Contact person(s): Anikó Neuvirthné Bilics - neuvirthne.aniko@vasmegye.hu

Program website:

The border sections drawn after the world wars, the Iron Curtain, cut off the Slovenian-Hungarian border region for decades, which had previously been a unified geographical and ethnographic region. The former relations died down, and the villages began to decline both socially and economically. The characteristics of the border region offer a good opportunity for cycling tourism, which can be a breakout point in the rural area. Several developments have already served this purpose, but a connected and marked network of routes covering the entire border region and a complex cycle-friendly service have not yet been established.

The project aims to fill this gap, the aim is to include in the system local, regional cycling routes connecting to the EuroVelo 13 route as the main north-south axis, to create a bicycle-friendly services and additional offers, to create a continuous cross-border cycling destination, and the integration of the Slovenian-Hungarian border region into the EuroVelo international system. For the latter an important basis is the establishment of the bicycle border connection completed in this project and handed over on Mount Tenke.

At the start of the project, VVÖH prepared a publication for bicycle-friendly service providers, which prepares them for quality hospitality throughout 25 pages. At the same time, it prepared cycling offers for visitors, that was based on 2 local and 2 cross-border expert workshops. For the visitors, in the forest area between the communities of Szalafő and Hodoš, Borderstonepark was created, a rest area for cyclists, which was built in the theme of the Iron Curtain. An E-bike charger was installed in Apátistvánfalva, and the Határkőpark and the Határőr Emlékhely in Apátistvánfalva was marked.

In order to promote the attractions of the border region, VVÖH set up a stamping system, to which more than 40 service providers joined. 10 stamps must be collected when visiting the providers covering the entire border region. This activity was completed by two two-day cycling festivals organized in the summer and autumn of 2019. In total 319 cyclist joined to the festival.

Further information about the project: http://www.icc.zala.hu/

Project partnership:

• Zala County Government - HU (lead partner)
• Scientific Research Centre Bistra Ptuj - SI
• Institute for Culture, Tourism and Sport Murska Sobota - SI
• West Pannon Regional and Economic Development Public Nonprofit Ltd - HU
• Municipality of Lendava - SI
• National Infrastructure Developing Private Company Limited - HU
• Vas County Government Office - HU

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