1 Atanas Burov Square, which is open from July till October 2013, displays beside a general overview of the Limes section a variety of artifacts discovered in the course of excavations in the most significant sites on the territory of the once Roman province of Moesia. One of the most remarkable exhibits is the weaponry found in the region of Razgrad, the ancient Abritus,  where the battle between the Roman army and the Goths in 251 took place, when Emperor Trajan Decius and his elder son Herennius Etruscus met their death.

New cooperation with  „Phoenicians´ Route“ installed

Our Italian partner, the province of Rimini provided a link to the major cultural heritage „Route of the Phoenicians“ and its director Mr. Antonio Barone. This theme is closely related to the Roman heritage, providing a glimpse on the earlier phases of the Roman Empire, and offers a chance to enlarge our network further into the Mediterranean. The central theme of the route is the Phénico-punique civilisation in the Mediterran with an intercultural network in many countries across the Mediterranean Sea. Its Masterplan includes research, education and heritage pedagogy, communication, marketing and tourism. Cooperation activities between the Danube Limes Brand project and the Phoenicians´ Route will relate to joint promotion activities and the discussion of possible new projects ideas.
Link to www.phoeniciansroute.eu

 3rd Project meeting Krems, Austria 8-9 July 2013

The Center for Architectural Heritage and Infrastructure at the Danube University Krems organised the 3rd project meeting with the main focus on the discussion of the Danube Limes Brand Vision. The programme was supplemented by an excursion to the Roman watchtower of Bacharnsdorf and the Roman fort of Mautern in the UNESCO World Heritage Site „Wachau“. All participants were introduced to the partner´s pilot project area: the re-use of the medieval tower of Hollenburg, successor of the Roman watchtower, in relation to the Austrian Danube Limes World Heritage nomination.

Danube Limes Brand Project becomes pole leader of the SEE Capitalization Pole 13. Cultural Resources, Bukarest 19 June 2013

The Danube Limes Brand project opted for and was selected to be pole leader of the SEE Capitalization initiative in Pole 13. Cultural Resources. The various projects and their representatives first met at the SEE Annual Conference at Bukarest, Romania on 19 June 2013 during an afternoon  workshop, where a general discussion about common interests and synergies between participants brought first results for a future roadmap. Projects represented in Bukarest  were: Danube Limes Brand, CHERPLAN, CLEAR, CMC, INTOURACT, PPP4BROADBEND, SAGITTARIUS, SUSTCULT and SY CULTour.

Project presentation at the XVIII Roman Military Equipment Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, 10-14 June 2013

The Roman Military Equipment Conference, which took place at the National Museum in Copenhagen from 10 to 14 June 2013. After the Limes Congress this conference is the second most important truely international event about Roman frontiers and army, organised every 2-3 years. The participation in the meeting provided an excellent opportunity to present our Danube Limes Brand project to historians, archaeologists, Roman museum staff, related professionals and amateur re-enactment groups involved in the Limes event scene. There were more 200 participants present, with a slightly focus on Western Europe and Scandinavia. Project partners represented by the Leadpartner and the project team from Croatia gained new insights in best practice models how to preserve and protect more complex Roman contexts (ships, ritual deposits, bog finds) and to experience how to present Roman finds in central and thematic museums. We visited the Kopenhagen National Museum and the Moersgaard Museum, which have large Roman collections presented in excellent, state-of-the-art virtual and 3D exhibitions. It was also a great opportunity for personal meetings with organisers of the another prospective multinational UNESCO World Heritage project „Viking Heritage“, which is currently prepared by several countries in Scandinavia, to discuss common aims , challenges and further cooperation in nomination and management issues.

New cooperation with the „International Association of the Blue Shield“ discussed

During the Forum Building Sciences 2013 organised by our colleagues and partners from the Danube University in Krems on 8 May 2013 a closer relationship with the International Association of the Blue Shield and its president Mr. Karl Habsburg-Lothringen was agreed on.

Spectacular Opening of the reconstructed amphitheatre in Viminacium, Serbia

On May 18 2013 the new exhibition “Constantine and the Edict of Milan in AD 313 – the Birth of Christianity in the Roman Provinces in Serbia” was opened by our Serbian partners during a reception at the Archaeological Park and Research Center Viminacium by the President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikoli?. The event was attended by several ministers from the Serbian government, members of the diplomatic corps including Prince Alexander Kara?or?evi? and Princess Catherine and  ambassadors of other Danube countries and Italy. The event was celebrated by an opera performance of Giuseppe Verdi´s AIDA in the impressive, well preserved and partly reconstructed Roman amphitheatre in front of 2200 spectators.

