Iron Age Danube Route

Marta Rakvin Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Zagreb

t he i ron a ge d anube r oute addresses one of the most fragile, though imposing and attractive prehistoric archaeological phenomenon, the Iron Age landscapes. Characterized by monumental structures, such as burial mound cemeteries, flat cemeteries, fortified hilltop settlements and oppida, as well as elements indicating the complex organization of space, Iron Age landscapes belong to the period between the 9th and the end of the 1st century BC. The Iron Age is a period marked by an extraordinary corpus of tangible, as well as intangible heritage, which is kept in numerous museums of the Danube region, including the most important regional and national institutions. In addition, the Danube region is made up of a variety of natural landscapes. The diversity of these landscapes had an impact on the different cultures present in the regions, both in the past and today. Along the Iron Age Danube Route, travellers can discover archaeological and open-air museums, reconstructed houses and tumuli, as well as archaeological trails. Modern technology allows visitors to experience life as it was almost 3,000 years ago.

The first concept for the Iron Age Danube Route stemmed from the Danube Transnational Programme ‘Monumentalized Early Iron Age Landscapes in the Danube River Basin’ INTERREG project, a RegioStars finalist for 2018. Twenty partner institutions from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia that collaborated on the project put forward the idea of joint approach to researching, managing and protecting complex prehistoric landscapes. After the Iron-Age-Danube project ended, the partnership continued with the support of the Routes4U project of the Council of Europe.

Compiling existing sources of knowledge and creating a strong interdisciplinary and international network of expert institutions from Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia in the fields of archaeology, cultural heritage protection, tourism, as well as local stakeholders, the Iron Age Danube Route Association was founded in July 2020 with the aim of further development and management of the IADR.

The Iron Age Danube Route Association serves as a platform within which the partnership established in this way will make this valuable archaeological heritage more visible and accessible, while creating economic and cultural added value to the local population of the region.

Along with the efforts of the Iron Age Danube Route Association, the Iron Age Danube Route is advanced through the Interreg Danube Transnational project ‘Virtual archaeological landscapes of the Danube region’ (July 2020 – December 2022). This project centres around making archaeological landscapes of the Danube region more visible and attractive for their successful integration into sustainable cultural tourism on regional, national and international levels.

In May 2021 the Iron Age Danube Route became a certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. The Route joined the family of over 45 Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, which provide a wealth of leisure and educational activities for all citizens across Europe and beyond and are key resources for responsible tourism and sustainable development. With its efforts internationally acknowledged through this certificate of excellence, opened many new and exciting opportunities for the Route, its members and partners, as well as the responsibility to further develop its vision better promote, protect and research our common Iron Age heritage.

Since then the Route’s partnership expanded and is currently encompassing Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia with 31 partner institutions consisting of prominent national and regional museums, universities, institutes, institutions and local authority bodies.

Towards a European Cultural Route of Neanderthals