Discover the geological treasures of the Polish-Slovak border

Beneficiary: City of Gorlice

Polish partner: City of Bardejov

Implementation period: 01/01/2020 - 31/12/2020

Realized project value: € 54 796.35, including ERDF co-financing: € 45 672.74

The Gorlice-Bardejov borderland is rich in geological resources: crude oil and mineral water. Gorlice is the cradle of the oil industry, where the world's first oil mines and mines were built, and in 1854, thanks to Ignacy Łukasiewicz, the first street kerosene lamp was lit, while Bardejów is a health resort with mineral water sources, which, in contrast to the black, oil-rich crude oil in the Gorlice Land, can be a unique geotourist attraction. The project was aimed at integrating and educating the local community, preserving the natural heritage, increasing the tourist attractiveness and promoting the geotouristic values of the borderland. This was due to, inter alia, the organization of a thematic event and a scientific conference, a non-standard promotion of the borderland and a geological photo-plot, the result of which is a photo album, and a mobile exhibition. The tasks planned in the project were a continuation and development of activities initiated in 2018. Only consistent actions bring positive and lasting results, and in the future they will allow to create a tourist product based on the geotouristic resources of Gorlice-Bardejov region.

The main activities carried out under the project:

• The performance "Light from the Earth" took place in the City Park in Gorlice, where you could see a unique laser show, a show on a water curtain and a performance of the GCK ERGO Experimental Theater, and the whole event was hosted by Ignacy Łukasiewicz himself, who took the form of a hologram. The event was not only entertaining, but also educational. The leitmotif of the shows was the geological heritage of the Gorlice and Bardejov lands - mineral waters and crude oil. In addition, in the center of Gorlice, there were also happenings referring to the lighting of the first street kerosene lamp, the purpose of which was to encourage and invite residents and tourists to participate in this unique, evening
• An artistic look at geology, i.e. the attractions of the borderland painted with light. As part of the task, the album "Geological attractions painted with light" was published. The publication contains photos of famous photographers - Szymon Bialic, Krystiana Kiwacz, Paweł Uchorczak and Jakub Witos. The photographs also served as material for the creation of a mobile exhibition, which consisted of selected photographs printed in large format. The exhibition was available at the Gorlice City History Pavilion, Wysowa-Zdrój, the Tourist and Cultural Product Center of Beskid Gorlicki and the Polish-Slovak House in Bardejów.
• The use of infulence marketing in the promotion of the borderland with an emphasis on geotourist attractions, the development of the oil industry and the activities of Ignacy Łukasiewicz . Wojtek Drewniak, during his stay in the Gorlice Land, created a film material that he made available on his channel, thus promoting the borderland among potential tourists. History without censorship is a completely different view of world history! From their films you can learn about things that we won't hear about at school and you can see that the story is really interesting. The channel on the YouTube platform is watched by almost 1.5 million people, and the episodes collect well over half a million views! It was another big step towards promoting the city and popularizing the unique history of the region. In order to increase the coverage and enable deaf people to benefit from the production, subtitles in Polish, Slovak and English were also added to the film.
• A popular science conference at the end of the project was organized in Gorlice. The lecture panels were led by lecturers and experts, they discussed issues in the field of geology and geological attractions of the Gorlice-Bardejov border in a way that is accessible to everyone - even complete laymen. Due to the pandemic situation, the conference was broadcast live on the website of the City of Gorlice and on social media.

We encourage you to watch the film material made as part of the project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyIk2HT0T54