1 December 2022 - Exchange of experience at Satu Mare within the "Thematic route of castles" project

Between November 23-25, an exchange of experience organized within the project "SMAR.T.OURISM - THEMATIC ROUTE OF CASTLES" took place in Satu Mare. The exchange of experience was attended by 16 participants from Ukraine representing institutions with duties in the field of culture, promotion of cultural heritage, tourism agencies.

On the first and third days of the exchange of experience, visits were made to the castles included in the thematic route, namely Károlyi Castle in Carei, Drágffy-Károlyi Castle in Ardud, Vécsey Castle in Livada, Lónyay Castle in Medieșu Aurit. On the second day of the experience exchange, a forum was organized for the promotion of cross-border tourism and cultural heritage. The forum program included the presentation of the SMAR.T.OURISM project, the presentation of other projects from Satu Mare County and the Zakarpattya region regarding the promotion of tourism and cultural and natural heritage, discussions on the possibilities of cooperation in the field in the future programming period, as well as problems and solutions in the promotion of cultural heritage and challenges regarding the development of integrated cross-border tourist packages.

The main aim of the project ”SMAR.T.OURISM–THE THEMATIC ROUTE OF CASTLES” is to raise the cross-border touristic potential of the border areas of Satu Mare and Zakarpattya by developing a cross-border thematic route of castles that promotes culture and historical heritage. The main activities of the projects are: creation of a thematic route of castles by developing 10 AR scripts for castles from the two regions, procurement of 2 playgrounds and 4 info kiosks, promotion of the thematic route through the elaboration and distribution of thematic maps and brochures, promotional movies, and creation of a social media page of the route, organization of two exchanges of experiences for organizations active in the field of culture and tourism, construction of an entrance arch at Nevitskiy Castle.

The project SMAR.T.OURISM has a total duration of 24 months, starting with June 1, 2021 and is financed by the European Union through the Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine ENI CBC Programme 2014-2020, thematic objective 3. TO – Promotion of local culture and preservation of historical heritage, priority 3.1 Promotion of local culture and history through tourist functions.  The Satu Mare County Intercommunity Development Association is the lead beneficiary of the project, and the two partner organizations from Ukraine are: Communal Enterprise “Agency of Regional Development and Cross-Border Cooperation “Transcarpathia” of Zakarpattya Oblast Council”, and Onokivska Village Council.

The project has a total value of 380.389,80 EUR out of which 336.474,42 EUR represents financing from the European Union through ENI CBC Programme 2014-2020. The Satu Mare County Intercommunity Development Association has a budget of EUR 179,489.40, of which EUR 161,540.46 represents funding from the European Union through the ENI 2014-2020 cross-border cooperation program, EUR 8,974.47 represents national co-financing from the state budget and EUR 8,974.47 own co-financing.