On the last day of 2021 the project LV-RU-029 “Development of cross-border region tourist route “Following the engineering ideas” in Latvia and Russia” (Following Ideas) successfully completed its activities.
The project idea was born back in 2017 when the representatives of Rezekne municipality (Latgale), NGO “Resource Centre “VERA” (Luga district, Leningrad region) and Plyussa district administration (Pskov region) decided to develop the project based on the trending engineering heritage tourism. The partners were determined to showcase that the tourist landmarks can actually deliver added value to the regions and become the focal points for education and recreational activities. The project contributed to the cross-border cooperation development and to revitalization of the areas remote from the regional economic and tourist centres.
The partnership created new unconventional 350 km cross-border tourist route called “Following the engineering ideas” dedicated to Stanislav Kerbedz, the distinguished bridge-building engineer, Pavel Bure, the famous watchmaker, and Nikolay Kudryavstev, the trailblazing civil engineer and inventor. For this route the project beneficiaries identified key infrastructure objects in Luznava (Rezekne municipality) in the village of Golubkovo (Leningrad region) and in Plyussa (Pskov region).
Interactive exhibition “Kerbedz: following the engineering ideas” in the Centre for Engineering Ideas of Luznava manor uses interactive tools to get the visitors familiar with bridge building! Its added value is being an educational hub for teachers and students interested in the basics of bridge, tunnel and railway construction. The project lead beneficiary (Rezekne municipality) representative, Sintija Batare, makes point that the Centre aims to become “a part of the cultural education program “Latvian School Bag” that provides every student with an opportunity to learn about the Latvian cultural heritage and history in different places of Latvia”. It is remarkable that the interactive exhibition combines STEM method of education integrating art, technologies, business, and design.
Recreation area at Tcheremenetskoe lakeshore in the village of Golubkovo was revitalized to become a versatile place – the leisure area for the locals and visitors and the hotspot for environmental, social and local history studies of schoolchildren. Its focal point is the playground submarine recreated in accordance with the technical drawings of the civil engineer and inventor N. Kudryavtsev. Additionally, the area hosted a small collection of anchors collected and preserved by the local lore and history enthusiast.
Mini Park in Plyussa dedicated the watchmaker P. Bure was renovated and equipped with the recreation and surveillance facilities to make it a comfortable meeting point and leisure area for the locals and visitors. With the street clock installed, the mini park reminisces of the P. Bure’s exquisite heritage and communicates its positive vibes to the town.
The beneficiaries consider their partnership to be fruitful. They indicated that the positive cooperation allowed successfully turning the COVID-19 constraints into opportunities – instead of the “Following the engineering ideas” promo trip they produced an insightful promo video of the tourist route in Latvian and Russian. As Ekaterina Eliseeva, the representative of the beneficiary NGO “Resource Centre “VERA” reflects, “we managed to achieve the positive effect – instead of the info tour for the limited number of travel firms and mass media reps, we produced the video available to everyone, and as a result, our audience has significantly extended”. The beneficiaries mentioned that during the project implementation they identified and discussed common environmental challenges, which can be turned into cross-border cooperation opportunities in the future.
