Alzbetin, West Bohemia, July 28 (CTK) – EU subsidies will finance new tourist paths and a Czech-German web portal in the Sumava mountains, situated in west and south Bohemia, and the neighbouring Bavarian Forest on the German side of the border in the next three years, Jaroslav Tachovsky told CTK on Thursday.
The projects are part of a joint EU subsidy programme for the Czech Republic and Bavaria. The EU will set aside about one million euros for the approved investment plans of the Sumava-West microregion and the ILE Nationalpark Gemeiden Bavarian association.
The aim of cooperation between partners on the Czech and Bavarian sides of the border is to interconnect the area and create a more attractive joint tourist destination Sumava-Bavarian Forest, said Tachovsky, from the Sumava-West microregion.
The projects on the Czech side of the border will get 0.54 million euros, while 0.46 million euros from the programme will go to Bavaria.
The EU subsidy will cover 85 percent of the costs and the Czech state will finance another 5 percent.
The project entitled “Wandering through the Heart of Europe without Borders” has just started and it will continue until the end of 2019.
Tachovsky said a Czech-German web portal will be created to offer information on tourist paths, other attractions and landmarks as well as practical guidance.
Czech municipalities are preparing several special paths focused on Sumava traditions, such as glass manufacturing, wood processing and ore mining.
On the Bavarian side, all cross-country ski tracks will be fitted with a new trail marking.
“We can be successful in tourism only if we are telling interesting stories, which is exactly about glass, wood and other traditional works and crafts in Sumava,” said Juergen Weber, from the Lower Bavaria government.
Sumava and Bavarian Forest can succeed if they present themselves as a single tourist destination, he added.
The EU subsidy will also fund the extension of the information centre in Modrava, Sumava. The costs of the new centre to be opened before the 2017 summer season are put at 6.5 million crowns. Another Sumava village, Dlouha Ves, wants to reconstruct the burial vault of the Schmidt family of local glass-makers for 0.9 million crowns. It will become a part of a new tourist glass-making path.
The European Regional Development Fund will release a total of 103.4 million euros for joint cross-border projects of the Czech Republic and Bavaria in 2014-2020. Apart from Sumava, the subsidies will also fund joint projects from other Czech and Bavarian regions.
