The European cultural routes
The FFECR gathers 11 European cultural routes ; 6 of them were awarded by the Council of Europe.
Most of them have their seat in France (The Cluniac Sites, Saint Martin of Tours, Saint Michel, Route of Migrations, Ways of Saint James, Franks and Visigoths, Tironensian Order, Stevenson…).
The other routes, having their seat in another country, deleguated to French associations their capacity to engage in actions on the French territory.
The FFECR is composed of all these representations.
What is a cultural route member of the FFECR ?
- As a member of the FFECR, a cultural route is structured around a European themethat the public can discover through a physical path.Based on a way through sites and spaces, it presents tangible or intangible heritage illustrating humanistic values such as respect, tolerance, justice and solidarity as part of the European identity.
- It is a framework of implementation of an innovative, transversal and interdisciplinary projectthat guarantees the best access to heritage – natural and cultural, tangible and intangible.
- It fosters theaccess to knowledge – self-knowledge as well as knowledge of others – in order to achieve peace through a better mutual understanding.
- As a non-profit and a global project, it relies on a formal or informal network gathering partners at regional or international levels whose common objective is to develop long term projects for the future generations.
The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe
The Cultural Routes programme was launched by the Council of Europe in 1987. Its objective was to demonstrate, by means of a journey through space and time, how the heritage of the different countries and cultures of Europe contributes to a shared cultural heritage.
The Cultural Routes put into practice the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe: human rights, cultural democracy, cultural diversity and identity, dialogue, mutual exchange and enrichment across boundaries and centuries.
The Cultural Routes represent a rich touristic offer, varying in terms of historical periods as well as of territories, courses, types of heritage whether religious, industrial, natural, linguistic or related to migrations…
Nowadays, 29 Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe are centered around various themes representing the European values.