ROMAN LEGACY at the Cultural Routes - Bulgaria 2026 Event in Plovdiv

The national information forum “Cultural Routes – Bulgaria 2026” took place on 11–12 June 2026 in Plovdiv. It opened at the Boris Hristov House of Culture in Plovdiv, and the program also included visits to the Old Town, the Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis and the Ancient Theatre.

The event’s main objective was to demonstrate Bulgaria’s potential to participate more fully in the Council of Europe’s Cultural Routes program. It promoted innovative ways of presenting natural and cultural heritage, stronger cooperation between public institutions, researchers, businesses and local communities, and the development of sustainable cultural and ecological tourism and new certified routes.

During the first plenary lecture, Rui Gomes, Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes in Luxembourg and Executive Secretary of the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes, stressed that cultural routes are a tool for sustainable development, cultural diplomacy and the creation of a shared European identity. His lecture focused on their role in encouraging cultural cooperation and regional development.

The forum was intended mainly for representatives of ministries, municipalities, museums, universities, cultural and tourism organisations, businesses and other professionals involved in heritage and regional development. Its wider purpose was to make research and cultural heritage more accessible and useful to citizens and visitors.

ADRM presented the Danube region as a shared cross-border cultural area. The Roman Legacy project was highlighted as a project that seeks to create a transnational route devoted to the Roman Danube Limes through digital tools, sustainable tourism and cooperation among institutions, museums, researchers and local authorities.