The Great Lithuanian Route

CULTURAL HERITAGE IN PROMOTING THE REGION

Maria Koc – Deputy Senate Marshal

LTO WGL

Warsaw, September 2019

The Great Lithuanian Route It used to be one of the most important trade and postal routes of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It connected

Warsaw, Grodno and Vilnius.

The Great Lithuanian Route nowadays

 Network tourism product connecting regions and countries

 Offer for ‘weekend tourists’

 Journey to the East

• Warsaw

• Eastern Masovia

• Białystok

•

• Grodno

• Vilnius

Overview of 2013–2017 measures

• LTO WGL joins the Masovian Tourist Organisation and Podlachia Tourist Organisation

• Cooperation with MROT and PROT

• Organising four editions of the International Flavour Tournament at Liw Castle

• Publications concerning the Route: guides, maps, leaflets

• Map and leaflet awarded in PROT’s competition for tourist publications

• Setting up a website and a Facebook profile

• Promotional activities: participation in tourist fairs and events on the Route • Educational activities – children and teenagers residing in towns on the Route •

Greater brand recognition of the WGL Route

Honoured tourist destination

EDEN 2017 – Cultural tourism

 In 2017, the Great Lithuanian Route was honoured in the EDEN (European Destinations of Excellence) competition,

cultural tourism category

Cultural heritage in promoting the region

 History

 Antiques

 Cuisine

 Folk art

 Great personalities

 Multiculturalism

 Cultural events

Promotion by heritage

 Sulejówek – Józef Piłsudski

 Liw –Knight tournament

 Węgrów – magnificent

 Sokołów Podlaskimonuments – Folklore Meetings

by the River

International Flavour

Tournament The Best

Tourism Product of Mazowieckie

Voivodeship

2016

Slow food

International Flavour Tournament at Liw Castle

The path to commercialization

 Idea: promotion by cuisine – Flavour Tournament  Dębe Wielkie municipality – “Dębe’s acorn coffee”  Chopin enjoyed acorn coffee st  1 place in the ‘Memento of the journey’ category  Promotion at events  Commercialisation – transferring the right to sell to  privately owned ‘Gościniec Goździejewski’ (Dębe Wielkie municipality)

Collaborating bodies

LTO WGL + Originators

+ local government (municipalities and

districts on the Route)

+ LGD (on the Route) + + Enthusiasts involved in the MROT + PROT project

+

Office of the Marshal of Mazowieckie

WGL: network tourism product

Offers from , and to be included

LTO WGL activities

International and National Tourism Fair

 Cooperation with the Office of the Marshal of

Mazowieckieand MROT Voivodeship • ‘Regions at the Crossroads of Cultures’, Łódź

• TT(Regiony Warsaw na Styku Kultur) Fair,

• Summer Warsaw Fair 20

• Tour Salon Fair Poznań

• World Travel Show, PtakExpo

Educational activities

Discover your region and your origins

Discover your origins

• ‘Trending ’ (Moda na Mazowsze) workshop

• Wafer cut-out workshop

• “Breakfast by Liwiec” (Śniadanie nad Liwcem)

Discover your origins

• Sienkiewicz Festival – Cuisine of the Trilogy • M. Buttitta – Delicacies of the past • J. Jakubiuk – Taste the local

Participation in events on the Route

• Folklore Meetings by the Bug River • Days 2016 • World Youth Day – Warsaw • Presentations for guides • et cetera...

WGL Route Rally

Sulejówek – Dębe Wielkie municipality – Liw – Węgrów –

Miedzna – Sokołów Podlaski – Drohiczyn – Vilnius

Promoting the Route – media

• Local, national,

• International ( Polish Radio External Service )

• Culinary bloggers

• Sectoral (tourist) media

Mr. Wielądko Academy

Historical and culinary academy ‘The Perfect Cook’ (Kucharz doskonały) written on the Great Lithuanian Route. Wojciech Wielądko's work is the second Polish culinary book published in print (1783). The author was born in Wielądki, on the WGL Route.

Plans

 Marking the Great Lithuanian Route

Mark proposed:

 Certifying products awarded in the four editions of the Flavour Tournament

 Integrating operators on the Route  Cooperation with Belarusian and Lithuanian entities

Thank you for your attention

Local Tourism Organisation Great Lithuanian Route ul. Wolności 21 08-300 Sokołów Podlaski e-mail: [email protected] www.wielkigoscinieclitewski.pl www.facebook/lotwgl

See you on the Route!