The European Green Belt: Borders.Wilderness.Future

Press Conference
Friday, 3 July 2009

The exhibition, "The European Green Belt: Borders.Wilderness.Future", presents an international nature conservation project which aims to protect the diverse landscapes along the former Iron Curtain, sustainably preserving their natural and cultural assets. On a strip 8500 kilometres (5280 miles) in length, areas of wilderness have spread across Europe, acting as important retreats for wild animals such as bears, lynxes and wolves; however, most of them are embedded in a variety of cultivated landscapes in which environmentally compatible forms of use could serve as models of sustainable development for rural Europe.
Based on cultural and economic aspects of this "enforced neglect", the biological and cultural diversity of this strip stretching from sub-arctic Lapland via the Baltic coast, the Central European uplands and flood plains to the Black Sea coast on the border between Bulgaria and Turkey is presented. The stories covered range from the delicacies of the Far North, such as reindeer meat and cloudberries, via the amber of the Baltic Sea coast to the floral treasures of the Balkan Mountains, and are illustrated by a wide variety of exhibits. This ultimately raises the question of the direction in which these border regions in the heart of Europe can and should develop in the future.
A project of the Upper Austrian State Museums and the University of Vienna for Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture.

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Press Kit (PDF)