Former Iron Curtain route proposed as tourist trail
The European Parliament has called on EU member states to support its proposal for promoting the route of the former Iron Curtain diving Eastern and Western Europe as a tourist trail.
MEPs said they wanted the 4,250-mile route to preserved the memory of the continent’s division, promote a European identity and celebrate the reunification of Europe.
The trail would start at the Arctic Sea and lead along Finland’s border with Russia, through the Baltic States and Poland to Germany, where it would shadow the former border between the eastern and western part of the country. It would continue along the Austrian border with the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, and along the Danube to the Black Sea.
The proposal is partly inspired by the Boston Freedom Trail, which commemorates the American War of Independence, and the ‘Berlin Wall Trail,’ a 100-mile route that shadows the wall that divided the German capital during Cold War.
“We want to transform the idea of the Berlin Wall Trail to the European level. The path would boost eco-tourism across Europe,” Green deputy Michael Cramer said.
Cramer said 12 countries already had pledged support for the idea and agreed to co-finance the route. He did not give details of the expected cost of the project.
