A “pearl necklace of architecture” is being created in the Mühlviertel

For two years, a project team around the Mühlviertler Alm tourist association and the Gotik Forum Kefermarkt have been working on an extension of the Mühlviertler Gothic Road towards South Bohemia. After approval by the responsible funding bodies, this project can now be implemented together with partners from South Bohemia with financial support from the EU’s Interreg funding program. The initiators hope that the extension will give the architecture route, which has existed for 25 years, additional international appeal.

At the end of the 1990s, an attempt was made to make the often hidden Gothic sights accessible to a wider public. The medieval architectural gems from the Mühlviertel were connected along a route, presented in a travel guide, and information boards were put up: the Gothic Route was born.

Now not only is the Mühlviertler Gothic Road to be presented in a new way, but additional excursion destinations in the Czech Republic are to be added. “Together we have a density of Gothic art treasures that is probably unique,” says Hans Hinterreiter from the Mühlviertler Alm Freistadt tourism association. The project goes far beyond joint marketing, emphasizes tourism association managing director Stefan Wunderle: “With comprehensive digitization measures, scientific research work and renovations, we are securing our historical heritage for posterity and making it accessible to many people in a contemporary form.”

In its new form, the cross-border Gothic Route will comprise 50 locations, 30 of which will be in the Mühlviertel and 20 in South Bohemia. Jürgen Maier from the Gothic Forum Kefermarkt knows how important this collaboration is: “Our winged altar is a treasure that attracts people from all over the world. That is why I am delighted that Kefermarkt is taking the lead in this project. The extended Gothic Route is a major boost for cultural tourism in the entire Mühlviertel.”

In addition to the Mühlviertler Alm Freistadt tourism association and the Gotik Forum Kefermarkt, the LEADER regions Mühlviertler Alm and Mühlviertler Kernland, OÖ Kultur GmbH and the Diocese of Linz with the individual parishes are also involved in the renovation and expansion of the Gothic Road. In addition, the initiators were able to win over the experienced project manager Thomas Samhaber to work with them for the next three years.