ECOCYCLES Open access scientific journal ISSN 2416-2140 of the European Ecocycles Society Ecocycles, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 52-87 (2020) DOI: 10.19040/ecocycles.v6i1.166 CASE STUDY Collection, cultivation and processing of medical plants, herbs and spices in the Balaton Ecomuseum – herbal medicine as intangible cultural heritage Sándor Némethy,2,3,4 Tamás Takács1, László Szemethy2, Bosse Lagerqvist3, Zoltán Barócsi2, Anikó Dinya4, Ilona Péterffy Némethy5 1Zánka Herb Valley Visitor and Training Centre, Zánka, Hungary; 2University of Pécs, Institute of Regional Development, Hungary; 3University of Gothenburg, Department of Conservation, Sweden; 4Eszterházy Károly University, Károly Róbert Campus, Gyöngyös, Hungary; 5Lake Balaton Development Coordination Agency, Siófok, Hungary e-mail:
[email protected] Abstract –The Balaton Ecomuseum, which is being continuously developed since 2017, will have a holistic approach, where the objectives of the ecomuseum embrace the whole cultural landscape of Lake Balaton as one unit with several thematic routes in one system and shall not be restricted to one particular subject area or a part of local heritage. One of these thematic routes is the recently developing Herbs and Spices Network, led by Zánka Herb Valley Visitor and Training Centre based on the collection, cultivation and processing of medicinal plants, herbs and spices. The place of herbs and spices in the diet needs to be considered in reviewing health benefits, including definitions of the food category and the way in which benefits might be viewed, and therefore researched. Here we describe the already established system of the Zánka Herb Valley Visitor and Training Centre, the potential of the Balaton Region in the development of herbal medicine illustrated by the scientific presentation of the 30 most collected herbs in the region and examples of other herbal centres, which are intended to become a part of the network.