Heritage and culture of small homelands on the Cross-border Trail of Carpathian Temples - the use of sacred buildings to improve the tourist attractiveness of the Polish-Slovak borderland.

Beneficiary: Rymanów Commune

Polish partner: Obec Kračúnovce

Implementation period: 01/02/2020 - 31/10/2020

Realized project value: € 37,440.90, including ERDF co-financing: € 31,824.76

One of the basic premises for the implementation of the project was a large variety of sacred buildings, distinguished by unique architectural features, both in the Rymanów commune and in Slovakia, which so far have not been included in the Trail. Culturally valuable sacred objects are scattered throughout the Rymanów commune, and the current trail covers only 4 villages and does not include objects in Radom, Giraltovce and Kračúnovce. As part of the project, an additional route was mapped out to connect the commune with the partner, investment activities were carried out on the route, as well as soft activities in the form of joint Polish-Slovak events and meetings. In addition, thanks to the project, the inhabitants of the borderland, guests and patients visiting this corner can expand their knowledge of sacred monuments, which, apart from their strictly religious use, have extraordinary educational and cognitive values, due to their unique style, architectural values and accumulated in them harvest.

The main activities carried out under the project:

• The modernization of the Cross-Border Trail of Carpathian Temples consisted in building a wooden pergola in the park in Rymanów-Zdrój, which was used directly during the project implementation and will be a resting place for people traversing the trail. In addition, 6 bicycle stands were purchased for the new and old part of the trail, and 12 information boards were installed, which were installed next to religious buildings located on the trail, both in the Rymanów Commune (9 items) and in Slovakia (3 items).
• Preparation and printing of promotional materials. A promotional album and a map of the Transborder Trail of Carpathian Temples was published, along with a description, in Polish and Slovak, of the sites on the trail. The publications contain a QR code with a redirection to the website of the Rymanów Commune.
• Joint events and meetings. A Polish-Slovak conference was organized, during which lectures were given on the cultural heritage located on the Transborder Trail of the Carpathian Temples and the possibilities of using it to improve the competitiveness of the region, as well as on cross-border cooperation in the development of tourist products. The conference was accompanied by an exhibition of works sent to the art competition "My temple", which was attended by children and young people from the Rymanów commune and Slovakia: present Kračúnovce, present Radoma and Obec Giraltovce.

An integration festival was held at the Czarny Potok stream in Rymanów-Zdrój as part of the project, which was attended by 1,000 people. The event was accompanied by performances by bands from Poland and Slovakia, an exhibition of artistic works created as a result of the competition, regional cuisine, competitions, and the promotion of the Trail of the Carpathian Temples. There was also an award ceremony for the winners of the competition.

At the end of the project, a meeting was organized to promote the project and program among the widest possible audience. Due to the restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, the meeting was held in exchange for the originally planned festival in Slovakia. The meeting consisted of several groups spread throughout the day. They were: a group of adults, groups of adolescents and children of all ages. Each of these groups was presented with the Interreg VA Polska-Slovakia 2014-2020 Program, the ongoing project and the modernized Carpathian Temples Trail.