Museums strengthen Polish-Russian cross-border links

closed

Museums over the Borders used common history to connect culture recipients on both sides of the Polish-Russian border. A modern museum education offer, innovative solutions for exhibitions and unique attractions on a European scale drawing numerous locals and visitors from abroad, resulted in increased tourist traffic and improved the situation and development of local communities. Digital presentation of the shared heritage of the border regions had a positive impact on the cross-cultural integration of the area.Lech Trawicki, director of the Museum of Archaeology and History in ElblągIn creating the new museum offer, the partners performed surveys among residents to gauge levels of local history knowledge and drew on reminiscences, collected in interviews, from members of the area’s pre-World War II German community.The findings formed the basis of an educational programme enabling students from both cities to learn about the two regions’ heritage and improve their digital skills by using holographic technology. The memories of former German residents were documented in exhibitions highlighting the transnational and cross-cultural links that have long existed in the area.Shared historyHistorically, Warmińsko-mazurskie and Kaliningrad have much in common. At certain times, they were part of the same country; at others they were separated by national borders, often due to conflict. Both regions suffered badly in World War II, after which large numbers of Poles and Russians arrived from elsewhere.In the post-war era, problems such as poverty and devastated infrastructure meant that many new arrivals did not have the chance to develop a sense of belonging. It also prevented the creation of high-quality tourist and educational products. To help rectify this, Museums over the Borders deployed digital technology to emphasise the regions’ shared heritage and used local culture to improve the tourist offer, thereby deepening integration and fostering economic development.Screening of the Stories over the Borders film involves projectors displaying images which are reflected off projection foil to make them appear three-dimensional. The 20-minute film is wordless, using associations, symbols and dates related to key points in European history so that visitors from all over the world can understand it. Fire and smoke effects accompanied by seat vibrations enhance the film’s popularity and effectiveness as an educational tool among viewers of all ages.More visitorsMuseums over the Borders aimed to increase numbers of museum visits in Elblag and Kaliningrad by 10 %. A tourist guide to Warmińsko-mazurskie and Kaliningrad was published to encourage people to take more trips across the border. Actual numbers of visits rose from 23 600 a year at the start of the project to 67 400 at the end – an increase of 186 % Visitor feedback has been very positive.Research found that the project enhanced local people’s knowledge of the history and heritage of the two regions. Its impact was reinforced by free access to the new installations for all visitors in the immediate post-project period and by conferences and visits to showcase the attractions to journalists and tour operators from Poland and Russia.A cooperation strategy setting out the museums’ activities for the following years was drawn up. One element of this is the continued documentation of residents’ memories, with the focus this time on post-war Polish and Russian settlers.Total investment and EU fundingTotal investment for the project “Museums over the Borders” is EUR 3 697 858, with the EU’s European Neighbourhood Instrument contributing EUR 3 328 072 through the “Lithuania-Poland-Russia ENPI Cross-border Cooperation Programme” for the 2007-2013 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Social, economic and spatial development”.