Castle to Castle
Start date: Apr 20, 2011,
End date: Apr 19, 2014
PROJECT
FINISHED
To establish an internationally recognizable Castle to Castle cultural route between Finnish and Russian castles and a related network of experts and entrepreneurs. Culture tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism business and a future mega trend of the industry. Cultural tourism resorts are constantly developing into more attractive, memorable and profitable destinations. A unique network of castles and fortresses exists in Southeast Finland and the Leningrad Oblast, and it is closely linked to the history of Finland and Russia. It is significant at an international level as the building of these castles and fortresses can be examined from the end of prehistorical times to the beginning of the 19th century. The castles have not yet been marketed as a network for tourists, although several castle networks already exist in other parts of Europe. The objective of the Castle to Castle project is to establish an internationally recognizable cultural route and network comprised of Finnish and Russian castles, as well as enterprises utilizing the castle theme. Partners can offer high quality and memorable themed products and services, including diverse events related to the theme, for sale. An electronic semantic database for experts and entrepreneurs, containing material related to the history and intangible heritage of the castles, will be built during the project. The database will be utilised in order to develop new products and services and to interpret existing services. A book containing stories about the castles and a guidebook for tourists introducing the cultural route will be published. Achievements: The overall objective of the Castle to Castle project was to promote the conservation of common heritage and regional identity and to strengthen practical cooperation between cultural actors by developing culture tourism in Finnish and Russian castles and a related network of experts and entrepreneurs. A total of five castles and fortresses in southeastern Finland and six in the Leningrad region in Russia joined the project and eventually established the Castle to Castle cultural route network. Inclusive presentations of castles and fortresses including those that joined the project are available at the developed web-service www.fortforum.org. Further marketing of the castle network activities will be supported by the output of the project: public information desks at five castles, a selection of recognised brands including events like Annual Castle Day, posters, books etc. and a university training programme for museum experts and entrepreneurs called Castle to Castle Heritage Interpretation and 39 trained experts that completed this programme. Information about the project’s activities and its products (marketing plan and productisation guide) are available at www.uef.fi.
Get Access to the 1st Network for European Cooperation
Log In