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Minister of Science and Culture Annika Saarikko: The certification awarded to the Alvar Aalto Route is a magnificent recognition of Finnish architecture

Ministry of Education and Culture
Publication date 21.5.2021 16.18 | Published in English on 24.5.2021 at 11.16
News item
Alvar Aallon suunnittelema valkoinen rakennus.

The Governing Board of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) has awarded a cultural route certification to the Alvar Aalto Route – 20th Century Architecture and Design. The Aalto Route is the first certified route led by Finland.

‒ This is a magnificent recognition of Finnish architecture and the significance of Aalto’s legacy. It required long-term work from the Network of Alvar Aalto Cities and the Alvar Aalto Foundation to establish this European route, says Minister of Science and Culture Annika Saarikko.

The Council of Europe received 13 applications and certification was awarded to five routes. The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe comprise 45 certified routes around Europe. Certification is granted to a route which is based on a theme relating to European culture and cultural heritage bringing together at least three countries. The Cultural Routes programme was launched by the Council of Europe in 1987. The first route to be certified was the Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Routes.

The Alvar Aalto Route – 20th Century Architecture and Design covers more than 60 architectural sites in 27 cities in five different countries: Finland, Germany, Estonia, Italy and France. Potential Alvar Aalto sites can be found in a total of ten European countries, from Rovaniemi in Finland to Riola di Vergato in Italy, and from Reykjavik in Iceland to Vyborg in Russia.

Certification provides opportunities for cultural tourism and brings international visibility to the routes.

- The Alvar Aalto Route enables to strengthen Finland’s role as a destination for cultural tourism. The advancement of cultural tourism is one the Government’s goals. A working group was set up this week to draw up a roadmap for ways to promote cultural tourism, says Minister Saarikko.

The Alvar Aalto Route is administered by a joint project, the Alvar Aalto Architectural and Design Heritage Tourism Route Association, established by the Alvar Aalto Founcation and the Network of Alvar Aalto Cities in July 2020.

Inquiries: Anne Mattero, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 330 206, Ministry of Education and Culture


Links:
Press release by the Alvar Aalto Foundation, 21 May 2021

Ministry of Education and Culture: Cultural tourism and cultural routes

Press release, 20 May 2021: A roadmap for cultural tourism (in Finnish and Swedish)

Press release on cultural route certification by the Council of Europe