National Mapping Document for Council of Europe Cultural Routes Presented in Zagreb

On June 8, 2026, the Council of Europe Cultural Routes Mapping Document for Croatia was presented at the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. The document provides an overview of cultural routes at the national level and an assessment of opportunities for the future development of the programme in Croatia.
The presentation was attended by the Minister of Culture and Media, Dr. Nina Obuljen Koržinek, who described the mapping document as an effective tool for the preservation of cultural heritage, education, the promotion of cultural tourism, and sustainable development. She noted that cultural routes support the development of local communities, cultural and economic life, and new models of sustainable tourism, while also strengthening regional cooperation. The Minister highlighted that Croatia participates in 20 certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, and that the document represents a solid foundation for future strategic planning, the development of international partnerships, and the further strengthening of the programme in Croatia. She also pointed to next year's 40th anniversary of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme as an opportunity for Croatia's further visibility within this initiative.
Tatjana Horvatić, Croatia's representative in the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme and head of the Department for Movable, Ethnographic and Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture and Media, presented the implementation of the programme in Croatia and explained the role of the Ministry and the process behind the document's development.
Vlasta Klarić, the document's author and an independent expert on cultural routes and European macro-regional strategies, spoke about the methodology used in preparing the document, its key findings, and its recommendations for future development.
Of the 20 cultural routes passing through Croatia, only one was originally launched in the country: the Iron Age Danube Route, which began its development at the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. Marta Rakvin, curator at the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb and secretary of the route, presented the development and expansion of the Iron Age Danube Route, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation and partner connections at the European level.
The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme promotes cultural tourism and sustainable development, putting into practice the principles of several international conventions to which Croatia is a signatory — most notably the Faro Convention, which defines cultural heritage not merely as a collection of monuments and sites, but as a shared resource created, preserved, and used by people and communities.
Of the 43 member states of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, only 8 have so far produced a national cultural routes mapping document. The Ministry of Culture and Media initiated the preparation of this document to examine and assess the implementation of the programme in Croatia and to analyze its further potential, offering an overview of achievements to date, identifying weaknesses, and providing guidelines for future action.
The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme was launched in 1987. The document presented on June 8 was published by the European Institute of Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Media.