Study visit – Iron Gate Limes Sites, 21 April 2013

Starting from the Archaeological Park and Research Center in Viminacium the project partners explored the Iron Gate Gorge and its rich archaeological landscape, although some important Limes sites are not visible any more due to the flooding of the Djerdap region and can only be studied by archive material. The Serbian team colleagues guided and introduced us to the most important Limes fort sites of Diana and Pontes and the remains of Traian´s famous stone bridge, close to Kladovo. The study visit provided an ideal occasion to talk about and exchange individual knowledge how to secure the future of Limes key-sites including physical interventions, effective reconsolidation including further risk prevention and sustainable tourism and visitor management.

2nd project meeting Viminacium/Serbia 19-21 April 2013

The 2nd Danube Limes Brand project meeting, which was held at the Viminacium Research Center near Kostolac organised by the Serbian partner, the Archaeological Institute, focussed on the World Heritage nomination process in the individual Danube countries. The excursion on 21 April gave impressive insights on the Serbian Limes sites in the Iron Gate area.

Bratislava Group Meeting Belgrade/Serbia 18 April 2013

Several project partners participated in the 11th Bratislava Group Meeting in Belgrade on 18th April 2013, organised by the Archaeological Institute, Serbian Academy of Scienes. The Bratislava Group was founded in 2003 as an advisory body by archaeologists and monument preservation  managers to support future Limes World Heritage nomination candidates. In Belgrade particpants from 12 European countries gathered to discuss current issues and challenges of the „Frontiers oft he Roman Empire World Heritage Site“ as well as getting aquainted with the aims and goals of the Danube Limes Brand project and other Danube area tourism initiatives.

Danube Limes Brand Project website online

In January 2013 the Danube Limes Brand project website www.danubelimesbrand.org went online presenting an overview on the projects aims, objectives and expected outputs and results including more detailed information on the partnership and individual workpackages. The News/Event menu informs about upcoming project meetings and intermediate project results.  The website will intruduce a wider public to various iconic Limes sites in all Danube countries involved from Austria to the Black Sea coast.

Danube Limes Brand Kick-off meeting Vienna, Austria 12-13 October 2012

The kick-off meeting brought together 25 representatives of all project partners to get to know each other and to present and discuss the main project objectives, planned activities and various administrative and communicatiion issues. A  wider audience of  23 potential stakeholders and target groups was invited to follow the individual presentation of the Danube Limes frontier sections and discuss various implications of the project objectives and goals. As a parallel example a representative of the Rhine Limes World Heritage initiative presented the current state of preparatory work in Germany and the Netherlands.  A closer collaboration with the Danube Limes partners were agreed on. Activities in the core groups on UNESCO nomination dossiers and Danube Limes Branding proceeded with the identification of and contact with the main stakeholders, the start of the archaeological assessment on the individual Limes sections and Limes market surveys.

The Danube Limes – a flagship project of the European Strategy of the Danube Region (EUSDR)

Transnational project activities will foster a network of Limes sites and institutions to create a wide body of study, analysis and dissemination of the cultural and economic values of this distinctive heritage, as well as a common place for sharing a high quality knowledge and experience, with the added value of exchanging expertise and different approaches and stimulating cooperation within the Danube countries. Similar sites vary considerably in impact. Analysis of the regional impacts will be followed by the definition of the desired improvements to find the best partners, initiate best actions and develop conceptual strategies for individual Limes destinations. This will prepare the ground to make the historic environment more intellectually accessible and enjoyable, to visit for both tourists and local residents.

XXII International Limes Congress, Ruse/Bulgaria, 6-11 September 2012

The World´s largest congress on Roman Frontiers Studies, organised every third year in another Limes country brought together 300 experts from 30 countries and 5 continents to discuss the most recent archaeological research results, management principles and presentation issues along the Roman frontiers in Europe, the Near East and North Africa. The Danube Limes Brand project was presented to all participants in the plenary and poster sessions and in personal contacts with various stakeholders.

 

Various events serving the dissemination of project information and results, stakeholder contact and networking will be held throughout the project period and program area.
Find her the next upcoming events, all (upcoming and previous) events are listed here:
Project Meetings
Public Events