Europe's Cultural Routes

The first cultural routes were introduced by the Council of Europe in 1987. They came as a reminder that modern Europe is not just a matter of economics. To encourage all Europeans to follow in the footsteps of Mozart, the baroque masters, the merchants of the Vikings, and the Slavs down to the Balkans is one way to make people realize that Europe is also a genuine blend of common values.

Since 1987 the first cultural routes have helped people to realize the real value of sharing. This allows us to see ourselves as Italian, Danish, Spanish, Greek, Bulgarian, and European. The Council of Europe started with ten cultural routes, which run north-south, or east-west and mark the stages in our continent`s development. Experts from all over Europe - historians, musicologists, archeologists, architects and many others - helped to plan the routes and bring together different people.

The routes now have to play an even bigger part in cultural cooperation and in building a new solidarity between Europeans. They have become a journey of discovery - a chance to meet new people and to see and do new things. The past must help us to plan for the future and to ensure that human rights, democracy, tolerance remain the key values of the routes.

In a Europe where everyone has something to give and something to get, our job is to bring the right people together, so that the routes can continue to be and we all respect each other.

Finding things that people have in common is important, but so is respecting the things that make them different. Europe`s cultural routes cross over and link the local and the universal. They keep people in touch and encourage them to work together for a better common future.