ArcheoRoute: Where Archaeological Heritage Meets Sustainable Tourism
Interreg VA Austria-Hungary ProgrammeThe ArcheoRoute project is a partnership between museum and tourism organizations that responds to new trends and needs. Using an innovative approach that spans generations, it develops the region’s shared historical and archaeological offerings and integrates them into the area’s walking and cycling tourism. The 36-month project is currently at the halfway point of its implementation, during which tourism attractions and services have been developed.
The attraction being created in the sanctuary of the Iseum Savariense Archaeological Workshop and Museum in Szombathely takes the experience of virtual time travel to a new level for visitors. In the fall of 2025, coordination began on the media content for the virtual archaeological park to be completed this summer in the Temple of Isis. As part of this project, the territory of Savaria and the archaeological treasures of the cross-border Amber Road will be presented in a novel way, with the goddess Isis playing an important role.
Coordinated by Savaria Tourism, the interactive enhancement of the historical theme park in Szombathely is currently in preparation and will be implemented this summer. As a result of this development, the theme park’s interactive exhibits will present visitors with a so-called “seven trials.” The innovative approach used in the project is evident in every trial, meaning that each one includes a task to be solved using analog and digital tools. Nearly one hundred different types of tools, everyday objects, and props will be procured. The seven trials will cover the following topics: calculation/measurement with period tools, period clothing, ancient beliefs, ancient cuisine, Roman legions/strategy, ancient medicine, and ancient infrastructure.
The partners are working very intensively on the visualization and interior design of the multimedia exhibition space to be established in Schandorf, Burgenland. The planned opening is scheduled for early summer. This is perhaps one of the project’s most innovative activities: the multimedia exhibition space in Schandorf. Alongside the railway-turned-bike path, a life-size replica of the so-called “Königsgrab” (King’s Tomb) has been constructed. In this “accessible burial mound,” visitors embark on a 7,000-year journey into the region’s past. For the construction of the multimedia exhibition space, the so-called “pneumatic wedge method”—a resource-efficient construction technique—was chosen. The concrete elements were first “inflated” with air cushions and then connected using metal tracks.
The multimedia exhibition space will be equipped as part of this project. A cross-border viewing platform will also be established at the top of the exhibition space, which will make the view into the past even more impressive through a digital installation.
As part of the project, a new, cross-border archaeological mystery adventure tour will also be developed along the route from Schandorf through Hannersdorf-Burg to Szombathely, imaginatively named Archeo Secret TOURS. For this activity, they have already identified tourism partners who wish to become part of the tour as rest or refreshment stops. Seventeen partner providers from both sides of the border will be involved in organizing the adventure tour as “symbolic stamping points,” and their presence will be promoted on Austrian and Hungarian tourism platforms.
