Cycling through European history: EuroVelo routes & European Heritage Label sites

Europe is a continent where history is everywhere you look; each region of Europe has a very rich and diverse cultural heritage that combined forms the common European cultural heritage. Among the many heritage representations that can be found in Europe, there are some that have a special interest when it comes to understanding how Europe developed into the continent that it is today; the strong connections between the European regions and especially the set of values upon which the European Union was established. These heritage representations have been granted the European Heritage Label.

The European Heritage Label (EHL) is an initiative promoted by the European Union that recognises heritage representations that have high European symbolic value, represent one or more of the European Union values and/or had an important role in contributing to the European integration project. The European Heritage Label is a community of heritage and people formed by 67 sites, more than 280 locations and 250 people from all over Europe.

As the EuroVelo network covers vast areas of Europe for more than 90,000 kilometres, there are many crossroads between the European Heritage Label sites and EuroVelo routes, and there is no better way to explore Europe’s rich cultural heritage than by bicycle, in a slower and more respectful way.

The label has been awarded, for example, to Roman archaeological sites like Ostia Antica in Italy, not far from EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea (Francigena) and EuroVelo 7 – Sun Route and medieval archives like the Archive of the Crown of Aragón in Spain, located close to EuroVelo 8 – Mediterranean Route. Locations where important documents were signed are included too, like the Polish Constitution of May the 3rd 1791 along EuroVelo 2 – Capitals Route and EuroVelo 11 – East Europe Route or the Maastricht treaty, which was signed in the Dutch city along the beautiful EuroVelo 19 – Meuse Cycle Route.

Memorial sites form part of the network, like the former Naztweiler concentration camp, situated on EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea in France, or the Finnish intangible heritage of the Kalevala, which you can experience if you cycle along EuroVelo 10 – Baltic Sea Cycle Route and EuroVelo 11 – East Europe Route.

We have now made it easier to know where EuroVelo routes intersect European Heritage Label sites: they are all marked as points of interest on the interactive map, with a short description of the history and values of the site as cultural heritage. The inclusion of this information is one of the results of the ongoing collaboration between the European Heritage Label Bureau, the organisation that manages the EHL Community, and the European Cyclists’ Federation with the goal of increasing the visibility of the EHL sites in the context of cycling tourism.

Now you can easily access the information about the location of the EHL sites and discover which EHL sites are near the routes you are planning to cycle on. And guess what – you will discover that practically all EuroVelo routes pass near or directly through one or more European Heritage Label sites!

From the 22 EU countries that currently have European Heritage Label sites, 17 of them are crossed by at least one EuroVelo route that pass near one of the sites. Germany, Czechia and Poland are among the countries with more EHL sites along EuroVelo routes.

As for the EuroVelo routes themselves, EuroVelo 4 – Central Europe Route and EuroVelo 9 – Baltic-Adriatic are the ones crossing more sites: if you choose these two routes you will have the chance to visit at least nine different EHL sites. EuroVelo 11 – East Europe Route, EuroVelo 13 – Iron Curtain Trail or EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea (Francigena) are also great options for those who are looking to visit as many sites as possible.

When visiting one of the many EHL sites that are crossed by EuroVelo routes, you will come across two main types of European Heritage sites. The first and most common type of EHL sites is the EHL single sites. These are sites that have one single geographical location, for example a building, a theatre, or an archaeological site, such as the Great Guild of Tallinn, nearby EuroVelo 10, 11 and 13, the Royal Toone Theatre close to EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea in Brussels or the Archaeological Park of Carnuntum in Austria, on EuroVelo 6 and 13.

The second type is the multi-location EHL sites, which can be national thematic sites and transnational sites. The best example of the first category is the Sites of the Peace of Westphalia, an EHL national thematic site of two locations in the same country, the cities of Münster and Osnabrück in Germany, which are connected by EuroVelo 3 – Pilgrims Route. For the second category, the best example is the transnational site of the Cisterscapes, a network of 17 monastic landscapes spread across five different European countries and five different EuroVelo routes: EuroVelo 4, 7, 9, 13 and 14.

Whether you are planning on including a visit to a single site or seeing many as you cycle one of the EuroVelo routes, the EHL sites are always an interesting cultural stop on your journey. By visiting these sites, you will discover shared European cultural heritage, understand the intangible connections between the European regions and connect with the history of Europe.

To discover these and more sites, follow EuroVelo and the European Heritage Label Bureau on Facebook and Instagram for some dedicated posts in August!