More than revealing history: archaeology, tourism, and urban development

August 21, 2022August 21, 2022Leave a comment

Archaeological excavations do not necessarily adhere to the glamorous nimbus, whether they are based on epochs (e.g. Roman times or the Middle Ages), regions (e.g. Middle East), or themes (such as industrial archaeology). Most spectacular finds sometimes reach wider public attention, and even then they usually require popular scientific preparation and interpretation in order to be understood in their historical relevance.

However, the European project ARCHEODANUBE proves that archaeology can play a decisive role when it comes to the interaction between different fields and topics: Here archaeology, cultural tourism, and urban development are brought together in examples from nine European cities and regions. Numerous instruments have been created to support the establishment and management of archaeological parks.

Archaeology is an increasingly important topic in integrated urban development and cultural tourism, but so far, especially in large cities, where “the city under the city” is becoming more and more interested in citizens as well as visitors. Archaeological relics become part of reconstruction and new construction measures and experience a staging as a “window into the past”. In public spaces, new paths, archaeological paths, special plastered pavements, and information boards point to the archaeological heritage.

On the basis of the archaeological inventory, inner cities can thus be developed in a planning and design sense and can be preserved in terms of location and cityscapes. An integrated approach and joint action involving citizens’ interests are crucial. The initial question in ARCHEODANUBE was how archaeological sites in the inner-city area of small to medium-sized cities can be included in urban development and tourism in such a way that they can become a value-added factor. The value added did not only relate to economic factors, but should also take into account cultural, social, future planning, and education aspects and involve citizenship. For this purpose, various instruments have been developed that build on each other, complement each other meaningfully and keep an eye on implementation aspects.

Available are now

a concept for initiating and implementing participatory processes and appropriation by the citizenry (building of civic interest groups with representatives of the citizenship of culture, education, various service providers from tourism such as local tourism agencies, accommodation providers, service providers, companies, and media)
a strategy paper that captures and evaluates good examples
a compendium of 17 good examples from Europe, in which archaeological sites, tourism, and urban development are exemplary and that social, cultural and economic effects are not only convincing but can (mostly) also be quantified;
a Guide to Creating Local Plans for Archaeological Parks
a manual for the implementation;
a digital assessment tool called “Yesterday-today-tomorrow” which facilitates the assessment of the possibilities of archaeological parks for tourism and urban development
ArcheoTales, an app for the attractive and interactive development of archaeological parks and sites.

For further reading

ARCHEODANUBE – Archaeological Park in urban areas as a tool for Local Sustainable Development: https://www.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/archeodanube

The project’s homepage, supported by the European Interreg Danube Programme, offers free access and download options for all mentioned instruments as well as other materials.

Information about ARCHEODANUBE in German can be found on the website of the only German partner: https://kultur-und-arbeit.de/leistungen-und-projekte/kulturerbe/archeodanube-2020-2022/. The Association “Culture and Work” contributed to the project’s aspects in cultural tourism and in processes of civic participation.

The ArcheoTales are available for download for Apple and Android devices: In the Apple AppStore, the app can be found here: https://apps.apple.com/at/app/archeotales/id1631560431; in the Google PlayStore here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.archeodanube.archeotales&gl=AT There is also a video via the app: https://youtu.be/ftvvHkV5XCk

Federal Institute for Building, Urban and Spatial Research on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development. 2014. Urban archaeology and urban development in World Heritage. https://www.bbsr.bund.de/BBSR/DE/veroeffentlichungen/ministerien/bmvbs/sonderveroeffentlichungen/2013/Stadtarchaeologie.html

The publication documents contributions from a conference of the same name of the investment programme National UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which took place in Lübeck in 2012. Although it refers mainly to metropolitan conditions, some of the described requirements and solutions can also be transferred to small cities that were the target group of the ARCHEODANUBE project.

(Authoress: Karin Drda-Kühn)

Picture credit: Pixabay CC

Cultural Tourism: Bridge between Christianity and Islam

January 1, 2020Leave a comment

At first glance, the cover picture of this article seems to show a common scene from cultural tourism: Visitors are looking at the interior of a church. It could indeed be such a scene, since in the last Flash Eurobarometer survey on “Europeans’ preferences towards tourism”, just over a quarter (26%) of those questioned cited culture with a clear link to visiting religious sites as a reason for going on holiday[1]. But it is not quite so. This image has a slightly different history:

It was taken on a foggy and rainy evening at the end of November 2019 in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. Christmas decorations were already glittering in the shops, but the Christmas market on the central Prešernov trg was not yet open, and the giant Christmas fir had not yet lit up. Brightly lit, however, was the entrance to the Church of the Annunciation of the Franciscan monastery, whose striking 19th-century façade faces the square.

From the church there was music of the evening mass, and the atmosphere had a Christmassy, solemn feel, carried outside by the approaching darkness and the beginning silence of the square. This may have prompted a group of four young people to climb the steps to the church portal and enter. Obviously they were visitors to the city, for they had strolled along the banks of the Ljubljanica River and had previously admired the view of the illuminated castle at length.

The three young women of the group were veiled with the Hidschāb, also their partly floor-length clothes allowed the conclusion that they were Muslim women. They stood for a long time behind the last bench of the church room, looked at the frescoes extensively and listened without doubt concentrated to the church music. They respected the evening mass and refrained from walking around inside the church – by no means a matter of course in churches at the time of services and masses, one may now believe common signs on church portals. When they turned to walk, one could see from their faces and smiles that they had obviously enjoyed the music and artistic design of the church interior.

Why is this incident found in a cultural tourism blog? Because it shows how cultural experiences can overcome religious boundaries and allow experiences that bring people together. The church space allowed the visitors a brief participation in a culture that was almost certainly not their own. It is very likely that a positive memory of an atmosphere of warm light, Christian church music and colourful frescoes will stick – as a peace-making souvenir that lasts.

[1] “Preferences of Europeans towards tourism”, Flash Eurobarometer 432, published March 2016 (based on data from 2015)

Learning about successful networking in Germany: The last meeting of the EUROPETOUR partnership

August 20, 2018August 31, 20181 Comment

Our final EUROPETOUR meeting took place in the German region of the Tauber valley, hosted by our coordinating organisation Kultur und Arbeit e.V. in cooperation with Bronnbach Monastery and the International Convention Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation IZKK.