Project title: Exploring the Roman Legacy: Creation of a theme region and cultural route along the Roman Danube Limes to empower the socio-economic development of shared European heritage

Project acronym: ROMAN LEGACY

Project duration:  1. 4. 2025 – 31. 3. 2028 

Total project value: 2.948.845,94 EUR

Financing: European Regional Development Fund

Partners:               

1. University for Continuing Education Krems – lead partner
2. Universalmuseum Joanneum – project partner
3. Roman City Carnuntum/ Archaeological Park Carnuntum – project partner
4. ASSOCIATION OF DANUBE RIVER MUNICIPALITIES “DANUBE” – project partner
5. Bulgarian Association for Transfer of Technology and Innovation – project partner
6. Belene Municipality – project partner
7. Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno – project partner
8. Bavarian State Conservation Office – project partner
9. Provincial Secretariat for Regional Development, Interregional Cooperation and Local Self-Government – project partner
10. Archaeological Museum in Zagreb – project partner
11. Association of Cultural Heritage Managers – project partner
12. West Pannon Regional and Economic Development Public Nonprofit Ltd. – project partner
13. Municipality of Žabljak – project partner
14. Paten Studio LLC – project partner
15. National Museum for the History of Transylvania – project partner
16. "Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urban Planning – project partner
17. National Institute for Research and Development in Tourism – project partner
18. Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad – project partner
19. Scientific Research Centre Bistra Ptuj – project partner

Project objective:

The overall objective of the project is to create a Cultural Route along the Roman Danube embedded in a wider Theme Region and to submit it for certification as official Cultural Route of the Council of Europe to the EPA/EICR. This implies a stronger transnational cooperation and coordination in the presentation and promotion (joint branding, slow culture tourism) of the Roman heritage in the Danube region, in particular the Roman Danube Limes as serial transnational UNESCO World Heritage.

The project focuses on the conservation and promotion of the Roman Viennese Limes, which connects several European countries and represents a common cultural heritage and aims to create and certify the Danube Cultural Route, which will tell the story of the life of people in this area 2000 years ago. By bringing together different projects and stakeholders, a transnational platform for cooperation will be established and innovative ways of presenting Rome's key sites will be developed, including the use of virtual and augmented reality.

Activities in the project:

• Assessing the current national and transnational landscape of research, marketing, and heritage protection related to Roman heritage, identify key national stakeholders, establish a transnational network of experts, and draft a strategy paper to facilitate cooperation and exchange among partners in the Danube Region.
• Develop a Cultural Route along the Roman Danube Limes by capitalizing on forerunner projects, drafting a handbook on Roman heritage, organizing a transnational networking meeting in Novi Sad, creating joint branding and presentation strategies, and involving key stakeholders to implement a cohesive visual identity across the Danube Region.
• Establishing effective project communication and dissemination from the outset, which includes fulfilling communication requirements, creating a project communication plan, organizing a public kick-off event in Carnutnum, developing a branding package, compiling promotional materials, prioritizing sustainable materials for office supplies, and setting up social media channels and a project website for ongoing updates.